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 May 10, 2010 Duke Energy answers the Complaint filed by Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County and moves the Commission to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. "The Company has reviewed the Complaint and replies to the allegations as set forth below. Any allegation not specifically admitted shall be deemed denied." |
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 Senator Joe Sam Queen, Senator Martin Nesbitt, and Senator John J
Snow speak out in support of the Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and
Swain County:"Dear Chairman Finley: This letter is in support of the Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County and their mission to halt and prevent the construction of a new 161 kv substation near an ancient cultural site known as Kituwah and to mitigate the negative impacts of the new 161 kv transmission lines placed through Swain County. Kituwah Valley was once the Cherokee's Mothertown and is the most historic and significant Native American site in North Carolina. Cherokee Indians from across the America come and pay homage to their cultural and ancestral homeland. It is also listed on the National Historic Places Register. The valley is one of the most publicly visible and scenic valleys in Swain County. Spanning approximately 350 acres of river edges and open spaces, the Kituwah Valley is bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad to the north and dozens of migratory bird species stop there each year during the migrations. We therefore give our robust support for the efforts of those who seek to protect this valley in Swain County as well as to those citizens who allege negative impacts from the 161 kv transmission lines recently erected. No citizen of North Carolina should have to live in fear that an easement for a small, lower voltage transmission line might soon evolve, without notice and an opportunity to be heard, into an easement for a more impactful, higher voltage transmission line. The legal question presented by the Citizens to Protect Kituwah valley and Swain County is of significant impact to all North Carolina's citizens. Because of that We gladly lend our support to the outcome that most effectively protects our citizens and the public policies that the law sought to protect when it was passed." | |||||
 April
23, 2010North Carolina Utilities Commission issues Order on Duke's Motion to Hold Proceedings in Abeyance IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED as follows: 1. That the Chairman notes Duke's commitment to halt construction at the proposed tie station and to refrain from any further extension of the proposed transmission line beyond the portion completed and energized on April 19, 2010, except for erosion control as needed; 2. That this commitment renders Complainant's motion for a stop work order moot and the oral argument to consider that motion, scheduled for April 27, 2010, is canceled; 3. That the Chairman notes Duke's commitment to engage in informal discovery and both Duke's and Complainant's to seek a settlement with all interested parties, and the Chairman urges the parties to pursue such discussions; 4. That, while settlement discussions proceed, the Motion to Hold Complaint in Abeyance is denied and Duke shall file an answer to the complaint on or before May 10, 2010; |
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 April
21, 2010The Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County file a response to Duke Energy’s Motion to Hold Complaint in Abeyance and Waive Oral Argument. "The Citizens request that it be given the opportunity to be heard on Duke Energy’s Motion. The Citizens do not object to the issuance of an order granting Duke Energy’s Motion to the extent that the order should reflect Duke Energy’s commitments to halt construction activities, to comply with discovery requests and to seek resolution of the issues with the Citizens and other interested parties. The Citizens object to Duke Energy’s Motion to the extent that it seeks to hold the hearing in abeyance for 60 days. " |
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 April
15, 2010Duke Energy Carolinas files its "Motion to Hold Complaint in Abeyance and Waive Oral Argument, and Opposition to Stop Work regarding the Complaint filed by Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley and Swain County." Duke Energy claims the Coalition's Motion to Stop Work is "moot" because Duke Energy has kindly chosen to observe the Swain County Moratorium...even though they do "not concede in any way to the moratorium's validity or legality." These photos were taken weeks AFTER Swain County passed their Moratorium on Construction. Evidently grading, installing insulators, pulling the lines, etc. doesn't count as "Construction?" That's not a very "Moot" looking Bulldozer....... |
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March 9,
2009
The Swain County Board of Commissioners have put a stop to construction at Kituwah ...at least for now. During a
Special Session, the Swain County Board of Commissioners passed a 90 day "Ordinance establishing a
moratorium on issuance of Swain County building and soil erosion
control permits for the construction of telecommunication towers and
utility substations, tie-in stations, and switching stations and any
and all buildings and structures associated therewith"
 Meeting
attendees applauded enthusiastically when the Ordinance passed, and a
smiling Commissioner Lindsay said "We don't get that very often."The 90 day moratorium will allow the Swain County Board of Commissioners time to draft permit requirements designed to prevent unregulated Utilities construction in the County. THANK
YOU SWAIN COUNTY!
 Construction at the Kituwah site appears to have ceased for the moment. Most of the machinery is gone, the mountain is silent...and scarred.   Click Images To Enlarge
Where is Duke Energy's Certificate of Compatibility? "We are probably going to have to send someone up there to inspect the site." Ya think???
Why won't the Utilities Commission enforce NC law? Why are citizens being forced to file extremely complicated "Formal" complaints, while Duke Energy is allowed to destroy an entire mountainside without ANY permits, certificates, environmental impact statements, etc. whatsoever? What kind of warped, Duke serving logic is at work here? � 62‑101. Certificate to construct transmission line. (a) No public utility or any other person may begin to construct a new transmission line without first obtaining from the Commission a certificate of environmental compatibility and public convenience and necessity.  UPGRADE?  How can an unregulated 66kV distribution line be considered even remotely "similar" to heavily regulated 161kV transmission lines and towers? Distribution lines do not require a certificate to begin with. All Duke Energy would have to do to completely circumvent the Statue is put in an unregulated 66kV distribution line anywhere they want, then "upgrade" it to a well regulated transmission line without having to comply with � 62-100. Why was Duke Energy given an "Express Review" of their Erosion Control permit after claiming only 9 acres of land would be disturbed, when their own construction plans clearly show the development to be 3-4 times larger than claimed? 
EXPRESS? 
How can this level
of environmental destruction qualify for "Express" anything?
Please call the Utilities Commission Chairman, Edward S. Finley at 919-733-0829 and specify that you wish to file a FORMAL complaint against the Duke Energy Substation in Kituwah Valley ..without having to spend thousands of dollars on an attorney. Be persistent, and don't let them slough you off to the "Public Staff" division. Complaints submitted to the NCUC Public Staff Consumer Services Division (919-733-9277) have proved to be COMPLETELY USELESS! Citizens have been registering such complaints for weeks via phone, fax and email with NO effect whatsoever. According to NC Utilities Commission Chairman Ed Finley: "At present there is no action pending before this Commission addressing the Duke facilities at issue." WHY
NOT????
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