Calhoun County is among the many in West Virginia who are doing what they can to prevent a transmission line from cutting through the heart of our County. During Monday’s County Commission Meeting voted in unanimous support for a resolution to oppose Valley North’s plans. All three commissioners signed the resolution on the steps of the county courthouse after the unanimous vote.
The 260-mile transmission line will make its way through 15 counties in West Virginia and help offset grid stress from proposed data centers across three states.
No one in Calhoun County, not a single person, has come to the commission in support of the Valley North transmission line project, Lupardus said. The commission meeting Monday night in Grantsville had standing room only.
Staff with Valley North have said that the transmission line would create construction jobs and build out the possibility of strengthening local grids along its path. Although local meetings have been held to discuss the project the company has refused an invitation to host a town hall to talk about those benefits.
In a social media post from Joyce Wilson of Barbour County she made the following statement
The Calhoun County commissioners said they plan to send Monday night’s resolution to the West Virginia Public Service Commission which they say have eminent domain of the lands where the project would be constructed at.
I appreciate that the County Commission signed a resolution stating that they collectively oppose the Valley Link Project.
However, the resolution does not mean that the project is not going to go forward.
The decision will be made by the WV Public Service Commission.
This commission has three people on it who are not elected. They are appointed by the governor.
Charlotte Lane is the Chairwoman. She was appointed in 2019
Commissioner Renee Larrick. She was appointed in 2017
Commissioner William Raney. He was appointed in 2021
Governor Patrick Morrisey
These are the people you need to be contacting.
You can also file a public complaint with The WV Public Commission by call 1-800-642-8544 to file an informal complaint.
You can submit a complaint online via the WV PSC E-file request for Assistance or by mailing a letter to:
WV PSC
201 Brooks Street
Charleston, WV
25301
One more thing, you can go to the Secretary of State Webpage and see who received campaign donations from FirstEnergy and how much they received.
WV SOS – 866-767-8683
Monday – Friday 8:30 – 5:00
SOS.WV.GOV
The county commission also said they plan on trying to unite all 15 counties where the line would be built through in opposition of the project.
Commissioner Craig Arthur Stated on a Tuesday Social media post “Yesterday evening was just the beginning of the fight. I realize after talking with several folks there are a lot of people who still want to hear from me, and hear what I have to say. My heart was born here and will one day be buried in these beautiful hills. I have often wondered why God picked this journey for me, but times like last night reiterates that God chooses people with the right hearts. My love for this county and the people won’t ever stop. I am needed and am being called on to continue this leadership until the end on behalf of the citizens. I am far from a perfect person, but God never really chooses perfect people, he chooses genuine caring hearts. I love you all, and I will continue this fight until another path that doesn’t go through Calhoun is chosen! Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support, and may God bless each one of you!”
