Evening star., 1955-09-13
Continued From First Pag,

Cne Pepco request Will ieaQ 70 q
spread of industrial zonILg On
both shores of the river. In
dustrialization, they contend.
means depreciation Of the value
Of their property holdings.
william A. Roberts, attorney
representing the Loudoun people,
declared that. If the coming board
gives Pepco the go-ahead, the
entire character of lower Lou
doun County and upper Fairfax
County will "unquestionably" be
changed from its present rural
and residential status.
Mr.. Roberts also cited the
misgivings of the Army Engineer
Corps over the possible pollu-
tive effects of the proposed plant.
He said he hopes to employ the
services of a leading water pollu-
ton expert to supply data along
those lines.
The lawyer said his clients also
fear the destructive effects" on
property values that construc-
tion of a cross-county rail spur
would have.
Other Issues Forecast
He said he. intends to raise
these additional questions:
!. Has Pepco thoroughly re-
searched the possibilities of
atomic energy to provide the
heat for the necessary steam
generation?
2. Does Pepco intend to ex-
pand use Of the SIC acres it
seeks to industrial purposes
other than the power plant it
self?
3. What about smoke nui-
sance?
Mr.. Roberts said he is raising
all these questions, not only
with the Loudoun Zoning Board,
but with such agencies as the
Maryland Public Service Com
mission. the Virginia Corpora
tion Commission and the Ma
tional Capital Planning Com
mission.
He pointed out that he is no.
trying Maryland State authori-
ties, since the Potomac in the
area involved lies entirely with
In Maryland boundaries.
Opposition in Montgomery
County is being led by an in
formal committee of property
owners, headed by Brig. Gen.
Harry H. Semmes. USA. retired.
In a letter circulated among the
land-holders, who far the most
part have residential estates, OBJ
jections are raised not only to
the potential depreciation of
property values but to the pos
sibility Of smoke nuisance and
general unsightliness-from a
homeowner's viewpoint-of a
several-stacked power plant in
the general area.
Also Ask P0stponement
These residents. through At
torney Benjamin w. Dulany,
have asked the Loudoun Zon-
ing Board for a 45-day post
ponement Of the Pepco case so
that they can rally support and
obtain data from pollution ex-
perts.
One spokesman for the Mont
gomerians declared Pepco would
have done better from everyone's
standpoint If it had decided on
a location farther upriver in
Loudoun County, opposite Point
Of Rocks or the rail center of
Brunswick, Md.
This spokesman, of a group
that has held at least two emer-
gency meetings in the last week,
declared a location farther up
the Potomac would bring Pepco
closer to coal supplies and rail
connections and in areas of an
industrial nature.
Both Loudoun and Montgom-
cry opponents. as we'll as the
Washington District Engineer,
have also raised the possible
danger that the proposed plant
would pose to the animal, bird
and fish life along and in the
Potomac.
Informed of the opposition de-
velopments, Pepco Vice Presi-
dent Robert w. Wilson was busy
today depreciating the various
objections.
The company official pooh
poohed smoke nuisance.
"The plant we proposed will
be as clean as the Alexandria
plant, equipped with electro
static and mechanical fiy-ash
precipitators that will make it
so that there is absolutely no
smoke nuisance of any kind"
Mr.. Wilson said.
He said the plant is so de-
signed that its architectural fea-
lures should be unobjectionable.
Even the coal piles will be
mostly screened.
Location Is or IS miles up
stream near Point Of Rocks or
Brunswick might be desirable
from a coal supply standpoint,
but the increased cost Of elec-
tricity transmission would make
1t uneconomical. Mr.. Wilson
said.
Pepco's service area to be
benefited by the new $40 million
station Is in the Washington