The James City County Board of Supervisors has accepted Dominion Virginia Power’s most recent request to defer a public hearing on the zoning of its proposed switching station.
The new hearing date, Aug. 9, is more than a year out from a Planning Commission meeting during which the commission voted to deny the zoning request.
The Skiffes Creek Switching Station would be located in Grove and would be part of Dominion’s plan to power the Peninsula by importing electricity via the Surry-Skiffes Creek 500 kilovolt (kV) line crossing the James River and the Skiffes Creek-Whealton 230kV line.
This is not the first time the hearing has been postponed. The hearing was originally for Oct. 13, was postponed to Nov. 24 and then deferred to Dec. 8. It was postponed to January, leaving the decision in the hands of two new Board members and three incumbents, before it was deferred to February and then March.
In a letter to Board Chairman Michael Hipple (Powhatan) dated Feb. 9, attorney Brennen Keene, who represents Dominion, writes that it is an appropriate time to request a longer deferral, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still reviewing Dominion’s building permit application for the project.
The Board has the option to request an earlier hearing date if the Army Corps approves a building permit before Aug. 9.
Dominion was granted an extension to complete the project by the State Corporation Commission late last year. It must now bring the project online within 20 months of receiving a building permit from the Army Corps.
Related Coverage:
- Consulting Parties Call for More Details on James River Power Line Impact
- Dominion Seeks Extension of Power Line Construction Deadline
- Report: Dominion Overstates Power Line Urgency with Outdated Numbers
- JCC Supes Move Vote to January; New Board to Decide on Switching Station
- Dominion, JCC Supes Postpone Switching Station Hearing Again
- Supporters, Opponents of Over-River Power Line Speak at Army Corps Hearing
- Army Corps Determines Surry, Chickahominy Best Power Line Options
- JCC, Dominion Agree to Postpone Switching Station Hearing
- Conservationists Take to the James to Oppose Over-River Power Line
- James River Power Line Hits Roadblock at JCC Planning Commission Meeting
- JCC to Officially Consider Power Line Plan for First Time
- Dominion Files with JCC to Build Switching Station for James River Power Line
- Supreme Court Denies Dominion’s Motion for Rehearing of James River Power Line Case
