The next round of open house meetings for Valley Link will be held this month.
Late last month, Valley Link released new maps, showing updated routes for the Joshua Falls-Yeat Transmission Project. The joint venture project, of which Dominion is included, would run approximately 115 miles of 765kV transmission lines from Campbell County to Culpeper County crossing nine localities including Orange County. At 765kV, the transmission lines are the highest voltage, highest capacity transmission line type available in the country and would include structures between 135 and 160 feet tall requiring approximately 200 feet of right-of-way.
The updated maps reflect comments and ongoing routing research conducted since the first maps were published in March. The new routes fluctuate from the originals, moving further west in some areas of Orange County. The routes can be viewed at https://vltransmission.com/joshua-falls-to-yeat/#resources. A second round of open house style meetings has been scheduled in each of the impacted counties in June. The Orange County meeting has been scheduled for Monday, June 15, 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Orange County High School. Orange County’s meeting is the first of the nine county-located meetings, along with Spotsylvania which is scheduled for the same date and time. A virtual meeting has been scheduled for June 10, 12-1 p.m.
Orange County Planning Commissioners and Supervisors are continuing work to strengthen the county’s comprehensive plan ahead of Valley Link’s plan to submit the Joshua Falls-Yeat project to the SCC for approval in September. That approval is expected to take a year. The comprehensive plan is one of the documents the SCC considers as part of the application process. County leaders hope to strengthen the document in relation to transmission lines. The planning commission suggested 10 changes. Supervisors opted to instruct the commission to prioritize pursuing four of them. These include recommending that all transmission lines adhere to the county’s application process and prioritize the use of existing corridors over new corridors with deviations from the comprehensive plan requiring a special use permit or rezoning. Transmission lines should also be clearly identified in terms of location and impacts with studies and site inspections with a clear specific timeline for completion. Commissioners also suggest requiring all lines to be located underground for new transmission line developments in historically significant areas and environmental planned overlays. All electric lines should also use existing power lines not to exceed 500kV.
The commission will meet June 4 at 6 p.m. and is expected to begin work on the comprehensive plan changes at that time.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Farm Bureau has joined the conversation. The bureau recently sent an email to its members stating the agency’s board of directors is reviewing the Joshua Falls-Yeat Project. Based on county planning principles and Virginia Farm Bureau Federation policy, the board is considering a position that opposes the project as currently proposed. Before taking action, the bureau wants to hear from its members and has created a survey to do so. The survey allows farmers and landowners to share feedback and testimonials descriving how the project could impact their farm or property.
