WASHINGTON, D.C. - A U.S. congressman has added his voice to those who seek to protect Camp Allegheny, the Civil War battlefield now considered endangered by the industrial wind energy utility under construction nearby.

Congressman Nick J. Rahall II (D-3rd District) of Beckley represents 17 counties in West Virginia, including Pocahontas County, where the battleground lies; he is serving his 17th term in office, and serves as chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources. Last Thursday, Aug. 27, he wrote to William Chambliss, chief counsel at Virginia's State Corporation Commission, "to express my concern over the impact the Highland New Wind Development project will have on historic resources such as the Camp Allegheny Battlefield, a site on the National Register of Historic Places," Rahall said.

Last week, the SCC opened up a new case to hear testimony from Virginia's Department of Historic Resources and Highland New Wind Development LLC. The DHR alleged HNWD was not meeting one of the conditions in its SCC permit, to work with DHR on archaeological surveys and view shed analyses. DHR said it needs those studies in order to help HNWD plan the project's design to mitigate impacts to the battlefield, and any other historic resources.

"In this regard, I commend the State Corporation Commission for its order dated August 26 to conduct a public hearing on September 23 into the allegation filed by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Department of Historic Resources that Highland New Wind Development has failed to comply with the SCC's final order approving the wind project permit," Rahall wrote. "In
addition, I share the views set forth by the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program in Chief Paul Hawke's letter to you dated August 26."

Further, Rahall said, "As the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the National Historic Preservation Act, please know that I take seriously any threat to a valued and noteworthy historic resource such as the Camp Allegheny Battlefield in the sovereign State of West Virginia. I urge the SCC to not only hold a public hearing on this matter, but to fully investigate the issues raised by the Department of Historic Resources and the National Park Service."

Now that the state permit has been called into question, Highland County supervisors are focused on the SCC's decision about whether HNWD is meeting its conditions. The county's conditional use permit for the project contains a condition that all state and federal approvals must be met. If the SCC finds HNWD out of compliance at the state level, county attorney Melissa Dowd says that would mean the developer is not complying with the local permit, either, and a stop work order would need to be issued immediately.

Pocahontas commission president Martin Saffer said Wednesday, "It is encouraging to have the support of Congressman Rahall. He has always been very responsive to all our concerns in the county. He understands the importance of this historic landmark to the people of West Virginia who he so ably represents."

Richard Laska, who owns land adjacent to the battlefield in Pocahontas, was encouraged by Rahall's position as well.

"We are very proud of our Representative Rahall," he said. "He stands up for the people and against selfish private interests. The voters of Highland County should demand more of the people they vote for. They don't need to settle for the worst when they can elect the best."

Susan Pierce of the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office said last week that her agency has been kept informed by DHR about the project over the last couple of years. "We do have a state review process" for projects that could impact historic places, she said. It includes identifying those resources, evaluating the effects of a project, working with the public, and
attempting to mitigate negative impacts, she explained.

But, the SHPO has no authority over projects in Virginia. The 400-foot towers in the battlefield's viewshed introduce an element to the landscape that did not exist at the time of the battle, she noted. "In general, visual impacts are secondary, but this does change the character of the setting."

The SCC has set a deadline of Sept. 14 for DHR and HNWD to submit briefs before the Sept. 23 hearing in Richmond.