The PATH Project has been terminated!
We thank all our supporters for their generous donations that contributed to our success in stopping PATH!

All funds donated were used exclusively for expert witnesses, legal expenses and outreach efforts. We were an all volunteer organization, so every penny you donated went directly to stopping PATH.

In 2010, StopPATH WV, Inc. kicked-off a new fund-raising campaign to raise funds for our legal fight before the PSC.  We have retained attorney Brad Stephens of Morgantown, who was successful in getting the TrAIL power line moved away from his clients in that case.  We will also be hiring expert witnesses to testify on our behalf during the hearings.  Although the power companies will spend millions on attorneys and experts, they will be reimbursed for all their costs (plus a 14.3% profit) by electric consumers.  We have no such unlimited funding scheme, but are required to pay all our own expenses in order to have a voice for the citizens before the PSC.

StopPATH WV is a Jefferson County grassroots citizens’ group comprised of property owners and concerned individuals whose goal is to have PATH’s application denied by the WV Public Service Commission.  We will accomplish our goal through public education, legal representation at the hearings and sponsorship of expert testimony.

PATH will affect quality of life of many more individuals than those currently under the proposed right-of-way.  By using the TrAIL line as an example, we can expect that the actual placement of the lines and towers will vary widely from current plans.  TrAIL was re-routed more than 10 miles away during the PSC case, and has had more than 20 re-routes to date, including some that routed it outside the 2,200 foot "preferred corridor".   As part of this January's dismissal of PATH’s application by the Virginia SCC, the Commission required PATH to submit alternate routes that lessen its impact on Virginia before re-applying, including an adequate reason for abandoning PATH’s original route through Bedington, bringing that route back as a possibility.  PATH is not a “NIMBY” issue -- it could end up in anyone’s backyard in Jefferson or Berkeley County if we don’t band together to seek denial by the PSC.

PATH will subject Jefferson County residents to eminent domain, questionable land acquisition practices, declining property values, higher electric rates and health risks associated with massive electro-magnetic fields produced by the lines.  Expert testimony not only supports these issues, but also has proven that PATH is not needed for reliability reasons.  If we do not protect our county and allow PATH to be constructed, we are paving the way for additional high-voltage transmission lines to be proposed for Jefferson County.  If PATH is approved, there will be more in the future, as the corporate greed behind these unnecessary transmission lines knows no bounds.

The efforts of StopPATH WV have already proven successful in many ways.  We have caused an almost 2 year delay in the PSC application process, led the effort that created a new property owner notification law in West Virginia, and through our public education efforts we have encouraged a record number of intervenors to become parties in the PSC case.  Recently, we launched a TV, radio, print and Internet advertising campaign that successfully counters PATH’s multi-million dollar propaganda campaign.  We will continue to educate affected property owners on ways they can protect themselves from shady land agents and eminent domain abuse.  We have raised a significant amount of funding already, but we are still a long way from our goal that will ensure the legal and expert professionals needed to present the best case possible.

One of our members recently filed a formal complaint jointly with another WV resident at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission alleging PATH's recovery of over $3 million in imprudent expenditures from electric ratepayers in 13 states and D.C.  Read about how PATH has been spending YOUR money here.

We ask that you join us in our fight for denial of PATH’s application through financial support and volunteer activities.  Every donation counts, no matter how small.   We are also encouraging targeted donations that are earmarked toward a particular needed expert witness, as well as general donations for legal expenses.

Now is the time for Jefferson County to come together to stop what has become the continual liquidation of West Virginia citizens’ rights, environment and natural resources at the hands of out-of-state corporations scoring record profits at our expense.  Don’t wait until something like PATH ends up in your backyard – we must be proactive and send the message that Jefferson County will not tolerate this abuse.  When we stand alone, our voice is small; but when we stand together we will roar!