Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
PEC Basks in Glow of Court Victory
PEC Basks in Glow of Court VictoryBy Bill Walsh
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
It's impact on Dominion Virginia Power's plan to run a 500-kv power line across the Piedmont is non-existent, but that hasn't stopped the Piedmont Environment Council (PEC) and its supporters from celebrating a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
If the Warrenton-based environmental advocacy can't stop Dominion this time — and it is still trying, with an appeal before the Virginia Supreme Court — this ruling will make it better armed for the next fight.
PEC attorneys filed the appeal in December 2006, shortly after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finished writing the rules and regulations that governed how the Energy Policy Act of 2005 would be implemented.
"What FERC came up with was a regulation that said...if a state denies a [power] line or withholds approval for more than a year, then FERC should be able to review it," explained Bri West, who works on special projects for PEC.
"There was a dissenting opinion that said a denial shouldn't be included [in the rule] because 'deny' and 'withhold' are not the same word," West said.
"The dissenting opinion said that if Congress meant to say deny, lawmakers would have said it."
In other words, what was being defended in the appeal was a state's very right to stop an inappropriate utility project.
"When we were reading the dissent, we decided that that was a really good point," West said. "So we filed the appeal."
For the complete story, see the March 4 Times-Democrat.
You must be logged in to post a comment.