Route for PATH Causes Static Morgan residents voice concern over proposed power line
By Jenni Vincent / Journal Staff Writer POSTED: August 15, 2008
(javascript:PopupPic('Photo=509411_1.jpg')) Citizen activist Jerry Berman receives many positive responses Thursday night from people who share his concerns about the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline. Berman is shown seated at right while talking to people at an open house in Morgan County. (Journal photo by Jenni Vincent) Editor's note: An article with the response of electric utility officials who attended Thursday night's open house on the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline is scheduled to be published in Saturday's edition of The Journal. BERKELEY SPRINGS - Citizen activist Jerry Berman was constantly busy at Thursday night's informational session on the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, handing out cards to others who share his concerns about the new high-voltage power line. "You know, the electric utilities may have thought that they could just schedule this meeting at the last minute and slip it through - that no one living here would have much to say about this power line," Berman said. "But they thought wrong. We are not going to the take the path of least resistance, we're not going to take the PATH at all," he said, pausing as he gestured toward a large pile of cards filled out by people asking for additional information on the power line. Berman, who was wearing a name card that read "Citizens Against PATH," wasn't the only citizen protesting at the event. Organizers said people started arriving well before the event officially began at 5 p.m. The Homestead Restaurant - where the open house took place - was quickly filled up and folks parked all the way down the long driveway to where it meets U.S. 522. There was a line of residents waiting to enter the restaurant, with many people waiting 45 minutes or more outside as they waited their turn. Abby Chapple of the Friends of the Cacapon River worked alongside Berman, giving out literature highlighting the region's historical and natural resources. Working together, the pair urged dozens of folks to sign an online petition against the proposed power line that would run from St. Albans, near Charleston, to the Bedington substation northeast of Martinsburg. It would then continue from Bedington to a new substation to be built at Kemptown, southeast of Frederick, Md. PATH, at an estimated cost of $1.8 billion, is a joint venture by Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power. Chapple, former president and current vice president/treasurer of the Friends of the Cacapon River, said she's seen enough about the power line's possible route to be worried about its impact. "The way it may go up along the west side of Cacapon Mountain would be a disaster because it would hit something like 50 little streams. That would be just disastrous for the Cacapon River," Chapple said. "Also Route 9 is the Washington Heritage Trail, so it is historic and they shouldn't be allowed to impact that in any way," she said. "Beyond that, all the way over to Sidling Hill, it will impact the viewshed and be absolutely a disaster." If a new power line is constructed, the "corridor" of an existing line should be used, Chapple said. "We are going to demand that PATH stay on its present path. No new path for PATH," she said. Although pleased with Thursday night's response, Chapple said that she's working to get 5,000 signatures, "to show the company that we know what's going on with their proposal." The online petition can be found at _www.thepetitionsite.com._ (http://www.thepetitionsite.com./) Under search petitions, "PATH" can be typed in, in order to find the one sponsored by Friends of the Cacapon River. Close by on Thursday, protester Laura Steepleton of Berkeley Springs held a sign that read "Keep West Virginia Wild and Wonderful." Steepleton said she has a wide range of concerns, including the proposed power line's impact on nature as well as people's homes. She agreed that it represents a potential threat to the Cacapon River, especially since construction work may send sediment into its waters. "And I can't help but have my concerns about the electromagnetic field associated with a high-voltage line like this one," she said. "They say it's no more than your household appliance but I have a hard time believing that." Vernon Estel, Allegheny Energy's director of transmission projects, said it is important to remember that no final decisions have been made on PATH's route. His counterpart, Ron Poff of American Electric Power, said that might not happen until late this year. The utility officials hope to file an application with the state Public Service Commission, including the "preferred route," in December. "But the final decision, including the route for PATH, will be up to the commission members," Poff said.
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