This summer, Dominion Virginia Power announced plans to enlarge and increase the capacity of the transmission line running from Cismont west, roughly parallel to Stony Point Pass, to the Hollymead Substation near Route 29.  This line runs along a 120-foot wide cleared Right of Way (ROW), with H-shaped timber towers that Dominion reports as roughly 65-feet tall on average. In an effort to utilize community input in the design of a solution, Dominion has offered no current preference for designs. Typical 230kV line projects under way in the state use metal poles ranging between 110 and 130 feet. Information from Dominion is posted at http://www.dom.com/about/electric-transmission/hollymead/index.jsp

For the initial public meeting in late June, Dominion sent letters to property owners along the existing line. At that meeting, Dominion asked for volunteers willing to participate in a Community Advisory Group. This group is tasked with representing the community in offering to Dominion “thoughts and input prior to the design and engineering of a solution.” Dominion hired the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation to facilitate the group’s monthly meetings. These meetings are open to the public, though time for public comment will be limited to allow the Community Advisory Group ample opportunity to discuss its concerns. For information about meeting times and locations, contact Frank Dukes at the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, 434-924-2041.

The Community Advisory Group process is expected to wrap up its work in December, with Dominion submitting their primary and alternative designs to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) sometime in January. If approved by the SCC, construction could begin in early 2012 and be completed by early 2014.

Approval of any new 230kV line is delegated to the SCC. Subsequently, these projects are exempt from Albemarle County regulations and review. However, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors can still play an important and necessary role in this process, but only if local residents insist that the board presses Dominion and the SCC to respect community concerns. PEC urges residents of Keswick to contact county supervisors and request that they pay close attention to this project and to serve as an advocate for the community’s concerns when the proposal is submitted to the SCC. 

Visibility and Aesthetics

Aesthetic impacts and visibility are the primary design elements that Dominion is soliciting input on.

• Expansion of cleared ROW (currently about 120-feet)
• Height of the towers (increase from current 65-75 feet to excess of 100-feet)
• Appearance of the towers (wood*, metal, or painted metal)
• Type of tower (i.e. metal monopole, metal trellis, wood pole*)
• Extent of tree clearing at ridgeline
• Extent of tree clearing at rivers and streams

*Height of the towers may preclude the use of wooden poles.

Other Concerns

Some residents have asked PEC about the following. While Dominion has not indicated that these will be taken into consideration, this should not preclude residents from expressing to Dominion these and any other concerns they might have.  

• Will this upgrade increase exposure to the line’s electromagnetic field?
• Will any increased visibility of this line impact property values?
• Are there alternative routes that might be considered?
• What methods will be used to maintain cleared ROW? (i.e. herbicides vs. machine.)
• Could all or part of this line that could be routed underground?

Roughly half of the existing transmission line runs through the Southwest Mountains Rural Historic District. The line runs up and over Hightop Mountain; consequently the height and type of the towers, as well as the cleared ROW, may be visible from locations far removed from parcels adjacent to the line. Given the SCC’s history of readily approving Dominion proposals, Dominion may feel little pressure to limit the height of these new towers—height being the primary visibility issue. Yet significant investment by the community and local landowners has preserved and protected this rural landscape; over 15,000 acres of the district are in conservation easement. It is possible that public input might compel Dominion to mitigate the impact of this new line not only by addressing its height and appearance, but by contributing towards the protection of additional parcels within the district.

Speak up

PEC urges Keswick residents who have concerns about this proposal to contact the following.

A strong stand by local residents will put PEC, the Community Advisory Group, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors, and other interested parties in a stronger position to convey to Dominion and the SCC those concerns. (So that we can maintain a record of comments offered, please CC to Jeff Werner at PEC any e-mails or letters you send.)

• Dominion Virginia Power: powerline@dom.com (refer to the Hollymead Line)/Carla Picard at 804-771-3455
• Albemarle County BoS; bos@albemarle.org
• UVa Institute for Environmental Negotiation: Frank Dukes - ed7k@virginia.edu
• Piedmont Environmental Council: Jeff Werner, jwerner@pecva.org or 434-977-2033
• Members of the Community Advisory Group, which includes several local residents.

Bob Gibson

David Hamar

Paul Peery

Richard Lutz

Ron Kerber

Sue Friedman

Wayne Bader

Natalie Chapman

Corky Shackelford

Joe Pratt

Lindsay Snoddy (Albemarle County Schools)

Cheryl Gomez (UVA Facilities Management)

Bob Hodous (Chamber of Commerce)

John Cruickshank (Sierra Club)

Robert Marmet (PEC)