Stafford County supervisors continue to battle the Kraken.
That’s Dominion Energy’s proposed North Anna-Kraken Loop project, a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt power line that would go through Stafford, Louisa, Spotsylvania, Caroline and Fauquier counties. It aims to connect the existing North Anna Substation to the proposed Kraken Substation in Caroline and ultimately tie into the proposed Yeat Substation in Fauquier.
The Stafford Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to once again express their opposition to having the line go through the county if it’s to be built, as planned, above ground. The other option would be to bury the line, which Dominion has said would be both complicated and costly.
The supervisors already had voted Dec. 2 in favor of a resolution asking Dominion to bury the power line and agreed on other measures, including planning a town hall meeting on the issue after the new year and hiring outside legal counsel to advise the county on the matter.
On Tuesday, County Attorney Rysheda McClendon detailed other steps the board can take to express its opinion on the matter, including becoming officially involved in the case before the State Corporation Commission, which has the final say on whether the Kraken is built and its precise route.
The supervisors agreed to refer the Kraken matter to the Planning Commission and request the commission to conduct research, including consulting with experts in the power field, to draft proposed amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint for development.
The board also authorized county government staff to work with Stafford’s legislative consultant to consider asking the Virginia General Assembly for more local authority over power line projects.
McClendon told the supervisors that the county has hired the law firm of Sands Anderson, which is also advising Loudoun County on a Dominion project.
“This firm has recent and relevant experience navigating Dominion Energy transmission-line projects, and we feel that this is something the county can use and leverage to our advantage,” she said.
The Kraken issue is one that the supervisors seem united on, and Rock Hill District Supervisor Crystal Vanuch suggested county staff prepare social media posts for the public based on McClendon’s presentation.
The supervisors — albeit with two new members — will likely discuss the project again next month.
“They don’t realize they’ve awoken the Kraken, in Stafford,” Vanuch said of Dominion. “That’s what they don’t know.
“I will say, that’s one of the most unfortunate names for a project I’ve ever experienced in my entire career,” added County Administrator Bill Ashton, referring to the moniker “kraken,” a mythical, octopus-like sea creature of Norse lore.
Also on Tuesday, the board and audience at the Stafford Government Center feted outgoing Supervisors Meg Bohmke of the Falmouth District and Monica Gary of the Aquia District, who didn’t seek re-election this year. A Stafford farmer even brought legs of lamb to give to Bohmke and Gary.
Bohmke is in her third four-year term as a supervisor and also served one term on the county School Board.
“Jesus, Meg, this is a lot,” supervisor Chairman Deuntay Diggs said Tuesday, when reading a proclamation about all of her work. “You have done a lot.”
