WASHINGTON — A controversial plan to string high-voltage power lines through part of Prince William County, Virginia, has entered a new phase, and the first of several public hearings was held Wednesday night.
Dominion Virginia Power’s application to send a 230 kV transmission line with 100-foot tall towers through Haymarket and build a new substation was filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission last November.
The proposed project is now under review, and as part of that process the Virginia SCC held two public hearings Wednesday at Battlefield High School.
As they have in the past, many residents spoke out against the plan, arguing that it will wreck homeowners’ views and property values, and possibly even be a health hazard.
But not everyone is angry.
The power lines will reportedly serve a planned Amazon data center, and one man who testified said the jobs and tax money such a center would generate should be welcomed by the county.
Three more public hearings are planned.
Battlefield High School will host two at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 14, and another at 7 p.m. on May 2.
There will also be time for public comment at an evidentiary hearing in Richmond at 10 a.m. on May 10. It will be held at the SCC Courtroom in the Tyler Building at 1300 East Main St.
You can also submit written comments by May 3, under case number PUE-2015-00107.
If you want to send your comments through regular mail, include the same case number and send them to:
Clerk of State Corporation Commission
Document Control Center
P. O. Box 2118
Richmond, VA 23218-2118
Dominion Virginia Power overview map filed in November 2015
