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The public will have input on the construction of a section of a new, high-voltage power line PPL Electric Utilities Inc. is running from Jenkins Township to Wayne County.
The state Department of Environmental Protection will host a hearing and meeting later this month on a 20.1-mile section of the Northeast Pocono Reliability Project, a nearly 60-mile, 230-kilo-volt transmission line designed to upgrade the delivery and improve the reliability of electric service for 250,000 people in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Colleen Connolly, a spokeswoman for DEP’s Northeast Regional Office, said the hearing will cover PPL’s permit applications for construction of the West Pocono-North Pocono section of the line that starts in Buck Township, Luzerne County and continues through Thornhurst, Clifton and Covington townships in Lackawanna County.
Last year PPL submitted applications for a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit and a Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit. They deal with earth moving and how the project affects waterways and wetlands along the route, Connolly said.
The utility said it is investing more than $300 million to improve the delivery of electrical power to customers. In addition to the line, three new electrical substations will be built — West Pocono in Buck Township, North Pocono in Covington Township and Paupack in Paupack Township.
The project has been promoted as way to reduce the number of outages and shorten their durations by doing away with the long stretches between the substations and lines. The longer distances were more vulnerable to outages caused by severe weather and fallen trees. The substations will be located on four to five acres and enclosed by a fence.
PPL spokesman Joe Nixon said the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Work continues on the stretch from Jenkins Township to Buck Township. The Paupack to North Pocono section has been completed, but the line is not energized.
Work has not yet begun on the West Pocono-North Pocono section, Nixon said.
DEP and PPL personnel will be available to answer questions on April 23 at the sessions that run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Thornhust Township Volunteer Fire Co.
Public comments can also be submitted by email or mail until 4 p.m. on May 7. Comments can be mailed to Joseph J. Buczynski, P.E., Environmental Program Manager, Waterways and Wetlands Program, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 or jbuczynski@pa.gov.
The permit applications also can be viewed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays at DEP’s office in Wilkes-Barre. To make an appointment call (570) 826-2511.