Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park - Transmission Lines in The Regional Park

Transmission Lines in The Regional Park

The W&OD Trail lies beneath a set of electric power transmission lines between its trailhead and the Dominion Virginia Power's Pleasant View Substation in Loudoun County southeast of Leesburg. The power company removes trees along this section of the trail to protect its lines, at times eliciting protests from members of the public and elected officials in the impacted jurisdictions. Trees shade much of the remainder of the trail.

In 2004, Dominion Virginia Power announced plans to extend its transmission lines in Loudoun County above ground from the Pleasant View Substation northwestward along the route of the W&OD Trail. In response, on November 15, 2005, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution of continued opposition to the installation of the proposed transmission lines along the Trail. The resolution stated:

Whereas, Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Virginia Power (“Dominion” or “Virginia Power”) has caused to be filed an application (the “Application:”) with the State Corporation Commission (the “Commission”) for the installation of a 230kV transmission facility within Loudoun County between the existing Pleasant View Substation and a proposed substation to be located east of the Town of Purcellville (the “Hamilton Station”); .....

Whereas, Loudoun County and its citizens will be best served and least damaged if the proposed transmission facility is placed underground and is not placed on the W&OD Regional Park (the “W&OD Trail”) in any configuration; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Loudoun, Virginia, on behalf of the citizens of Loudoun County, will continue to oppose any installation of the proposed facility along the W&OD Trail; and will continue to support the underground installation of the proposed facility if it is to be located within the County or any independent political subdivision of the Commonwealth located within the County; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Board of Supervisors will continue to work with the Town of Leesburg, other incorporated towns, state legislators, other stake holders, the Commission, The Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Power to achieve the purpose and intent of this Resolution, including the use of all legal means to ensure that any transmission facility is constructed in accordance with this Resolution.

Citing the impending loss of trees along its trail, the NVRPA asked the public on December 13, 2005, to oppose Dominion Virginia Power's application for the transmission line project in hearings that the State Corporation Commission (SCC) was planning to conduct as part of its review of the project. During 2005, 2006 and 2007, the NVRPA submitted testimony and briefs to the SCC that opposed the construction of transmission lines along the route of the trail.

The SCC nevertheless approved on February 15, 2008, a transmission line route that would travel above ground for 1.8 miles (2.9 km) along a wooded portion of the W&OD Trail between Leesburg and Clarks Gap. Less than three weeks later, on March 4 and March 5, 2008, the Senate and the House of Delegates of the Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed emergency legislation that ordered the SCC to approve the underground construction of the line along that section of the trail as part of a state-wide pilot program for the development of such types of transmission lines. Sponsored by Delegate Joe T. May (Republican - Loudoun), the legislation exempted the project from any requirements for further SCC analyses relating to the impacts of the route, including environmental impacts and impacts upon historical resources. The legislation went into effect when Virginia Governor Tim Kaine approved it on April 2, 2008. Soon afterwards, the power company asked the SCC to approve construction of the underground transmission line in accordance with the terms of the legislation.

The NVRPA expected the project to result in a significant loss of trees, as the power company planned to dig trenches on each side of the paved trail while installing duct banks to house its conduits. Supporting the NVRPA's expectation, Dominion Virginia Power noted that the environmental impacts associated with underground cable installation in suburban and rural areas are significantly greater than are those of overhead line construction. The W&OD Trail closed for a year in the project area while the power company constructed its underground lines. The trail reopened to the public in November 2010.