Proposed High Voltage Transmission Line Threatens
Our Family's Farm
December 8, 2006
Hello All Concerned,
Esther and I attended last night's "meeting" held at the Freedom Aquatic Center in Manassas, where a couple dozen Dominion Power representatives were stationed around a basketball court fielding questions and taking the heat - a full-court press from hundreds of citizens. It was great to see neighbors there! I place "meeting" in quotes because all of us who showed up got the sense that this was a formality, and that the Dominion employees were pawns, not decision makers. The meeting was basically a "dog and pony show" as our farmer friend Carl put it.
For Stoney Lonesome Farm, the proposed 500 kVpower line would be devastating. According to the current proposal, Dominion Power would seize a 150' wide swath of land (75' on either side of the power line) from the heart of our family farm. Our CSA members value the clean, healthy food we grow away from highways and power lines. This power line would not only ruin the beautiful, pristine quality of our farm which inspires us to live and work here, but would expose us to EMF radiation.
We gained a couple important insights from the meeting. First, Dominion's blown-up maps gave us a good close look at our segment of the proposed power line - Segment #58 (see map links below). From previous maps, it was very difficult to see exactly where the power line route would actually land. As we suspected, our neighborhood's section of the proposed power line, Segment #58, cuts right across our farm (alongside our main pond), over across the Norris' driveway, and across the Frampton's property. The power line would feature 15-story transmission towers, an average of 150' tall. Thus, not only would the power line severely impact our three properties, but the rest of the neighborhood as well.
The second insight we gained from the meeting is that while there is tremendous opposition to this power line, we don't have much time to fight the proposal. According to a Dominion Power timeline presented at the meeting, seizure of private property for the power line would occur as early as 2007. We need an even greater crescendo of opposition against this power line, and fast.
Because Dominion Power is trying to capitalize on new Federal laws facilitating the seizure of private property, we need all the help we can get in fighting this proposal. Let us not grow complacent with the belief that the current active group of citizens against the power line is enough to stop it - the conglomerate of utility corporations interested in ramming this power line through Northern Virginia is heavily invested in this proposal (Read more about the background of the power line proposal and the multiple parties involved at the Piedmont Environmental Council's web page). Also here is a Washington Post article about it.
We need your help. We need to spread the word about this power line proposal to every family member, neighbor, friend and acquaintance. The more people we can involve, the better chance we have of defeating this proposal. Time is short, and recent laws regarding Federal authority to seize property are against us. That said, we think we can win, because from our perspective, we must.
Sincerely,
Pablo & Esther Elliott
Stoney Lonesome Farm
How to Take ACTION to Stop the Power Line
1. Please visit the Piedmont Environmental Council's Webpage devoted to fighting
the Power Line at www.whosedominion.org.
You can sign the on-line petition. The PEC also provides a list of officials
to contact!
2. Please spread word about the power line threat to people you know who may
wish to get involved, send messages to officials, and could help us in our efforts
to stop the power line.
Thank you for your support in this struggle!
Dominion Power's Route MAPS
Dominion Power's power
line route maps. The proposed power line segment through Stoney Lonesome
Farm, segment #58, can be viewed on Sheet 7 of the Individual Segment maps on
Dominion's maps page.
A medium
resolution map showing segment #58 of the transmission power line (scroll
down towards the bottom/middle of the map and zoom in) - and the proposed route
of the power line going right through our farm just to the West and North of
our main pond (where segment #58 hooks North)
A high resolution map showing segment #58 of the transmission power line (scroll down toward the bottom/middle of the map and zoom in) - and the proposed route of the power line going right through our farm just to the West and North of our main pond (where segment #58 hooks to the North).
LINKS - More Information on the Power Line Proposal
http://www.pwconserve.org/issues/landuseplanning/powerline/index.htm - The Prince William Conservation Alliance's page on the power line proposal. Please read the "Recap of Dominion Power's presentation to the Prince William County BOS on December 5," by Jeff Brown - an excellent response to Dominion's assertions that the power line is needed to avert black-outs.
http://www.wewontglow.com - Dominion Valley neighborhood's website against the power line proposal. Has a very useful section on how to take action.
Click here to see the relative size of this THING.