ASHBURN, VA – The Loudoun County Government requested on Monday that Virginia’s utility regulator suspend its final order on the route of the new Golden-to-Mars transmission line until the county and school board can meet to attempt to resolve their differences on the route.
The Loudoun County School Board filed a notice of appeal of the State Corporation Commission’s final order on Friday, the last day the case remains under the jurisdiction of the SCC, which regulates Virginia’s utilities.
According to the Loudoun County government, the county board of supervisors and the county school board will be scheduled to meet on July 29 to attempt to resolve their disputes over the route of the new transmission line.
The exact route of the new, roughly 6.5-mile route has been bitterly debated. Homeowners say a route that would include running 150-foot or taller poles through their neighborhoods and even backyards would destroy their quality of life, not to mention their property values. The county school board has so far refused to grant easements that would allow the route to cross school property, and a local homeowners association has even transferred its land to the school board in an effort to block a planned route that would have traversed their neighborhood.
The SCC ultimately ordered that the line be built along what it called a “clearly inferior” route, though its final order ignored the land swap between the HOA and school board.
LCPS and the Loudoun Valley Estates Homeowners Association both filed to appeal the order on Friday, and LCPS also announced its intention to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court. Those petitions argue, among other points, that the SCC failed to consider the land swap in its final order, overvalued Dominion Energy’s desired schedule in issuing its order and ending negotiation and has ignored new Virginia law making undergrounding some or all of the line more feasible. LCPS and the homeowners have argued for undergrounding, as has the county.
More Negotiation Scheduled
The county’s request implies that a possible resolution could come from the July 29 meeting, saying “meaningful progress” has been made in discussions to resolve the dispute “in a manner consistent with the reasoning underlying this Commission’s April 9th Order.” The April 9th order expressed a preference for Route 4, a short route that would cross school property.
Given the school board and homeowners' continued press for undergrounding at best and more negotiation at least, it’s unclear what resolution is on the horizon.
The county argues that a brief suspension of the final order will keep the case in the jurisdiction of the SCC and allow the matter to be resolved without litigation in other courts.
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Ashburn, VA Patch
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