Saw Creek takes on transmission line choice

BUSHKILL — Residents of Saw Creek Estates will gather Saturday at 10 a.m. to organize their response to PPL Electric’s proposed power line changes through their community. A coalition of residents, along with local legislators and the community’s board of directors, will speak on this issue, the facts associated with it and also what they can do to help stop the proposed change. Residents are concerned because three quarters of a million kilovolts of electricity will soon be running through their community, through their yards, over their roads and across their community pool if the process isn’t stopped. The line, known as the Susquehanna-Roseland, already exists with eighty-foot poles. The new poles would be more than twice the height, causing significant concern not only for environmental impact and aesthetics but more so for the health of residents. With a cancer cluster recently identified along these lines in New Jersey, and inconclusive results to assert that people near the lines are safe, the situation has garnered vehement backlash across the Delaware. The same line—there owned by PSE&G—threatens to loom 200 feet above quiet rural and suburban neighborhoods. The route, known as ‘Route B’, was selected in August out of three proposed options. The route travels directly through Saw Creek Estates and touches on several other communities. It also spans the Fernwood Resort on US Route 209 as well as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. PPL doesn’t even service the area. The electricity in the new line would service New Jersey. A community statement says this is strictly a numbers game. With the deregulation of electricity a scant year away, they contend PPL is looking to increase their output to fill their coffers. But for the people of Saw Creek who face uncertain health ramifications and the unsightly view of Statue-of-Liberty-height towers in their backyard, they worry that this numbers game may just shorten their lives. “How will three quarters of a million kilovolts of electricity running through our region affect everyone—humans, wildlife, vegetation? No one is certain. The residents of Saw Creek do not want to be the guinea pigs to test the theory,” the statement concludes. For more information, visit www.sawcreek.org . Also see an energy cost related story on page 5.