WAYNESBORO – An ongoing eight-year battle against construction of a 1,000-foot-wide utility easement has now led to creation of a non-profit to protect county lands and educate the public, Rotary Club members learned last week.
Lori Rice, who heads Stop Transource in Franklin County, described her efforts to stop construction of a major electrical corridor across the county. Rice, a farmer and small business owner
who has been fighting the project since 2016, said Transource would run 29 miles through the county with a 1,000-foot right-of-way, cutting a swath through some of the area’s best farmland.
She told Rotarians the project “doesn’t work for farmers and landowners.” The fight has
extended through numerous court hearings, with a federal judge recently stating that the Pennsylvania Public Services Commission had no right to turn down Transource. That decision is
being reviewed in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and Rice said she is prepared to take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.
The experience has led Rice to found the non-profit Coalition to Protect Franklin County, of which she is CEO. The organization’s stated goals include protecting county agricultural land and waterways from
harmful projects, educating the public about best farming practices and land use, and distributing locally produced food to Franklin County residents in need.
