QA: What are next steps in power line application?

By Bill Moss, Published: August 13, 2015

Many people following the Duke Energy transmission line story have questions about the process for reviewing and approving the project. The project would be approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission and is not subject to local planning and zoning ordinances.

Here are answers to some of the questions that landowners have. The Hendersonville Lighting interviewed James McLawhorn, the electric division chief in the office of the public counsel, about the application, review and approval process. Other answers come from the Lightning’s review of the rules of the N.C. Utilities Commission (R8-62) as they relate to transmission line sitings.

What is the process at the state level?

Duke must file with the N.C. Utilities Commission an application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Necessity for the Construction of Electric Transmission Lines, according to the rules of the Utilities Commission.

What does that include?

It includes an explanation of why it’s needed, a description of the proposed route and alternative routes, a description of the structures including their average height, corridor width, capacity and voltage level and operation and maintenance plans. An environmental report includes effect on natural resources, cultural resources, land use and esthetics, any proposed mitigation of environmental effects, and alternative routes for the proposed line. Duke must also list residential, commercial, industrial and institutional development and other man-made features and natural features that influenced the proposed route and “how they were considered in the selection process.”

Has Duke filed an application?

“What they have done so far is very typical of the process when a new transmission line is proposed,” McLawhorn said. “As of now there is no filing. At some point they will file. They must get a certificate from the Utilities Commission before they can begin construction of a line of this size. There’s a statute that governs siting of transmission lines in the state and the commission has its own rules that dictate what type of information they must include in the filing. If there is significant public interest — and I am sure there will be in this case, because there already is — it will schedule one or more public hearings. There will be opportunity for public input and, yes, the commission can weigh that input and it could say, even if they find that the line is needed, they could question, when they (Duke officials) select the final route, the commission could question that.”

So it is likely that the Utilities Commission will hold a hearing?

“Ultimately it’s their call. In situations like this in the past they have always scheduled hearings. It is very typical, if there is interest — and particularly if other parties write to the commissioners — that the commission will hold a hearing.”

Would it in Raleigh or in Hendersonville?

“There will be definitely be one in Raleigh but I would not be surprised that they would schedule one in the area where the line will be located.”

What will the Utilities Commission consider in making its decision?

“First of all they’re going to look at the need. Is the line needed or is there some other solution to the situation that exists other than building the line? If they decide that the need exists, then they’ll look at what other options were available and were considered. If it appears that the transmission line is the best option they will look at the route that has been chosen. They’ll look at it for cost, to make sure that there aren’t better, less expensive alternatives. They will look at the impact on the surrounding area. Duke has to file several environmental reports. They’ll review that study. It will show the impacts of the route, that there’s this many houses within X number of feet of the route or that there’s certain wetlands, national parks or state parks — that will all be detailed in the application.”

They will look at things like historic properties?

“The application will go through the state clearinghouse, which means the Department of Cultural Resources will get a copy of the application so they will do their own assessment of the location of the proposed route and what historical, cultural or other resources that may be disturbed.”

Would the Utilities Commission consider an argument that the line has a negative economic impact on tourism or farming?

“They would take that into consideration. They would look at the preponderance of the evidence. They don’t get down into the weeds to try to say, if it goes this route, it might hurt farming this much, if it goes this other route it might hurt farming slightly less. They’re not going to micromanage the route. If it was heavily leaning one way they would take that into consideration.”

When the case is before the Utilities Commission, who has standing to speak and oppose the power line?

“Anybody that is directly affected by the proposal,” McLawhorn said. “They would need to intervene. The standard practice would be they would need to hire legal counsel to represent them before the commission. As an individual, if you come as an individual property owner you can represent yourself. If you’re an organization or a group that wants to collectively intervene before the commission, then they would need legal counsel. You can represent yourself just like you can in any other court but you can’t represent other people unless you’re an attorney.”

How do people or organizations intervene?

Within 100 days of Duke’s application filing, the Utilities Commission rules say, people or organizations “desiring to intervene and having a substantial interest” in the case may file a petition to intervene “setting forth interest and basis for intervention.”

Could Henderson County or a city intervene?

Yes, the Utilities Commission says, although they are limited in their authority to do so on the grounds of local ordinances. “Local ordinances brought forward by municipalities or counties shall be presumed to be in the public interest; however, the Commission may find that the greater public interest requires preemption of the local ordinance,” the rules say.

Posted: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 6:30 pm

Visitor Spending Rises in 97 North Carolina Counties in 2014

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• Posted on Aug 11, 2015

  by
  
  Sandy Selvy-Mullis
  

Raleigh, N.C. — Governor Pat McCrory and Department of Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla, III announced today that 97 of the state’s 100 counties saw increases in visitor spending in 2014. Data from Visit North Carolina showed that visitor spending neared $5 billion in Mecklenburg, topped $2 billion in Wake and topped $1 billion in Guilford and Dare counties. Rounding out the top ten counties for visitor spending in the state were Buncombe ($963 million), Forsyth ($785 million), Durham ($700 million), New Hanover ($508 million), Brunswick ($496 million) and Cumberland ($490 million) counties.

Domestic visitors spent a record $21.3 billion statewide in 2014, an increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year. State tax receipts as a result of visitor spending topped $1 billion in 2014, and local tax revenues directly resulting from visitor spending totaled more than $636 million. Visitor expenditures directly supported 204,909 jobs and generated more than $4.9 billion in payroll income across North Carolina.

“Tourism is a major force in North Carolina’s economic development,” said Governor McCrory. “The industry is fueling a continued growth in jobs and contributing substantial sums to the state budget and local economies in every corner of our great state.”

Secretary Skvarla added, “Nothing compares with our state’s diverse natural beauty and rewarding experiences at every turn. We can take pride in North Carolina’s position as the sixth most-visited state in the nation with nearly 50 million overnight visitors in 2014.”

The visitor spending figures come from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina and conducted by the U.S. Travel Association. The study uses sales and tax revenue data, employment figures and other industry and economic data to determine the overall impact of visitor spending in North Carolina. Highlights include:

Mecklenburg County received $4.9 billion in domestic travelers’ expenditures to lead all of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Wake County ranked second with $2.0 billion, followed by Guilford County with $1.3 billion.

The largest percent increases in visitor spending were seen in Orange (7.7 percent), Cabarrus (7.6 percent), Carteret (7.3 percent) and Moore (7.1 percent) counties. Dare County followed with a 7.0 percent increase, followed by Union (6.9 percent), Buncombe (6.8 percent), Beaufort (6.6 percent), Iredell (6.5 percent) and Wake (6.5 percent) counties.

Positive spending growth was seen throughout the state’s regions. The Southwest (6.2 percent) and North Central (6.1 percent) regions experienced the strongest growth, yet all eight regions had spending growth of 4 percent or more from 2013 to 2014.

Mecklenburg County had the largest number of direct tourism employees (48,327) and the largest payroll ($1.6 billion). Four other counties had more than 10,000 direct tourism employees: Wake (21,143), Guilford (12,761), Dare (12,304) and Buncombe (10,227).

Ninety percent of the state’s counties saw direct tourism employment growth in 2014. Counties with the largest year-over-year increases in direct tourism employment: were Cabarrus (5.3 percent), Orange (5.2 percent), Moore (4.8 percent), Dare (4.7 percent), Carteret (4.7 percent), Union (4.6 percent) and Buncombe (4.5 percent).

Full tables are can be accessed at partners.VisitNC.com. For more information about the travel impact numbers, contact Visit North Carolina.

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Sandy Selvy-Mullis is publisher of The Stanly News Press.  Contact her at (704) 982-2121 ext. 27, sselvy@cnhi.com or PO Box 488, Albemarle, NC 28002.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2015 6:30 pm.