Critics at Hearing Voice Concerns About Power Line

Barbara Vetter cradled her 6-week-old daughter and wept as she gave testimony against the possibility of having 130-feet-tall transmission towers run near her home. She fears that the lines could pose health risks to her young family.

"I know everyone has mentioned property values, and part of it is cosmetic," Vetter said after the hearing. "But inherent in the decreased property values is the potential health risks."

Vetter, of Braemar, was one of many who spoke to the State Corporation Commission at public hearings last week at Marsteller Middle School in Bristow. The commission is collecting testimony to determine whether there is a need for an additional line and, if so, where the line should be routed.

The majority of the speakers were against the 65 miles of transmission line that Dominion Virginia Power wants to run along an existing right of way.

Dominion says the new line is necessary to prevent rolling blackouts that it says will plague the growing region by 2011 if Northern Virginians do not reduce their energy use by 40 percent. The project will cost an estimated $243 million, and the line would be within or adjacent to existing lines. In some areas, the new lines may need to be higher.

"This is a slap in the face to homeowners who already have power lines," Stephen Martin of Midland said during the hearing. Is Dominion saying "that their land is already tainted? That the future only holds more and more power lines? A power-line ghetto?"

The few supporters of the new line said the changes are necessary.

"I think that our economic livelihood in the region depends on having a secure, reliable and low-cost supply of power," Steve Daves of Gainesville said after the meeting. Daves said he owns a commercial construction business and has seen the demand for electricity rise in new and existing buildings. "I think the new line helps the entire region to move forward in achieving that goal."

Residents expressed worries that the new lines, which one opponent speculated would be visible for a half-mile in every direction, would lead to a decrease in home values and discourage people from moving into the area.

"Nobody is going to want to live there," Jacqueline Manapsal of Bristow said at the hearing. "I want to live in Prince William County for the rural nature."

Members of the Great Falls Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club rallied before Thursday's hearing to voice opposition to the proposed power lines, saying they would have a negative impact on the environment.

"There is no question there will be environmental impacts from this massive power line through some of the most sensitive parts of the Commonwealth," Roger Diedrich said, reading the group's statement. "It will impose on Virginia's natural resource, history and scenic resources."