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Resident urges commissioners to oppose Senate Bill 399 and protect state forests from transmission lines
Summary
A resident urged Allegany County commissioners to oppose Senate Bill 399, which she said would exempt protections for several state wildlands to allow high-voltage transmission lines adjacent to existing corridors.
A public commenter identified as Sharkey asked the Allegany County commissioners to oppose Senate Bill 399 and requested that the commissioners send a letter to state Sen. McKay asking him to withdraw the bill.
Sharkey said the bill — which she said was scheduled for a committee vote March 6 — would exempt protections for state forests including Big Savage Mountain, Bear Pen and Dans Mountain to allow high-voltage transmission lines to be routed adjacent to existing power corridors. She said those ecosystems provide clean air and water and are important for recreation and tourism.
Sharkey described high-voltage transmission corridors as wide and disruptive, saying, "You've got a power line. It's 200 feet wide... they’re high voltage lines. You're gonna need at a minimum another 400 feet in between them," and argued that the full scope and route of the proposed project had not been publicly disclosed. Sharkey said the lines would supply data centers in Virginia and that public meetings had been "by invitation only." She asked the commissioners for a formal letter requesting withdrawal of the bill and more public information.
Commissioners did not take action on the request during the meeting; the transcript records the comment and the request for a letter but does not record a formal direction or vote on the matter.
