Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Frank Wolf and the "Monster" Power Line

This is an excellent letter from Jerry Boyles in Boyce, Virginia. Here's part of it:
After attending three public hearings on the proposed power line held last week at James Wood High School, I am left with two conclusions.

1. Too few citizens appreciate the potential impact that this 500KV line will have.
2. This situation didn't just fall off the turnip truck at our doorstep.

To understand where it all started, you have to go back two years. In July 2005 Congress passed House Bill HR6. This energy bill has more pork in it than a Jimmy Dean plant, but it touted its purpose as a way to "promote conservation and minimize the environmental impact of energy production". Noble objectives, indeed. So noble it was that both Sen. John Warner and Congressman Frank Wolf voted for it. But, as they say, the devil is in the details. Two things that HR6 did was to create authority at the federal level to define corridors for electrical transmission, and to provide federal power of eminent domain superceding local authority.

Contrary to Dominion Electric's position that this monster of a transmission line is mandatory, the solution to power demands on the eastern seaboard is not a single answer question...

[...]

It is time for our elected officials to acknowledge the monster that HR6 has created and actively work to hold Dominion Electric, and the associated transmission companies, accountable to protect this historic region of the country.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Frank Wolf to "old Dominion Electric, and the associated transmission companies, accountable."

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