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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Majority
Leader Bill DeWeese |
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DeWeese lauds DOE decision to reconsider power line designations
HARRISBURG, Dec. 4 – House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese said today’s decision by the U.S. Department of Energy to have a rehearing on its designation of two federal electric transmission corridors is a positive step for those opposing the TrAIL power line in southwestern Pennsylvania.
“While I’m not ready to say we’ve won the fight, I think this slowdown by the federal government recognizes that my constituents and I don’t think the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is the proper way to solve the country’s energy problems,” said DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington.
“That law authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to use its federal eminent domain power to locate and construct transmission lines, regardless of what our own Public Utility Commission finds and rules. For several months now, I have been quite vocal that this is an unprecedented usurping of state’s rights and it’s just plain wrong.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy approved drafts of two national interest electric transmission corridor designations, including the Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor. The Mid-Atlantic designation stretches across eight states and the District of Columbia, encompassing more than 100,000 square miles and a population of almost 50 million.
Fifty-two of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties are included in the proposed Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor designation and are potential locations for future transmission lines.
On November 2, DeWeese wrote to the federal government requesting a rehearing of the federal corridor designation. (The letter can be found on DeWeese’s Web site http://www.pahouse.com/deweese/TrAIL_documents/Electricity%20Delivery%20and%20Energy%20Reliability.PDF.
“We understand the need for reliable power, and we are willing to do our part to ensure that the PJM grid can continue to meet the needs of American consumers and companies up and down the east coast. But we should not be willing to allow the federal government to impose its will, indeed its long arm, into our backyards, our green spaces or our lives.
“At the end of the day, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission should make the determination if a proposed power line is in the public interest - not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,” DeWeese said.
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