This morning, the Jefferson County Commission decided to send a letter to Dominion Power requesting that the company hold a public information meeting in the county regarding their Mt. Storm - Doubs 500kV transmission rebuild project.  The letter will also request that Dominion answer specific questions raised by citizens at today's Commission meeting (that Dominion couldn't be bothered to show up for).  Dominion may think that they can continue to ignore the citizens and local government in Jefferson County, but I wouldn't advise that plan of (in)action.

Citizen Robin Huyett Thomas spoke to the Commission during public comment and advised them that certain lenders will not approve financing for homes within the fall zone of transmission towers.  There are many homes in Jefferson County that are already affected.  However, Dominion's plan to increase the height of its towers by another 30 feet will necessarily affect additional homes.

Keryn Newman spoke to the Commission during a scheduled agenda item on the rebuild and presented the detailed public safety questions posed by citizen Sharon Wilson, who could not be present for the meeting.  Sharon is concerned about the public safety aspects of access roads, proximity of the work zone to homes, coordination with local public safety/emergency services, and possible future road closures during construction (remember, Dominion's line crosses both Rt. 340 and Rt. 9, in addition to many other secondary roads).

Keryn also presented her own personal concerns that a design defect in steel lattice transmission towers has been known to the industry for many years, but it appears industry has made no improvements to their design.  Commissioner Pellish commented that one of the references in the abstract of a recent engineering study of the design defect that was presented to the Commissioners went all the way back to 1996.  Utility engineers have been aware for at least 16 years that transmission towers are subject to failure from downburst wind, but have done nothing to change the design or reinforce their existing towers.  The Commission wants to know whether Dominion's new towers are designed to withstand downburst wind.  A simple "yes" won't do.  Show us.

Lastly, Keryn spoke on behalf of the StopPATH WV, Inc. organization, who supports Dominion's rebuild project.  However, public relations is an integral part of any major infrastructure project and Dominion has failed to provide information to the public.  Public trust in utilities is at an all-time low in Jefferson County, the legacy of the PATH project that just keeps on giving.  Our goal is for the community to be informed about what to expect, where to get relevant updates and information, and for Dominion to develop an ongoing relationship and dialogue with the citizens of Jefferson County, who want to see this project completed quickly, safely and as cost-effectively as possible.

Now the question is -- will Dominion step up here, or will the company continue to pretend that their project only affects those with towers on their property, and that the rest of us haven't noticed or don't care.  We have and we do.  The ball is in Dominion's court.

Dominion has recently sent a letter to "property owner/resident" with information about the time table for their rebuild.  They have also finally updated their website to incorporate the information in the letter.  While it's more information than we had before, it doesn't really answer the public's questions about their project.

If you would like to "contact Dominion about its project" you can send an email to a generic email address or call a generic phone number where you and your questions will most likely be ignored, judging from the recent experiences of a concerned citizen.

Dominion doesn't want to answer real questions from real people, such as how the project will affect roadway access and public safety.  Or perhaps you have more complicated questions, such as wondering if Dominion's rebuilt towers are designed to withstand downburst winds, or should you expect that one of these towers could end up in your living room during a future thunderstorm? 

Dominion doesn't care to develop a positive relationship with the citizens of Jefferson County, or any other county affected by their project.  Just get out of their way while they go about their business and if this inconveniences or upsets you or jeopardizes your safety, too bad.  Dominion's really no different than PATH after all.

In response to the flood of inquiries and information we've been getting from throughout the county about Dominion's Mt. Storm - Doubs 500kV transmission line rebuild, Patience and I took a little field trip yesterday to see for ourselves.

We came away with the general feeling that on a planning and process level, Dominion isn't doing too badly (yet), but all the careful planning taking place in office buildings in Richmond isn't translating to "boots on the ground" behavior in Jefferson County by Dominion's contractors.  For instance, at one work site clearly marked "stay on mats," the only vehicles we saw onsite were parked off the mats!  In another example at a different site, a gate with a sign reading, "Keep Gate Closed at All Times" was open and chained to a post, with the closest visible crew at least 1/4 mile away on the other side of the road.  Either Dominion's contractors can't read their own signs, or they just don't care.  If this is how Dominion's contractors adhere to their own rules here at the beginning of the project, what's to happen in the future when activity speeds up to meet tight deadlines?

One of the things we found most frightening is the proximity of some of these towers (both existing and marked new) to occupied homes, certainly within the fall zone.  I'm sure Dominion has a plan to get new towers constructed and old ones demolished safely, but I wouldn't want to be there when it happens if they can't even follow simple instructions to close a gate or stay on a mat.

And the flow of public information from Dominion remains a dry well, and the inquiries from curious folks continue.  This demonstrates Dominion's fear of dealing with landowners collectively.  They'd much rather keep you isolated and feeling intimidated, powerless and dependent on the company for information.  This strategy does not demonstrate respect for landowners.

Dominion contractors showed up on Old Cave Road in Jefferson County today to begin work on a portion of the Mt. Storm - Doubs rebuild project, and immediately got down to business annoying residents and tearing up Willingham Knolls Park.

This is what that stretch of right-of-way looked like before Dominion showed up.

We'll be watching to see how it changes.  A conclusion that shows Dominion's respect for the landowners wouldn't see much change at all.

However, this is what happened when Dominion's contractors began cutting an access road:

Dominion's disrespectful contractors also made themselves at home by parking their unmarked vehicles in the entrance to the subdivision across the street from the work zone and blocking the road and residents' access to mailboxes and a school bus stop.  How rude!  If Dominion is working on Willingham Knolls Park property, there's a perfectly good gravel parking lot at the park just down the hill and a short walk from the work site.  A little exercise would do these fellas good.

Not quite the auspicious beginning you promised us, Dominion.  Please show a little more respect for the residents to foster a mutually beneficial working environment.  We'll be watching...