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Resident asks county about NextEra transmission project; commissioners say county has no role yet
Summary
A Monongalia County resident told commissioners the Mid Atlantic Resiliency Link route may cross her family land and asked what tax or notice arrangements would apply. Commissioners said they had no active role and encouraged the resident to seek more information from the project developer and regulators.
Juliet Marlier, a Monongalia County resident whose family-owned property on the Rubles Run backwater of Cheat Lake has been in her family since 1959, told the Monongalia County Commission on May 28 that her parcel is one of the proposed routes for NextEra Energy’s Mid Atlantic Resiliency Link transmission towers.
“There will be harmful to me personally if that came through my property because … we do woodland stewardship, and we’re trying to keep it, not industrialized, basically,” Marlier told the commission during the public-comment segment.
Marli er asked what benefit the county would receive from the project, whether the company would pay taxes or a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement, and how residents would be notified about regulatory hearings. “So any information along that I would be really appreciated,” she said.
Commissioner Sean responded that, to date, the county has no formal involvement with NextEra’s project. “We don’t have any involvement in the project. So that’s really a lot of what you’re telling us is kind of we’re hearing it for the first time,” Sean said. He added that much of the process for large transmission-line siting is handled by the Public Utility Commission and that the county would be notified if there were a formal request requiring county action.
Sean said he was willing to be educated on the project and invited Marlier to stay after the meeting to discuss it further. The commission did not take any formal action during the meeting on the transmission line, and no petition, resolution, or request for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement was on the agenda.
Why this matters: Transmission-line routes can affect private property rights, land-use patterns and tax revenues, and they typically involve state-level siting or permitting processes. Marlier asked for clarity on taxation, tax breaks and public-notice procedures; the commission said it had not received a developer proposal or formal request to negotiate any county agreements.
Where to get more information: Marlier was advised to seek documents and notices from the project developer and from the state regulatory agency that handles utility siting and permitting. The commission offered to meet privately with her after the session to discuss what they know and to help direct her to the appropriate regulatory contacts.
No further county action on the project was scheduled at the May 28 meeting.
