MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Monongalia County residents who have been vocally opposed to the NextEra Energy proposed MidAtlantic Resiliency Link were out in large numbers for the third public hearing on the project hosted by the State Public Service Commission Wednesday night.
More than 150 people attended the meeting at Mylan Park with most all opposed to the 107-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that would be powered in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and cut through portions of Monongalia, Preston, Mineral and Hampshire counties to support energy usage in Virginia.
The crowd included nearly a dozen public officials on a state and local level as well as representatives with West Virginians Against Transmission Line Injustice (WATI).
“West Virginia is getting tired of being walked on,” said WATI representative Lantz Evans. “My wife and I stand to lose 10 more acres of our farm if this thing goes through, so I can understand the frustration of the people for nothing.”
Among the public officials on a state level that were in attendance on a bipartisan level were Senators Joey Garcia (D – Marion, 13), Chris Rose (R – Monongalia, 02), and Mike Oliverio (R – Monongalia, 13), as well as Delegates David McCormick (R – Monongalia, 082), Evan Hansen (D – Monongalia, 079), and John Williams (D – Monongalia, 080). On a local level, members of the Monongalia County Commission were in attendance as part of their intervenor status on the project, as well as the mayors of Granville and Morgantown and select members of the Morgantown City Council. Those in attendance on a bipartisan and municipal level expressed vocal opposition to the MARL project moving forward.
“From a legislator’s standpoint, we’ll definitely apply a lot of pressure to the governor for a special session on this, and I’m good friends with the governor,” said Senator Rose, with Senator Garcia right next to him. “But at the end of the day, if the Public Service Commission makes this mistake, if they approve this project, we will be forced to call for a special session to address this.”
Representatives from the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) locals 814 and 1149 were on hand during the public hearing, where they were among the very few who spoke in favor of the project. In the statement issued by Kyle Kull, who also represents the West Virginia Appalachian Laborers District Council, he said that more than 200 labor jobs would be created if PSC approves the line.
“We’re looking for opportunities to put our members to work, and this is a project that’s going to give us that opportunity,” said Kull. “We always look for a chance to help our members build their retirement and maintain health insurance for their families.”
Kaitlyn McCormick from NextEra Energy was also on hand to speak with residents after the meeting. She said NextEra would be investing more than $37 million in payroll alone, with a potential tax revenue impact to the state of over $130 million.
“So specifically for West Virginia, we’re looking at about 200 construction jobs over the two-year construction period,” saiid McCormick. “That’s looking at about $37 million in payroll here to West Virginia, and we’re also looking at about $133 million in tax revenue into West Virginia over the life of the project.”
Concerns raised by speakers ranged from the potential devaluing of property to environmental and health concerns related to the location of the lines around the Cheat Lake areas.
“This line isn’t an investment for West Virginia, it’s an expense we’ll be expecting, with no benefit,” said county resident Frank Tate, addressing the PSC. “Simply, this transmission line is a stupid and terrible deal for West Virginia, thank you.”
The PSC has a public hearing set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Kingwood.