On March 6, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic Butchko testified before the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee in support of SB 853 – Public Service Commissions – Transmission Line Siting – Limitations.
This bill limits the placement of new transmission lines to within 0.25 miles of existing transmission lines.
As the General Assembly debates how to address this and other energy challenges, one of the biggest underlying issues will be how to prioritize now competing state priorities (i.e., energy demands and environmental goals). Since transmission infrastructure upgrades may uniquely be accomplished by upgrading existing lines or using existing land, the state should take a longer look before approving a project that impacts land set for conservation.
Since the 1960s, counties and the State have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into conservation, and to date, counties have actively limited development in these preserved areas. The intent of SB 853 is to respond to the Piedmont Project by limiting new transmission lines to within 0.25 miles of existing lines. These are areas where the environmental, economic, and other various impacts have already been accounted for, and where barriers for new development should be relatively low. As transmission infrastructure upgrades may uniquely be accomplished by upgrading existing lines or using existing land, counties join the sponsor in wanting to protect the finite number of conserved lands.
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