Against the wishes of a vocal group, a Luzerne County Council majority voted Tuesday against a proposed moratorium on new southern county tax breaks.
Sugarloaf Township resident John Zola and other concerned citizens had urged council to impose the moratorium, arguing the potential loss of additional customers could put pressure on PPL Electric Utilities to change the route of its planned 12-mile, 500kV transmission line cutting through Nescopeck, Black Creek, Sugarloaf and Hazle townships.
Zola is among the residential property owners impacted by the transmission line path and created the Alliance to Stop the Line group pushing for a different route.
PPL has easements for the line but needs to widen them to proceed, which means the utility must seek to exercise its eminent domain power if property owners won’t agree to expanded easements. PPL said in a letter to council the alternate routes are also within the Nescopeck/Sugarloaf Valley region and would “shift the impact from one group of landowners to another.”
Harry Haas was the lone councilman to vote for the moratorium. Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton was absent, and the following voted against it: Joanna Bryn Smith, Patty Krushnowski, Kevin Lescavage, Chairman John Lombardo, LeeAnn McDermott, Chris Perry, Jimmy Sabatino, Brittany Stephenson and Greg Wolovich.
Several council members said PPL made it clear in recent discussions and communications that a county moratorium won’t stop the public utility from proceeding with its Public Utility Commission application to proceed with the line.
Stephenson said PPL representatives were “very direct” and “did not seem to care” about a moratorium.
Lescavage said increased power generation is needed to “maintain our lifestyle and things we enjoy every day.”
Wolovich said council heard citizen concerns about development in general and will more intensely grill companies seeking future tax breaks to determine if projects will benefit the county.
Echoing several colleagues, Bryn Smith, an attorney, said she sympathizes with the residents impacted by the line but believes the proposed moratorium has a “foundational issue” because it won’t impact PPL’s plans. She said each future tax break must be individually weighed and scrutinized. All prospective development must at least be considered because citizens often express the need for more employment opportunities for young people, she added.
Lombardo said the tax breaks apply only to blighted property, primarily coal mine-scarred tracts, and a moratorium could cause the county to miss out on viable projects on these sites, hurting the county’s future.
Haas said he viewed the moratorium as a “more global situation” and a tool to reexamine county quality of life.
McDermott said a county moratorium would not stop new development because school districts and municipalities also approve tax breaks and have not instituted bans.
Krushnowski agreed with this point, noting school taxes account for the lion’s share of real estate tax bills.
McDermott also said PPL indicated there will be other utility updates throughout the county.
The Alliance to Stop the Line posted on social media urging residents to speak out during Tuesday’s meeting in person or online to support the moratorium, saying it was a “key step to get PPL to move the proposed transmission line.”
A dozen people spoke in support of the moratorium.
Zola said the PPL line will impact 90 families — 60 directly and 30 indirectly.
After the vote, Zola and several others criticized council members. Zola predicted the county will become an industrial zone that prompts thousands to relocate here, overburdening infrastructure unable to support unplanned growth.
Andy Sanko, of Sugarloaf Township, said council should not fall for “PPL spin and half truths.”
State Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Ross Township, said he witnessed the negative impacts of data centers and transmission lines in Virginia and said he supported the moratorium because he does not want the same issues to occur here. He warned “project creep” will “continue until this area is gone.”
In another perspective, at least one southern county resident sent council an email urging public disclosure on the potential alternate route proposed by moratorium advocates, saying there are concerns it runs through the resident’s family farm and through or very near other farms, housing developments and residential properties.
PPL representatives sent an email to council Monday responding in writing to several questions.
Regarding whether the new line would be needed if no data centers locate in the county, PPL said “years of successful efforts to attract manufacturers to the region have led to an increase in large power users looking at making long-term investments in Luzerne County.”
“Due to this planned growth, we need to make transmission upgrades to meet the region’s needs while still allowing us to deliver reliable power to customers in this region,” it said.
PPL expects electricity demand to increase 16 times over current levels by 2030. In the greater Hazleton area alone, it has signed agreements for about 4 gigawatts of increased demand — the equivalent of approximately 500,000 homes, it said.
”We must plan and build facilities based on these load growth projections, including service requests for new customers. As a public utility, we have an obligation to serve all customers,” it said.
No displacements are necessary for the transmission line project, PPL said, noting it has no authority as a public utility to condemn or come within 300 feet of a house.
On citizen suggestions to put the line underground, PPL said that option is can be up to 10 times more expensive than overhead construction.
Multiple underground lines are necessary to equal the capacity of a single overhead line, it said. Underground lines also require more earth disturbance for trenching and can take substantially longer to repair — “a delay that could seriously affect reliable electric service,” it said.
“We consider a host of factors in siting transmission lines, including costs and potential impacts to the community and the environment, which are paid for by customers,” it said.
Referring to a past citizen public comment claim, council asked PPL if it is true that property owners were offered $1 for an easement. PPL said nobody is offered $1 and indicated it determines easement values through fair market value analysis from a certified appraiser and negotiation with the property owner to reach a mutually agreeable payment.
“We also consider reasonable counter offers from landowners during negotiations,” it wrote.
On the subject of noise from a 500kv transmission line, PPL said it newly constructed or rebuilt lines are engineered to operate at or below 50 decibels at the edge of a right-of-way.
“This level is equivalent to a common household refrigerator, according to Yale University,” it said.