Community Action: Antioch Baptist Church

To Dominion Power:

I am sending this e-mail as the designated representative of Antioch Baptist Church, located at 16509 Waterfall Road, Haymarket, Virginia.  We have recently been made aware of your new proposal for running a 230 kV power line to Haymarket on a route that would include Waterfall Road and Antioch Road, identified as the “New Road Alternative”.

On Sunday, December 14, 2014, the church congregation voted unanimously to strongly oppose this alternative due to the potential impact it would have on the church property and the surrounding community.  Founded in 1837, Antioch Baptist Church has been designated as a historical site by Prince William County.  In addition to the church building, our adjacent cemetery is the final resting place of more than 200 individuals, including Civil War veterans and veterans of WWI, WWII and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

Other sites of historical significance along your proposed route include the old Village of Waterfall, the La Grange Plantation house (now a winery), Mt. Atlas plantation house and many other locations of historical or cultural significance.  Ironically, it was recently proposed that Waterfall Road be designated a Virginia Scenic Byway — a large-scale power line would make it much less scenic.

Additionally, this entire proposed route lies in the Rural Crescent, an area designated by the county for limited development to help ensure that the county’s scenic, historical and agricultural heritage is preserved.  Your proposed power line would create a 12-mile scar on the Rural Crescent that would alter the nature of the landscape forever.

We have been informed by Prince William County officials that their preferred route alternative is to have Dominion Power bury the lines along the I-66 corridor from Gainesville to Haymarket.  We members of the Antioch Baptist Church community believe that this is a safer, saner alternative for supplying additional electrical power to Haymarket, and ask that it be given your highest priority.  Again, we strongly oppose the New Road Alternative for all the reasons stated above, as well as the fact that with a footprint of more than 12 miles, it is twice as long as some of your other route alternatives.

Thank you for your consideration.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  If you would like our statement of opposition in letter format, please provide the name, title and address of the appropriate individual(s).

For Antioch Baptist Church, I am:
Lewis P. Smith, Treasurer

Haymarket, VA 20169