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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Majority Leader Bill DeWeese |
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DeWeese, Specter discuss electric corridor issue
HARRISBURG, March 10 – On the heels of last week’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy denying a rehearing of the federal electric transmission corridor designations, House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese today held a private meeting with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter about the issue.
“Senators Specter and Bob Casey Jr. remain steadfast in their commitment to ensuring that the electric corridor does not go through nearly the entire Commonwealth as well as several other states without additional scrutiny at the federal level,” said DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington. “I am encouraged by their willingness to work in a bipartisan manner on this issue that has the potential to affect so many Pennsylvanians.”
DeWeese met in his Harrisburg office with Specter, who was at the state Capitol for other unrelated events.
Last month, DeWeese and 38 of his House Democratic colleagues supported Specter and Casey by writing a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources seeking oversight hearings and a U.S. Senate investigation into the implementation of the 2005 federal law that allows power lines to be built across 52 of 67 Pennsylvania counties without input from the Commonwealth or local authorities.
That law “has the potential to disrupt the fundamental balance of power between local, state, and federal governments in land use issues,” DeWeese and the others wrote.
In January, DeWeese joined Casey, local community activists and other public officials for a panel discussion on the issue in Harrisburg. In June 2007, the state House adopted House Resolution 297 sponsored by DeWeese opposing the designation of most of Pennsylvania as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. In April of last year, DeWeese traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before Congress about the consequences for public and private property regarding the corridors.
“We’re in the midst of a long fight, but it is gratifying to see local residents, interest groups throughout Pennsylvania and elected officials at every level of government join together in fighting the Department of Energy’s refusal to reconsider the 2005 Energy Act, which extends the long arm of the federal government into matters that routinely have been decided by the states,” DeWeese said.
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CONTACT: Tom Andrews Press Secretary |