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Planning commission hears AEP transmission upgrade, enforcement issues and Comprehensive Plan progress
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Summary
Commissioners heard an engineering update on mud tracked from logging, learned that AEP will add a 138 kV substation and short transmission line near Bluefield, and were briefed on Comprehensive Plan updates; members also discussed enforcement challenges and a proposed local Trash Ordinance.
Tazewell County officials used the April 14 Planning Commission meeting to review infrastructure updates and planning work that could affect future development in the Bluestone/Bluefield area.
Chairperson Ann Robinson told the commission that American Electric Power plans a transmission upgrade that will include a new 138-kilovolt substation and approximately a quarter-mile of 138 kV transmission line near the town of Bluefield. Robinson said the project is expected to begin in summer 2022 and finish by the end of 2023 to add capacity in the Bluestone area.
County Engineering Director Kenneth Dunford reported he had contacted the Virginia Department of Transportation about mud tracked onto the highway by a logging operation but had not yet received a reply. Member Eddie Pauley said state police had intervened and that the mud issue had been addressed. Dunford also reminded the commission that fines for illegal dumping had been raised in 2021 to the maximum permitted level (a Class 1 misdemeanor carrying up to a $2,500 fine).
Members discussed enforcement challenges tied to junkyards and river dumping. Pauley asked about a particular junkyard; Chase Collins said a title search found it was not grandfathered and Code Enforcement would be responsible for issuing citations. Robinson described continuing concerns about material being placed in the river at Falls Mills and said outreach to property owners had not resolved the problem. Commissioners suggested developing a county Trash Ordinance to present to the Board of Supervisors to create clearer enforcement tools.
Member Charlie Hart noted a new meat-processing center in Charleston, West Virginia, and said Curt Breeding would inspect the facility; Hart also announced a May 12 meeting at the Extension Office about a proposed cattle satellite plant in Tazewell County. Dunford and the Comprehensive Plan committee reported they met at 5:30 p.m. to continue updating the county’s Comprehensive Plan; Executive Secretary Kimberly Hilbert will circulate the next draft section to commissioners and the committee will meet again before the May regular meeting.
The meeting adjourned at about 7:28 p.m.; the commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for May 12, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.