So Far Anyway
The Backgound
The project proposed by American Electric Power
Unless it has been experienced, one cannot appreciate the size of these lines. The right of way is 200’ wide, not even large enough, though, to contain the 230’ towers should they topple. The catenaries (wires) are as thick as a man’s arm, suspended as little as 40’ above the ground, and they jump like snakes when energized. Stray voltage underneath the lines shock humans and animals and electrify vehicles and equipment unless equipped with a ground strap. Always present is the humming and crackling that drowns out normal conversation. At dark, the lines glow and spit, and the towers may be topped with strobes in a dark, rural landscape. Though downplayed by industry, the effects of electro-magnetic fields (EMF) and extra-low frequency (ELF) have been demonstrated to increase bovine cancers and are linked to childhood leukemia and central nervous system disorders.
Virginia’s eminent domain laws that will govern the condemnation of private property for this monstrous project place the burden of proving value and demonstrating devaluation squarely on the shoulders of the landowner. All costs—if a condemnation suit is taken to court—are borne by the individual. No compensation at all is made to adjacent landowners unless their house is within 100’ of the edge of the right-of-way, and any compensation is made only for the strip of land the right-of-way occupies, even if it destroys the parcel it crosses.
The Opposition
As AEP has faced local opposition over the last decade to the construction of this line and the proposed routes were forced to change, the opposition has shifted as well. When the WV Public Service Commission granted permission for the Company to cross Wyoming and McDowell Counties directly into Virginia in Tazewell County, much of the WV opposition disappeared. Resistance is now centered in the Virginia counties of Tazewell, Bland, Wythe, Giles, and Montgomery. APPAL (Alliance for the Preservation and Protection of Appalachian Lands) has been active in the southernmost counties of Tazewell, Bland, and Wythe, while COPE (Citizens Organized to Protect the Environment) and FORCE (Friends of Regional Culture and Environment) have been active in Giles and Montgomery, respectively. With the exception of Montgomery County, all of these counties’ Boards of Supervisors have passed resolutions opposing the line, and Bland and Wythe local governments have actually appropriated county funds of at least $60,000 to retain the legal representation and expert witnesses that will be necessary in Richmond at the evidentiary hearings. APPAL has arranged for expert testimony in the areas of needs analysis, impacts on karst areas (caves, bats, and cave life), and effects on cultural attachment to the land. The cultural attachment study will identify the impacts of the proposed project on the lives of individuals and communities adjacent to the proposed corridors. This includes the Dry Fork area of Bland County, the only community of color in the county and continuously inhabited since its establishment by freed slaves from Franklin County in 1870.
