As you may have heard by now, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors (BOCS) has chosen to withdraw as a respondent from the SCC process for the Haymarket transmission line and substation project.
What does this mean for the community? It means that now, more than ever, we must rely on each other to deliver our messages to the SCC and for the remaining community respondents to put forward good arguments. The Coalition remains in this fight, along with Somerset Crossing and Heritage Hunt.
The PWC BOCS had written the following in their 2/29/16 submission to be a respondent for the DVP proposed project.
- As the governing body of the sole county through which the proposed line would be built, the Board is an “interested party” in this proceeding, as that term is defined in § 56-46.1(D), VA Code Ann.
- Pursuant to 56-46.1(A), VA Code Ann., the Board hereby requests that the Commission give consideration to Prince William County’s Comprehensive Plan (the “Comprehensive Plan”) during its evaluation of the Application. The proposed overhead routes would contravene many of the goals and policies lawfully established by the Comprehensive Plan, and would threaten unmitigated adverse impacts on scenic assets, as well as the rural character of the area.
- The Board therefore intends to participate in this matter in order to protect the interests of the County, its residents, and the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan.
In their 3/16/16 motion to withdraw, they simply said this: The Board respectfully requests that it be permitted to withdraw its Notice of Participation in this matter.
The Coalition is as dedicated as ever to ensure that the interests of the community remain at the forefront of the proceedings. The premise that our County Board put forth is as valid now as it was two years ago. This transmission line and its impacts are NOT in line with what was intended for our community. Period.
What CAN we expect from our County Board of Supervisors?
Citizens and business representatives have been working with the PWC Planning Commission over the last few months to update County zoning, as directed by the Board, to finally put in place guidelines for the appropriate placement of data centers, which require such massive power infrastructure. If the Board is not going to participate in the SCC Haymarket project process, we can expect them “…to protect the interests of the County and its residents…” by passing these new zoning text amendments. We can expect our Board, through this improved zoning, to ensure that power substations, which data centers require, will only occur following county input and approval.
We will be providing a Click-to-Send email on the website which will be a simple and easy way for you to ask the Board to pass the zoning text amendments when they come before them for approval.
In the meantime, feel free to share your disappointment at the Board’s decision to walk away from their plans to participate in the SCC process for the Haymarket transmission and substation project, with no explanation to their community.