by Audrey Thomasson
WHITE STONE—The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) on December 21 ruled against Dominion Energy’s plan to build 10 steel towers across the Rappahannock River near the Robert O. Norris Jr. Memorial Bridge to carry new transmission lines.
Instead, the SCC directed the utility to install a new line under the river along the 2.2 mile crossing from Greys Point to White Stone and gave Dominion 120 days to seek the necessary permits.
The commissioners wrote, “Given that attachment to the Norris Bridge is no longer feasible, the commission finds that the underwater construction as approved herein reasonably minimizes adverse impacts of the replacement line.”
Commissioners noted “underwater construction…satisfies the statutory requirements and best serves the total public interest within the parameters of the statute…
