Friends and Foes Unite in Opposition: Threatened Use of Imminent Domain

Dominion Virginia and Allegheny Power plan to build a 500-kilovolt transmission line, linking Winchester to Aldie, complete with steel towers nearly 160 feet tall and a wide right-of-way up to 200 feet wide. But the line doesn't end at Aldie.

In March, PJM Interconnection, and Allegheny Power asked the Department of Energy for an early decision on a "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor" designation for the route.

Using national security and the need for redundant routing of power to the Capital and other major cities in times of crisis, the designation would allow the Federal Government to condemn property for the right of way, no matter what objections might be raised by property owners, or state, county, and local governments.

Bundles Murdock gave the Middleburg Town Council an early warning about the power companies plans in August. Noting the impact of such rights-of-way on the environment and public health, not to mention historic sites, viewsheds, and property values, she urged action. On September 14 the Council unanimously authorized the drafting of a formal resolution for distribution to the Department of Energy and all other important stakeholders, urging, at the very least, that an environmental impact study and public hearings preceed any Federal, state, or county action on the matter.

The same day, at a Piedmont Environmental Council briefing at the Hill School, Council Member Mark Snyder urged development of a well-reasoned counter-plan to meet the power companies' national security and redundancy arguments. The Council hopes to pass the resolution at a special meeting on September 27.

Member of both pro-growth and slow-growth factions on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors have joined forces against the "corridor." Developers see the giant towers and humming lines as "sales killers." Homeowners, already worried about real estate values, see them as "asset killers." Politicians see them as "vote killers."

Senator John Warner demanded a clearer definition of needs, the development of alternative approaches to meeting them, and a comprehensive environmental impact study before moving forward. Stronger language was used by both Judy Feder and Frank Wolf.

Wolf's letter to the Secretary of Energy was unequivocal. "Millions of federal, state, local and private dollars have gone into protecting the sanctity of the history of this region. An electric transmission corridor with a transmission line of the magnitude proposed would permanently desecrate the integrity of this landscape. We must not destroy this land."

Yet to be heard from on the issue is junior Senator George Allen, who serves on the powerful Senate Committee on Energy and Resources. Supporters of former Navy Secretary Jim Webb, Allen's opponent in the upcoming election, have noted Allen's close ties to Dominion Power (Allen's wife and Richmond Democrat Benjamin Lambert served together on Dominion's Board of Directors). Allen has also been a strong supporter of the Bush administration's current energy policy, which Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum bragged recently, could help an Allegheny Energy proposal "... to build a $1.4 billion, 330-mile transmission line from West Virginia to Maryland to bring a more reliable energy stream to the East Coast."