MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The final two public comment hearings hosted by the state Public Service Commission for the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link will be held this week in Monongalia and Preston counties.
The MARL is a 107.5-mile transmission line proposed by NextEra Energy Transmission that would run from Pennsylvania to Virginia to provide electricity to the starving PJM power generation network.
The first hearing this week is Wednesday evening at the Monongalia County Center at Mylan Park and on Thursday evening at the Kingwood Civic Center. Both meetings have a 5:30 p.m. start time.
West Virginians Against Transmission Line Injustice (WATI) President Tony Campbell said the 270 parties that have been approved as interveners will not be allowed to testify. Interveners have their opportunity to address the case with the PSC in the fall.
“It would be inappropriate for a person who is a party to the case to provide public comment because you are now part of the case; you are legally in the case,” Campbell said.
Previewing the meetings during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews Midday, senior director of the project for NextEra Energy Transmission, Kaitlin McCormick said the lines are needed to satisfy increasing demand. If the project is delayed it could force construction costs to increase and have a negative impact on economic development.
“The important thing to remember is strengthening the grid now is going to help reliability and affordability for the next generation,” McCormick said. “Waiting would only result in a service disruption and make the challenge more expensive.”
During the public meeting in Mineral County last week, the public comment period was three minutes in length. When the meeting was held in Hampshire County Friday, the comment period was cut to two minutes, according to Campbell. He advised residents to print their complete thoughts, read them to the buzzer, and submit their copy to the PSC to be recorded into the public record.
“The great thing is even though you might not be able to finish your comments on the clock,” Campbell said. “The Public Service Commission is allowing you to submit your comments to the Recorder once you’re completed.”
The family of Juliet Marlier has owned a 65-acre plot of land on the Rubles Run area of Cheat Lake. She said she feels NextEra Energy Transmission is using the word “reliability” to convince residents the line does something for them when the reality is the line has one purpose—to carry electricity through the state for use in Virginia.
“They’re talking transmission to data centers in Virginia, and keeping the lights on is more of a distribution issue—the issues of a local telephone company,” Marlier said.
Marlier said in the Cheat Lake area and east into Preston County there are many farms and businesses that rely on the land. But for many others, the land is an escape, and they fear the MARL could damage or limit some recreation opportunities.
“Even peoples’ land that is not under threat like that, or their livelihood isn’t under threat, appreciates the beauty of the area,” Marlier said. “We have Cheat Lake, Coopers Rock State Forest and we have the Monongahela National Forest not too far away.”
Campbell attended the public hearings in Hampshire and Mineral counties and said the crowds have been respectful but clearly opposed to the MARL. He said of the same people will attend the final two meetings and that negative message likely won’t change.
“If there’s one thing that has come clear to the commissioners, it is that we don’t want these lines, we don’t want them on our property, and we sure don’t want to pay for them,” Campbell said.