President Gary Valen's Letter to SCA Board

On Allegheny Power Transmission Lines

July 25, 2008

 

Greetings:  We all know that a prime purpose for SCA is to quickly respond to any potential threat to the Agriculture Reserve. We are at that point right now. Jane Hunter and I attended a meeting at the county building in Germantown yesterday afternoon that was a hastily called presentation to stakeholders by Allegheny Power officials. They provided details about the proposed transmission line project called PATH.  The new transmission lines are designed to alleviate potential power shortages projected after 2012.  The 500,000 volt lines will run from West Virginia to Kemptown in Frederick County.  The projected routes for the lines run through parts of Washington and Frederick Counties as the most direct route. Unfortunately for Montgomery County and the Agriculture Reserve, a third option places the line in our area. Allegheny already has two lines in the most direct route and they are reluctant to have a third line in the same area due concerns about potential weather problems and the intrusion of three lines in the same area.  Since Sugarloaf Mountains stands in the way of other locations in southern Frederick County, they have proposed a route south of the mountain through the Agriculture Reserve.  There is also a projected route in northern Frederick County that is less attractive due to all the residential and commercial developments in the area.

 

The line in our area would cross the river just north of the Monocracy Aqueduct, run across land to just north of Barnesville and then on to become a part of existing power lines just west of Interstate 270.  These are large lines that will require massive towers that will have a major visual impact on some of the most scenic areas of the Agriculture Reserve. Allegheny officials pointed out that the line doe not stop agriculture production but there is a 200 foot right of way that is carved out under the lines the entire distance no matter what the terrain.

 

Since Allegheny is only belatedly considering a Montgomery route, we have not been involved in the early stages of this process.  The meeting yesterday compressed two stakeholder consultations into to one meeting to hasten the process. There will be a public meeting in Montgomery County but so far the time and date have not been announced. There is a meeting on August 12 at the Holiday Inn in Frederick, probably starting at 7:30 although we will get more details in the next few days.

 

We provided written feedback yesterday that the entire proposed route of the transmission lines would run through a designated Agriculture Reserve. We also marked significant places on a map that could be impacted such as schools, cemeteries, and historic areas.  Since the Agriculture Reserve is also a prime destination for bikers, weekend sightseers, horse riders and others we noted that any visual impairment would impact far more people than just the residents.

 

We will need to wait for further information to see what future actions we need to take.  In talking with Allegheny officials I met during the Urbana Loop process, I got the opinion that the Montgomery County route may have too many obstacles to be practical.  On the other hand, a route through agriculture land would be easier to construct that a line through areas with extensive residential and commercial development such as northern Frederick County.

 

Jane and I will receive notices about the progress of this project and any future meetings or developments.  We will keep you informed.  If we need an emergency meeting to plan a strategy, I will call it immediately.

 

In the meantime, we should all inform as many agencies, organizations and individuals as possible about the potential intrusion of extensive power transmission line through the heart of the Agriculture Reserve. 

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