Latest news with #PrestonCountyCommission
Dominion Post
28-06-2025
- Business
- Dominion Post
Monongalia County Commission wants to sit down with NextEra
MORGANTOWN — After being inundated in recent weeks with correspondence and public comment against a power transmission project eyeing a potential route through parts of Monongalia County, the Monongalia County Commission is seeking an audience with NextEra, the company building it. The Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link, or MARL, is a 105-mile, 550-kilovolt 'major highway' of overhead transmission lines stretching from Greene County, Pa. to Frederick County, Va. It's to be constructed by NextEra by the end of 2031. While the exact path from Point A to Point B has yet to be selected, Monongalia, Preston, Hampshire and Mineral counties are within the route selection study area in West Virginia. Maryland's Allegany and Garrett counties are also included, as is Fayette County in Pennsylvania. The project will require a 200-foot right of way along its entire length, and some residents in the potentially-impacted areas have started organizing and voicing concerns about the possibility of an 'electricity superhighway' running through or near their properties. The possible impacts are made more disturbing, critics say, because rural parts of West Virginia will serve as no more than a pass-through in order to plug in a power hungry portion of northern Virginia that serves as the data center hub of the east coast. Monongalia County Commissioner Sean Sikora said representatives from NextEra initially indicated they would be in town, so the commission scheduled a work session following its June 25 meeting. 'After providing that availability, we scheduled a meeting and they indicated that they weren't available,' Sikora said. 'So, I relayed to them my displeasure that they didn't come to talk to us because we've been getting a lot of correspondence regarding this project, and we're not hearing from them. All we're hearing is from the public.' In an emailed response, NextEra Senior Development Director Kaitlin McCormick assured the commission that no decisions have been made about the route of the project, and that the path chosen by the company will ultimately be subject to review by the public service commissions of the impacted states. Further, she reminded the commission that the company recently held eight open houses across the project study area to collect public input. Lastly, McCormick reiterated NextEra's belief that the project could generate anywhere from $150 million to $400 million in tax revenue for West Virginia and $50 million to $100 million for Monongalia depending on the route selected. McCormick and other NextEra representatives originally sat down with the commission in December to generally describe the project and let the body know Monongalia County is within its route study area. Many of the communications being received by the commission of late are highlighting the actions of its Preston County counterpart. On May 29, the Preston County Commission passed a resolution opposing the MARL project as currently proposed and urging state and federal regulators, as well as NextEra, to halt any development of the project through Preston County. Sikora has said the Mon Commission is looking into the matter. 'The commission is doing its fact finding to understand all angles of the project. Just because we've been silent doesn't mean we're not getting educated on the issue,' he said. 'It's the intent of this commission to generally research issues and make sure we have all the facts before we weigh in.' It's expected that at least one member of the commission plans will attend a community-organized meeting planned for 1 p.m. Sunday at Rexroad Auction, located at 887 Rexroad Farm Road, in Bruceton Mills.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Preston County Commission opposes proposed multi-state power line
KINGWOOD, (WBOY) — The Preston County Commission approved a resolution Wednesday opposing the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link project by the NextEra Energy company, which would build a 100-mile extra-high voltage transmission line to help 'strengthen the backbone of the energy grid.' The resolution does not stop the project, but rather is a formal move made by the Preston County Commission to show that it opposes it. Dozens of Preston County residents expressed their concerns over the proposed project, while others said they were for it. NextEra Energy has held several open houses in the past few weeks across West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, where the proposed transmission line would go through. However, some Preston County residents, like Rachel Stevens, said questions still remain about the benefits to Preston County. 'They have answered a lot of my questions, but I still conclude at the end of it that this doesn't serve the people who are affected by the development of the project. That's my ultimate conclusion at this point,' Stevens said. These are the best schools in West Virginia, new 2025 report says 'There's just been nothing that has come to the forefront with dialogue with the Economic Development Authority that would even show anything great coming from this. There's no intention of dropping power into the Hazelton sub-station, there's nothing that could help promote economic development,' Preston County Commissioner Samantha Stone, who is a part of the Economic Development Authority, said during the meeting Commissioner Hunter Thomas was behind the resolution opposing the transmission line and worked on it. 'We're coming at this with opposition right at the right time…the filing deadline is Oct. 1, so if they're going to put the project through West Virginia, they're going to file and that's probably going to be the end of it. So we need to show our opposition and put up as much of a fight so they decide that West Virginia isn't the path of least resistance. West Virginia citizens don't want this going through our area, let's put it through PA, and PA should take the burden of the powerline because they're the ones creating the energy that gets to Virginia,' Thomas said. The commission received a letter from NextEra Energy with more details on what potential economic benefits would come to West Virginia and Preston County if the project goes through the area. In the letter, NextEra Energy's President Evan Yager said that based on the company's preliminary estimates, the line is 'expected to provide anywhere from $150,000,000 to $400,000,000 in incremental tax revenue to West Virginia.' Yager added that the range is dependent on the final route, which will need approval by the West Virginia Public Service Commission, but that if the route passes through Preston County, tax revenue is estimated to be between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000.' Despite the large monetary estimates, the letter does not specify a time period through which the tax revenue funds would come through, an omission that the commissioners focused on. Although the states and counties where the project is proposed to go through have been announced, it is still unknown what path the line will take. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Preston County Clerk announces plans to formally resign
KINGWOOD, (WBOY) — During a Preston County Commission meeting on Wednesday morning, County Clerk Linda Huggins officially submitted her letter of resignation, citing family issues as the reason for doing so, according to officials. 'I do know that […] she has some stress, you know, lately in the job and everything, and there's been a lot of issues,' Preston County Commission President Don Smith said. 'I think she just had a lot of stuff going on in her family life, and she just needed a break.' Smith told 12 News that according to Huggins, there may be other resignations this coming fiscal year in different sections within her office. He stated that Huggins requested for the Preston County Commission to bring in someone temporarily to overlap with another person that's leaving, to train this new person up until they officially resign. Smith said the commission didn't have an issue with this, but there was a thorough discussion about it during Wednesday's meeting. Smith said that the purpose of this was to make sure that everyone understood what the timeline was, when it was going to happen and other necessary details revolving around it. Huggins will officially resign from her position on Jun. 30, which Smith said is the close of the current fiscal year. The Preston County Commission will have 30 days to make an appointment at that time, per West Virginia Code 3-10-7. Despite USDA cuts, Preston County Schools says school lunch program will continue Smith said that since Huggins provided the commission with advance notice, they're able to now begin looking for potential candidates to fill the vacancy. The commission plans to meet next week to discuss its plans moving forward so that it can name someone almost immediately. 'Hopefully, it goes to where we do not have any gap,' Smith added. He stated that the Preston County Commission faced a similar issue last year, when the previous sheriff suddenly died. 'There's certain people you have to have to function as a county: one's a sheriff, one's the county clerk, and then the commission obviously,' said Smith. 'So those are people that have to be there.' Smith stated that Huggins has done the Preston County Commission a service by providing it with so much notice, adding that while it will help a great deal, she will be missed. 'It's gonna leave a hole in the county,' Smith added. 'I mean, let's be realistic, she's been the clerk for quite some time now. She's done a lot with the election and everything, she helped when we were upgrading the election equipment and things like that, she brought that to us and we were able to get that.' Smith told 12 News that Huggins was able to show the need for upgraded election equipment, which the commission was able to get funded through multiple sources. He also mentioned that Huggins played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Preston County Election Center, which he said worked out well, adding that things like that were very helpful regarding local elections. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
