CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Day three of testimony for the Mid Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) in front of the Public Service Commission (PSC) went into detail about land acquisition, land agents, and the training they receive.
Early on Wednesday, Sarah Powers, senior director of development at NextEra Energy Transmission, was told about an employee of Texas-based Lone Star Land Services using coercion to get a landowner to sign an agreement. The land agent was accused of telling the landowner they would be subject to a restraining order on a portion of their own property so the area could be surveyed and appraised. Powers said the employee was terminated immediately and explained the training and code of conduct land agents agree to when hired.
Hampshire County resident and affected landowner Lance Evans owns more than 200 acres along the MARL route and raised concerns about some of the restrictions that are part of the property agreement. Evans first raised concerns about a proposed staging area shown on his property that was not previously mentioned in the negotiations.
The restrictions in the agreement included expansive provisions on the use of firearms and hunting. Evans bluntly told Powers that the terms just would not work.
“All that paragraph tells me is that I have no control over my 226 acres of ground during hunting season, and it also tells me I have to call and tell you who’s hunting my property,” Evans said. “In West Virginia, I’m sorry, but that won’t cut it.”
Powers testified that they sent land agents out before a certificate for the project was issued because they wanted to engage with the residents early to answer questions and get the process started. A significant number of the more than ten land agents working in West Virginia were either born here or are now residents, and they are committed to working with the residents, according to Powers.
“I don’t think that I have seen a single easement agreement that does not have some kind of modification at the request of the landowner,” Powers said. “The intent behind the hunting provision is we don’t want to get anybody shot.”
Hampshire County resident Scott Martini testified the proposed MARL will be about 39 feet from the side of the home he and his wife share. There are existing transmission lines near the property, and the MARL is being planned on the residential side of the existing line rather than further away on the other side of the existing line.
“There are no homes on that side of the property, so why is the line coming down this side and affecting homes? Martini said he asked the land agent. “His words were that it was cheaper to pay you guys than it is to redesign the line.”
He also said the land agent left out significant planned uses while continuing to ask the family for a proposed settlement figure. Martini explained he was not told about a blowout zone or additional right-of-way on the flank of the line to account for sway in high-wind conditions or an unknown pad for a structure, while the agent continued to ask for a settlement figure.
“The thing that bothered us was he was more worried about wanting us to give him a figure to get the right-of-way because he never mentioned anything about a blowout zone or a structure pad,” Martini said. “So, he wanted us to agree to something before we knew anything.”
Hampshire County resident John Wotring expressed concerns about the line damaging his property aesthetically and in terms of value. He told Powers many of the landowners along the MARL will likely never support the project due to the way it will change the environment.
“You’re going over some of the most pristine natural land that God ever put on the face of this earth and that carries a lot of value to a lot of people,” Wotring said. “To see what God put here destroyed for something man wants to put here for some of us is not worth it.”
In her answers, Powers testified the company plans to compensate the owners of property that are affected by the construction or operation of the MARL no matter what the use. She also referred many property owners with questions she was unable to answer to a hotline to put them in touch with someone who can help or start the process to find an answer to a question or problem.
Testimony continues at 9 a.m. on Thursday.