The need

Back in February 2007, Geauga County (OH) residents and property owners learned that two FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) subsidiaries had jointly applied for a certificate to construct a new 138kV power line on one of two routes from Lake County through Thompson, Montville, and Huntsburg townships. One route, designated “Alternate,” generally follows Clay Street; the other, the “Preferred,” runs inland and parallel to Madison Road (Rt. 528).

According to data supplied to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) in the application, the Preferred route (14.8 miles long) crosses 13,402 linear feet (more than 2.5 miles) of wetland, impacting 55.1 acres; the Alternate route (12.1 miles), crosses 2,662 linear feet (half a mile) of wetland, impacting 26 acres. In the process, the Preferred route crosses 58 streams, the Alternate route 26. The right-of-way itself will consist of a 60 ft. wide clear-cut corridor across farm fields, along rural residential roads, through forested areas some of which contain ancient trees with trunks many feet in diameter, and, in some cases may require the confiscation and demolition of occupied dwellings.

The response

The Citizens Advocating Responsible Energy (CARE) group is a non-profit grassroots organization with more than 100 members that has grown to oppose construction of the power line as specified in the application. While recognizing that additional electrical capacity undoubtedly is needed by industry in the southern part of our county, CARE members oppose the new construction in the proposed location:

• Because of the disruption its presence would create in untouched areas of the townships; and
• In the cause of preservation and conservation of productive farmland, wetlands, forest, and wildlife habitat; and
• In support of the right of our citizens to be left alone in the enjoyment of their property; and
• Because there do exist alternative civil corridors where this necessary power line could be sited with far less impact on the environment.

CARE's stated goal is the achievement of a socially, environmentally, and economically responsible solution to FirstEnergy’s facility upgrade problems in Geauga County.

Case No. 07-0171-EL-BTX, known as the Geauga County 138 kV Transmission Line Supply Project is before the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). Two public hearings will take place in the county this summer, and an Adjudicatory Hearing in Columbus several weeks later. The OPSB is current expected to produce a go/no go decision by mid-September. Our best chance to influence this decision is now.