Coalition to Protect Prince William County
PO Box 382
Haymarket, VA 20168
www.protectpwc.org
PRESS RELEASE
For more Information contact:
Elena Schlossberg
Executive Director, Coalition to Protect Prince William County
admin@protectpwc.org
DOMINION FILING FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th STILL PUTS RESIDENTS AT RISK
Executive director says, “Residents lose millions to Amazon’s extension cord – I-66 and buried is the only way.”
Haymarket, Virginia (November 6, 2015) – Today, Dominion Virginia Power filed its application with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) for the Haymarket 230kV Transmission Line and Substation Project. Instead of the I-66 Overhead/Underground “Hybrid” route demanded by the Coalition, residents, community and homeowner associations, and state and local governments, Dominion selected the I-66 Overhead route as its preferred route.
Coalition executive director Elena Schlossberg observed, “Dominion says it selected the route with the shortest distance and a ‘reasonable cost.’ This is no comfort to residents and established businesses along the I-66 Overhead route who find themselves a short distance from Amazon’s $51 million overhead extension cord – and who find the cost of nearby high-voltage lines and millions of dollars in lost property values less than reasonable.”
Schlossberg continued, “While Dominion included the partially-buried Hybrid route as an alternative, to paraphrase Barry Manilow, that’s all very nice but not very good. I-66 and buried is not ‘an’ alternative, it is ‘the’ only acceptable alternative. Our residential, business, and elected leaders are unanimous and clear on this point.”
Schlossberg also repeated the Coalition’s commitment to continue the fight for all western Prince William County communities. “By naming the Madison, Railroad, and Carver Road routes as possible alternatives, Dominion threatens residents and businesses in Brentsville, Gainesville, and Haymarket with eroded property values and quality of life. We stand with the residents and leaders of Somerset Crossing, Greenhill Crossing, Hopewell’s Landing, and numerous other neighborhoods – not on my property, not on my neighbor’s property.”
Schlossberg reminded residents on routes “removed” from consideration, “No one on the New Road, Northern, and Western routes should celebrate or relax. As Dominion has said repeatedly, the SCC requires an exhaustive routing study of all electrically viable solutions and route alignments. Any of these routes can be considered – or the SCC can develop its own alternative – and ultimately, the SCC makes the final determination. Even though Dominion has submitted its application, nothing is final until the SCC Commissioners decide.”
“To our elected leaders,” Schlossberg continued, “on the Board of Supervisors and in the General Assembly, your support is critical as we take our fight for ‘I-66 and buried’ to the SCC, and as we amend our zoning policies to protect ourselves in the future. Delegate Bob Marshall said it well in his joint statement with Senator Richard Black: Dominion’s action allows Amazon to buy cheap land for data centers in or near rural areas while residents subsidize Amazon’s profits. Despite repeated outreach by the community and elected leaders, Amazon – ‘the Customer’ in Dominion’s application – and CEO Jeff Bezos, refuse to acknowledge our pleas, nor any plans for a data center at all.”
Schlossberg concluded, “There is a right and a wrong way to participate in the 21st century economy. Hanging a $51M extension cord over residents’ heads and ringing up millions in lost property values is the wrong way.”
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