Lake Erie electric line leaves Conneaut Township residents worrying what it will mean to wells, neighborhood
GIRARD — Victor Wheeler, a retired locomotive engineer, has lived for most of his life in the shadow of high-voltage electric transmission lines that pass through his neighborhood on Lexington Road in Erie County's Conneaut Township.
The massive lines that loom overhead don't bother him.
He's more concerned about the prospect of a new arrival to his rural neighborhood over the next year or two when work is expected to begin on the ITC Lake Erie Connector, a 73-mile electric transmission line that will carry up to 1,000 megawatts — enough electricity to power more than 800,000 homes — from Ontario, Canada, underneath Lake Erie, to an existing Penelec substation about a quarter mile northwest of his front door.
Wheeler and some of his neighbors are particularly worried about the final leg of the cable's southern journey.
"There are 17 homes within a quarter mile of that substation on Lexington Road," Wheeler said. "The power will be carried by underground cable. That is very touchy. We have very shallow wells here. The depth of most is about 10 feet. We are concerned about the quality of our drinking water. Once groundwater is polluted it's almost impossible to clean."
Douglas Lavery, his neighbor on the south side of Lexington Road, shares his concern about water quality along with some other worries.
One concern is the converting station that will be built in what's now a cornfield across the road from his house. The 60-foot-tall facility is expected to measure 150 feet by 300 feet.
"They said it would have two cooling fans running at 50 decibels," Lavery said. "At our last meeting in June, they said there would be multiple fans. We really don't know."
What he does know, at least in his own mind, is that he and his neighbors have asked a lot of questions, but received few answers during a series of visits by ITC representatives to their community and to a township meeting last year.
While Lavery said he worries about what a converter plant might mean to property values, he's most concerned about the quality and quantity of his water supply, which sits just 9 feet below the surface.
"We have as much water as you want," he said. He wonders if that will change when electrical cables are spliced together a few feet below that water table.
The answers he's heard from ITC haven't given him any peace of mind.
"We got vague answers," he said. "ITC said they will supply us with bottled water and a bulk tank until they get the water problem resolved if there is a problem."
ITC Holdings Corp., which identifies itself as the largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States, isn't saying exactly when work could begin.
“Now that we’ve completed all major permit approvals, remaining milestones in the project include completing cost refinements and securing favorable transmission service agreements with prospective counterparties," the company said in a statement. "At that point, we would be able to firmly establish an in-service date and proceed with construction.”
Among other approvals issued for the project, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued two permits for the project in May, including a state Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit and a national Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit for Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities.
While Wheeler said he believes there are residents of his neighborhood on both sides of the issue, Denise M. Fetterolf, a newly elected supervisor in Conneaut Township, said she's hearing mostly concern from residents who would like to see the power company use an alternate route to bring the power from the water's edge to the Penelec substation.
Dan Tercho, chairman of the supervisors, said his home isn't affected by the proposed construction plans, but he understands the concerns of those who would be affected.
"I have some concerns about the whole thing for our residents," he said. "I don't believe they (the company) have answered our questions reliably. I don't believe we can actually stop it, but I would like to have more regulations. I would like to have some guarantee if something goes wrong with their intended route."
No one, it seems, is questioning the merits of the project itself, which would allow electricity to be shipped either north or south across Lake Erie.
Power could be used anywhere on the PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission grid that includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
"On a grid, electricity flows to where it's needed most," said Scott Surgeoner, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp., the parent company of Penelec. Aside from the power being moved on a Penelec substation, the utility has no involvement with the project, he said.
"However it does provide another source of electricity into the United States," he said. "Any time you get additional sources, that is a good thing."
For his part, Victor Wheeler has lived for decades in the shadow of high-voltage lines and insists that neither he nor his neighbors are opposed to bringing power from across Lake Erie.
But they would like to be heard, he said.
"My neighbors have not carried this project to the point where we have protested," he said.
What they have done, he said, is ask questions, send letters to the appropriate authorities and done their own research.
"When reasonable people have reasonable concerns, they should stand up when it affects their way of life," he said.
ITC spokesman Bob Doetsch doesn't argue that point.
But in a statement in response to questions about water concerns, he said he believes the company has addressed most concerns.
"As with all transmission projects where ITC is involved, we worked cooperatively with landowners to ensure the most appropriate route was established to the benefit of all stakeholders and the environment," he said. "By facilitating the import and export of energy between the U.S. and Ontario, this line can help optimize renewable energy resources and satisfy renewable energy requirements in Pennsylvania and other U.S. states. In addition, the Lake Erie Connector would help improve the security, reliability and capacity of the respective energy grids."
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