West Virginia Highlands Voice

By Art Dodds

The PATH Land Guys are out. The Public Service Commission (PSC) Hearing for PATH is not scheduled until February of 2010 and the decision whether or not to grant a certificate of public convenience and necessity is after that. The goal of PATH is to get easements on the majority of the land needed to do the project to make it easier for the PSC to grant the certificate. The rest of the land needed will fall to EMINENT DOMAIN.

Looking north-east. In this picture you can clearly see the Mt. Storm power plant on the left and The Allegheny Front wind facility. To the east you can see Greenland Gap, in between the 2 most prominent power lines going over New Creek Mountain. The newly proposed wind power location will be on the ridge north of Greenland Gap. In this picture, it looks as if there are pine trees along the western flank where the ridge is at its highest point. Scherr is at the western gate to Greenland Gap and Rt. 93 runs north up the valley and hits Rt. 50, not too far west of Keyser.

Anything signed now is forever and may be transferred to other parties. A PATH easement on the property denies the owner future development and requires the owner to continue to pay taxes on the land. The easement becomes part of the deed for your children or future owners of the property. Unlike other projects where the property value is questioned, there is no question it will go down. At this time PATH does not have the right of EMINENT DOMAIN. They have asked the PSC to declare them a Public Utility, making eminent domain possible.

PATH is a joint venture between American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) and Allegheny Energy, Inc. (Allegheny).

This PATH project is a proposed 290- mile long 765 kV transmission line transmission line that would begin at AEP’s John Amos substation near St. Albans, WV, run across the middle of West Virginia, and end at Kemptown, Maryland. The estimated cost of the project is $1.8 billion, and is scheduled to be completed in 2012. Approximately 224 miles of the proposed line would be in West Virginia.

During PATH’s trip through West Virginia, no services are provided to the citizens of West Virginia. Allegheny Power had already gotten permission to have the rate payers of West Virginia pay for the construction of this line. How is it possible that the citizens of West Virginia who will receive no benefit from PATH have to pay for its construction?

At last count (July 16, 2009) of the PSC web page, there were over 1,300 letters of opposition, over 250 petitions to intervene against PATH (including the City of Charles Town and the County Commissions of Barbour County, Braxton County, Jefferson County, Lewis County, and UpshurCounty) and 7 in favor. This included two PATH land acquisition companies, PATH LLC, the Trade Union, Allegheny Power, and other parties that would benefit from the construction of the “PATH of Destruction.”

As this project is supported by the Government of West Virginia, your voice, at all levels, will ensure an outcome that benefits the Citizens of West Virginia and will not resemble Sherman’s march through Georgia. You should remind your legislators and Governor, “At election time, we will remember what you have done!”