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Preservationists Resist Proposed Power Line

BROAD RUN, VA (AP) - The landowners and preservationists in Virginia’s hunt country have taken on Disney and won, so a battle against the state’s dominant utility over a proposed high-voltage power line leaves them undaunted.

The Piedmont Environmental Council, which more than a decade ago famously fought off a proposed Disney theme park in rural Prince William county, is gearing up for battle over some of the same turf - this time a 40-mile section of a proposed multistate power line that cuts through pristine fields and mountains but utilities say is badly needed to meet growing demand and buck up the Northeast region’s electrical grid.

The council held a press conference with its brightest star, actor Robert Duvall, to denounce plans to run the line through parts of Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William counties that have generally remained preserved despite the Washington, D.C. region’s exploding growth.

Duvall, a Fauquier County resident who was also active in the 1990s in opposition to the proposed Disney’s America theme park, said he believes the region’s residents are even more united against the power line.

“ There were people who were for the Disney park back then,” said Duvall, who has consistently supported the region’s preservation efforts but only rarely steps into the spotlight on the issue. “I think everybody is against this. People are up in arms.”

The council placed weather balloons 12 stories in the air along the proposed route to simulate the impact the lines would have on the region’s viewshed. In some spots, the balloons dominated a landscape that was largely pristine, dotted by historic sites including Civil War battle sites and the home of former Supreme Court Justice John Marshall.

David Botkins, a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, said the utility appreciates residents’ concerns and will take them into account as it continues to evaluate the best route for a transmission line. But, he said, it’s wrong to compare Dominion’s proposal to Disney’s efforts.

“ Disney’s proposal was about a theme park. This is about providing a lifeblood to hospitals, airports, homeland security facilities, and high-tech businesses, not to mention millions of households,” Botkins said.

Northern Virginia could face rolling blackouts as soon as 2011 without additional capacity, Botkins said, and the proposed route is the only way to deliver it.

Opponents have questioned whether Dominion is overstating its needs and want the utility to do more to embrace conservation. Opponents are also concerned that a new federal law enacted last year will make it easier for utilities to override residents’ concerns.

Passed in response to warnings of gaps in the nation’s electrical network, the law allows the U.S. Energy Department to designate certain transmission corridors as being in the national interest. That would let federal regulators overrule states that would reject a power line with a demonstrated interstate interest.

Botkins said Dominion is pursuing approval through traditional means - Virginia’s State Corporation Commission - and has no intention of asking the federal government to override the state.

But others - including PJM Interconnection, which operates the region’s electrical grid - could seek a federal override.

Power line opponents were sensitive to the perception that a few well-heeled gentlemen farmers concerned about the views from their estates are blocking progress and jeopardizing electricity for the region.

“ This is not about a few wealthy landowners’ self-interest,” Duvall said. “This is about corporate vandalism.”

Martha Toomey of Orlean said the power lines would hurt a region that has eschewed residential growth and sought to build an economy based on agriculture and tourism.

“ We’re not sitting out here making daisies. This is about business,” Toomey said.

The 40-mile section running through Virginia is part of a 240-mile, $850 million line that would start about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, then head southeast across a corner of western Maryland and West Virginia’s heavily touristed eastern panhandle before crossing into Virginia. The line is a joint project of Dominion and Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Power.

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