Pittsburgh Post Gazette, June 11, 2007
The NIETC designation is important to those property owners because of Allegheny Power's plan to construct a 37-mile, 500-kilovolt power line through Washington and Greene counties, to a power station to be built in Dunkard, Greene County.
When completed, the line would run for 240 miles, through West Virginia and Maryland, ending in Northern Virginia, an area which has been losing power plants. Allegheny Power officials say that the Pennsylvania portion would serve local residents only.
Part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allows the DOE to designate critical areas as national interest corridors, and to seize private property if needed. Perhaps the most controversial provision locally is the federal government's right to override state permitting decisions for transmission lines.
If a state denies a permit, makes no decision on it within one year or places too many conditions on a power company permit, the federal government has backstop authority to grant construction permits, superseding state and local regulations.
..."This is power companies having the right to condemn private property for profits," he said. …
…At issue are right of way easements purchased by Allegheny Power three decades ago in anticipation of a power line that would serve the booming steel industry.
When that didn't materialize, property owners thought the company had abandoned the rights of way. Because those deals sometimes didn't make it onto the rural deeds, some owners were recently surprised to learn they were sharing property with the power company. Read Full Article
- This article is one of the few that has dealt with the issue in an unemotional fashion, recognizing that local opposition, if irrational, may well be subordinated to future federal action in order to enhance interstate commerce.
