Judges tour Transource power line route to explore impact on school and trout stream

A sign opposing the power line sits at Falling Spring Creek. Officials from the Public Utility Commission visit the Tim Cook Memorial Cross Country Course at Falling Spring Elementary School on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. A proposal is in the works for the Transourse high voltage power line to cross near the property. (Photo: Markell DeLoatch, Public Opinion)

(Chambersburg) — Administrative law judges from the Public Utility Commission on Tuesday visited several places in Franklin County where Transource Energy wants to erect a high-voltage transmission line.

They walked part of the Chambersburg Area School District’s cross-country course at Falling Spring Elementary School. They also saw where the line would cross the Falling Spring, a picturesque coldwater stream that supports a wild trout population.

Transource has proposed stringing wire on mono-poles for 29 miles from Shippensburg to Ringgold, Md. A 16-mile line also would run through southern York County. Residents in both counties have organized to fight the project.

A lot of parents are concerned about the power line that could parallel the CASD cross-county course and come to within about 700 feet of the elementary school, school officials told the PUC judges.

“It wasn’t on our property initially,” said Carl Barton, a member of the Chambersburg Area school board. “Now it’s appeared.”

CASD Superintendent Joseph Padasak said that during cross-country meets up to 1,000 runners and spectators can line what is considered to be “one of the best cross country courses in the Mid-Penn” Conference.

“I sit on my front porch and I see them on the cross-country track after hours,” said Allan Stine, a neighbor. “It’s sort of all times. If we have even one child hurt, it’s not worth it.”

School principal Sarah Herbert said Falling Spring Elementary, a Blue Ribbon school, has about 275 pupils and 36 staff members.

About 20 people attended the site visit. Several expressed concerns about children’s exposure to defoliants used to control vegetation under the power lines and electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage lines.

If the line were constructed between August and November, the school district would have an additional expense of about $1,000 per cross-country meet for busing runners to another location, according to Padasak.

The judges also visited the place where the Transource line would cross the world-renowned fly-fishing stream. Trout Unlimited members marked with red tape the wide swath that would be cleared near Garman Drive for the power line.

Trees and vegetation would no longer shade the stream in the area, which would damage the habitat for fish and the insects they feed on, according to Chris Rudyk, vice president of Falling Spring Chapter of Trout Unlimited. There’s also a danger of defoliants running into the stream. Many defoliants approved for use in Pennsylvania cannot be sprayed in California, New York or Delaware, Rudyk said.

Warren Christman, chapter president, said blasting during construction could impact the flows to the limestone creek.

“It kinda messes up the scenic vista,” he said. “It’s just not a good thing.”

Trout Unlimited and Falling Spring Greenway have acquired more than $1 million in grants through the years to preserve the stream, according to chapter co-founder Terry Ward.

The PUC site visit was a formal proceeding. Judges Elizabeth Barnes and Andrew Calvelli listened to sworn testimony. A court reporter kneeling in the grass recorded the comments. A PUC photographer took pictures. The PUC has scheduled property visits in Franklin County again on Thursday and in York County on Friday.

The PUC last week heard testimony from 108 people about the proposed western route of Independence Energy Connection Franklin County.  The hearings were held May 22 and 23 at the New Franklin Fire Hall.

State Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, was among those testifying.

“As a legislator, I have no official governmental authority over this quasi-judicial process,” Kauffman said, “but I can use my voice as an affected resident of Franklin County and representative of the people of the 89th District as part of the public-input process.”

Many area property owners as well as the Chambersburg Area school board, Quincy Township supervisors, Franklin County Area Development Corporation, Franklin County Visitors Bureau and South Mountain Partnership oppose the 230 kV line that would bring cheaper electricity mainly to consumers in the Baltimore-Washington area.

The legal process in Pennsylvania will extend into next year, the year that Transource expects to begin construction. The PUC is to hear main briefs on Feb. 1 and replies to the briefs on Feb. 28.

The school board is to vote in June on whether to grant a right of way to Transource on school property. The board meets next at 7 p.m. on June 12 in the administration building, 435 Stanley Ave.

“That will be a robust public discussion,” Padasak told PUC judges.

On Tuesday, Padasak said it was unclear what the board’s consideration will be — allowing Transource onto the property for the next 15 months, and selling a temporary or permanent right of way, for $320,000.

Franklin County Judge Todd Sponseller recently ruled that as a utility Transource could access properties in Franklin County to conduct surveys and to drill test holes for possible pole foundations. A judge with the York County Court of Common Pleas