Valley Link Faces a Political Wipeout

Among Elected Officials, Opponents Outnumber Supporters 149-0

Of 153 elected officials who have publicly stated their positions on the proposed Valley Link power line, 149 are opposed. 4 are undecided. And ZERO are in support.

These elected officials represent communities in the 25 affected counties in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.

This tally includes members of 15 county commissions that have unanimously approved resolutions opposing Valley Link. No jurisdiction has passed a resolution supporting Valley Link.

Elected officials who have yet to declare their positions are being contacted, and the tally will be updated as additional individual responses are received or other counties and cities take action.

The near-unanimous opposition to Valley Link is yet another blow to the much-maligned project. Last month a public opinion poll of residents in the 20 affected West Virginia counties showed opposition at 72%.

In a video released in late August, noted documentary filmmaker and revered interpreter of American history, Ken Burns, said Valley Link’s impact on Jefferson County and the lower Shenandoah Valley would be a “desecration.” Bass Pro Shops founder and influential
conservationist, Johnny Morris, added his voice to the "Say No To Valley Link” movement and said the power line’s impact on wildlife habitat would be “heartbreaking and irreversible.”

“I’ve followed politics in West Virginia for nearly 60 years, and I’ve never seen an issue or proposed project as discredited and reviled as Valley Link,” said Dan McGinn, one of the community organizers working against the proposed power line. “The support for Valley Link, as it’s currently designed, is undetectable. In the clearest terms possible, the public and their elected officials are telling the utility companies they need to start over. Valley Link promised to listen to the public’s views. They need to keep their word,” McGinn concluded.

WEST VIRGINIA OPINION POLL

5 Questions About the Valley Link Opinion Poll

A new survey of residents in the 20 West Virginia counties affected by the proposed Valley Link power line finds substantial opposition to the project. The findings also suggest that opposition increases as residents learn more about the proposal.

 1...What was the purpose of this research?

There has been a lot of discussion in West Virginia and nationally about the growing demand for energy, especially as it relates to data centers. The proposed Valley Link power line highlights these issues in the state, so we conducted a survey in the 20 affected counties to determine how residents feel about the benefits and risks of the project.

2...What were your key finding?

There were three key findings:

• First, the details of the Valley Link project are only moderately well known. 38% of respondents say they know very little or nothing about Valley Link.
• Second, after hearing pros and cons, 66% say Valley Link should go back to the drawing board.
• Third, when information is shared for and against Valley Link, opposition to the power line soars.  More than 70% believe its overall cost to West Virginians is too great.

3...How should Valley Link interpret this data?

 It's my job to be objective and factual. That's what I've always done with clients. But it's common after a research presentation for a client to ask me what I think they should do in response to the data. If I were in a boardroom with Valley Link executives, I would tell them this is a classic "good news, bad news" situation.

The good news is the public is still in the early stages of learning about Valley Link. The bad news is the more they learn about the various "costs" of the project, the less they like it.

Speaking bluntly, the more the public learns about Valley Link, the more they passionately dislike it.

4...What's your message to the "Say No To Valley Link"?

Their clear objective is to build awareness. As people learn about the plan to bulldoze 6,000-plus acres, damage or destroy farms, threaten historic sites and potentially imperil water resources, opposition grows and hardens.

Add in the fact that the principal beneficiary is data centers in Virginia, but West Virginians will have to pay the bulk of the costs, and it's easy to see why the public is saying Valley Link needs to go back to the drawing board.

5...What can Valley Link do to win popular support for this project?

Speaking as objectively as I can, I don't think this is a communications problem for Valley Link. In fact, I would caution them against making that assumption.

I've been doing surveys in West Virginia for more than 45 years. I know and trust the judgment of everyday West Virginians on matters that relate to their homes, families and state pride.

I don't believe the plan, as it's currently framed, will ever gain public support. To the contrary, I would expect views to harden and passions to grow.

"Almost Heaven, West Virginia..." Any time we hear John Denver's heartwarming song, we're transported back to mornings watching the mist rise off the Blue Ridge and feeling the soft current of the Shenandoah beneath a drift boat. Everyone who has ever hunted, fished, hiked, or camped in this cathedral of nature knows in their bones that this is one of the most Wild and Wonderful places on God's great earth.

That is why we were shocked and saddened to learn about a proposal by Valley Link for a 260-mile, 765-kilovolt transmission line that would clear-cut over 6,300 acres across 20 West Virginia counties, part of the Shenandoah Valley, terminating in Frederick County, Maryland. This would rip through a place where life is truly "older than the trees"—living waters, ancient timbered ridges, historic battlefields, and family farms, some of which have been in the same family since the 1700s.

A thought shared by many of our customers gets right to the point: there has to be a better way.

As Americans, we all know reliable electricity and energy security are vital to our economy and our communities. But progress cannot come at the expense of flattening centuries-old family farms, fragmenting vast stretches of forest, and scarring hallowed ground we cherish, including Civil War battlefields and properties owned by George Washington's family. The proposed route cuts directly through timberlands that provide habitat for white-tailed deer and wild turkeys, and impacts waters celebrated for smallmouth bass and alive with bald eagles and blue herons. Once you carve a 200-foot-wide industrial path and erect 180-foot-tall towers throughout these woods and waterways, the damage is heartbreaking and irreversible.

As fellow sportsmen and conservationists, we can all be proud of what we've done together to champion conservation and defend our sporting heritage. Before tearing through unspoiled land, utility partners and regulators owe it to future generations to consider other less damaging routes. And we must exhaust every modern, common sense, low-impact engineering alternative. By utilizing existing disturbed rights-of-way, upgrading current transmission corridors with advanced conductors, and exploring underground technologies where appropriate, we can power America without triggering one of the largest clear-cutting endeavors in West Virginia history.



We are inspired by and feel deeply compelled to stand steadfast alongside the landowners, sportsmen and women, farmers, and community leaders who are rising up to conserve one of America's most iconic wild landscapes. We're honored to join with our friends in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, who are urging public authorities to reject this currently proposed route and method and go back to the drawing board. We hope you'll stand alongside us to honor and protect the birthplace of Country Roads.

Let's stand united. We are proud to stand steadfast beside you in conservation, together we can continue to make a big difference.

AN OPEN LETTER