After more than a year of legal battles and an outpouring of local opposition to a power line proposed to cross the James River near Carter’s Grove, the James City County Board of Supervisors is poised to have the final say over the issue.
Dominion Virginia Power must receive a permit from the board to construct a switching station on land the utility owns near Skiffes Creek.
The utility filed papers with the county May 21 indicating it soon wants to formally apply for the permit.
Daisy Pridgen, a spokeswoman for Dominion, confirmed Wednesday the utility is focused on working through the county’s permit process for the station.
“We are hopeful for a positive result,” she said via email.
An April decision from the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the board’s right to weigh in on the switching station. The line would connect to the switching station, where the electricity it carries across the river would then be routed into the Peninsula’s power network.
Staff members from the utility and the county are scheduled to meet June 8 to discuss the initial filing, according to Paul Holt of the James City County Planning Division. During the meeting, county staff members will discuss with Dominion the various regulations like stormwater management and the accessibility of the station to ensure the application is as complete as possible when it is formally filed.
After the meeting, the utility could at any time file a complete application for the project. It would then take three to four months before the matter went before the board for final consideration.
At the board’s behest, James City County was one of three parties whose court challenge brought the proposed line before the supreme court. While the court agreed with state regulators that the route across the river was acceptable, it also agreed with the county that it had the right to have a say over the switching station site.
The switching station application is not the only barrier the utility faces for building the line. It must also receive permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The corps has not indicated when it will issue a ruling on the project.
Dominion says the line must be operational by April 2017, when it will be forced to shut down the coal-fired Yorktown Power Plant due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations. If the line is not in place by then, it says it will be forced to resort to cutting off power to customers for up to 80 days per year to avoid overloading the peninsula’s power network.
It contends the route across the James River is the only cost-effective option to bring the extra electricity to the peninsula. The line would cross the river beginning near the Hog Island State Waterfowl Refuge in Surry County and come ashore at a point near Carter’s Grove.
It would be most visible from Carter’s Grove, however the Colonial Parkway, the southern tip of Jamestown Island and residences in Kingsmill would also be affected.
The line has attracted opposition from preservation-minded groups concerned about how the line would affect historic resources. They believe the route would obliterate scenic views currently available on the river and that there are other routes for the line besides what Dominion prefers.
Dominion has issued a lengthy document outlining its rationale for selecting its preferred route. That document also explores several other commonly suggested routes and explains why it believes they are not feasible.
Related Coverage:
- Supreme Court Denies Dominion’s Motion for Rehearing of James River Power Line Case
- Dominion, SCC Seek Supreme Court Rehearing of Power Line Decision
- Supreme Court Sends James River Power Line Decision Back to JCC
- Nonprofit Groups Form Coalition to Oppose Dominion’s Proposed Line Across James River
- Supreme Court of Virginia Hears Arguments Over James River Power Line
- Preservation, Government Groups to Gather to Share Concerns on Proposed Over-River Line
- Virginia Supreme Court Agrees to Hear JCC Appeal on Dominion’s Over-River Power Line
- JCC Authority Won’t Grant Easement for Over-River Power Line
- Dominion Begins Construction in Surry for Over-River Power Line Despite Missing Permits
- BASF Appeals to James City Authority for Help to Prevent Power Line Route
- State Commission Approves Dominion-Preferred Over-River Power Line
- Dominion Asks SCC to Decide on Over-River Power Line by March
- SCC Hearing Examiner Recommends Against Dominion-Preferred Power Line Route
- Dominion Seeks Extension to Keep Yorktown Station Running Longer
- Dominion May Need to Resubmit Army Crops Application for Over-River Power Line
- James River Association Joins JCC Appeal on Over-River Power Line
- JCC Supervisors Vote to Appeal SCC Ruling on Dominion Over-River Power Line
- SCC Reopens Over-River Power Line Case, Sets Hearing Date
- SCC Reopens Case on Dominion-Proposed Power Line Over James River
