CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – Morre than 150 concerned Franklin County residents gathered at the New Franklin Ruritan Community Center last week for a “Community Call to Action” meeting where they received an update and asked questions about the proposed high-voltage power line project, which was submitted by the power company, PJM, and is known as Transource “Project 9A.”
The case to block the installation is led by the Coalition to Protect Franklin County, whose mission is to ensure and preserve the county’s agricultural heritage and environmental integrity. The case has made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pennsylvania state’s Attorney General Dave Sunday is leading the legal challenge, giving the coalition the boost they have been waiting for. Lori Rice, a representative of the coalition, led the evening discussion. She has stated the next steps for the coalition will be to file a supportive brief to assist the attorney general.
However, the coalition is not going to stop with just the brief. At the Thursday, April 6, meeting, Rice laid out a long-range set of plans designed to get community backing and support from state representatives. Joining Rice at the meeting were author, blogger and advocate, Keryn Newman and a representative from the Office of Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania Darryl Lawrence.
Newman, a community activist and an advocate for citizens engaged in protecting their homes was once successful in opposing the West Virginia Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline from destroying parts of the West Virginia landscape, and she also operates a blog created to help Franklin County citizens in the same cause.
Her presentation offered some insight into what the power line process has looked like since the proposal was suspended in 2021 by the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission, based on a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The community members in attendance had several questions, as many of their property’s faced the greatest risk from the proposed power lines. Answering the questions was Lawrence, whose field office oversees many of the concerns for Franklin County citizens pertaining to cases such as Project 9A.
“Can Transource come in and take our grounds without our permission?” one concerned community member asked. Lawrence responded that in order for Transource to take anyone’s property, they would have to get the approval from the PUC.
Other questions were centered around subjects such as hazards to wildlife and local plants. Could there be any health hazards due to the power lines being in such close proximity to homes? Most importantly, what could local property owners do for their voices to be heard?
Lawrence stated that one of the requests that will be made by his office will be to have in-person “public input hearings” where the local community can come in and state their grievances before the judge in an official capacity.
Other ways to have your voice heard are to file grievances and petitions to your local representatives and to Lawrence’s consumer protection office. Below are links to the websites to both his office and the Citizens to Protect Franklin County if readers would like more information about the case or have any questions pertaining to your own property.
Coalition to Protect Franklin County: https://www.ctpfc.com/
Office of Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania: https://www.oca.pa.gov/
