Opinion ID: 2794232
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Process of Weighing Adverse Impact

Text: Next, BASF argues that the Commission erred as a matter of law by weighing the need to upgrade Dominion's transmission system against the adverse impacts of Variation 1. According to BASF, the statute requires the Commission to both establish need and reasonably minimize adverse impacts, and by considering need and the Project's construction schedule as a part of the impact analysis, the Commission is accomplishing only the former. When construing a statute, our primary objective is to ascertain and give effect to legislative intent, as expressed by the language used in the statute. Cuccinelli v. Rector & Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 283 Va. 420, 425, 722 S.E.2d 626, 629 (2012) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted) (emphasis added). Code § 56-46.1 does not state the factors to be considered in addressing the listed adverse impacts and does not indicate whether these two tests must be undertaken independently of each other. It merely states that adverse 23 impact should be reasonably minimize[d]. Something is reasonable when it is [f]air, proper, or moderate under the circumstances; sensible. Black's Law Dictionary 1456 (10th ed. 2014). The essence of reasonableness under the law is prudent action in context; there can be no error in linking a reasonability standard to the circumstances at large. The Commission, pursuant to Code § 56-46.1(B), determines whether a need for the proposed infrastructure exists. In doing so, as explained in the Certificate Order, the Commission must assess the magnitude and timing of any such need. The statute specifically calls for verif[ification of] the applicant's load flow modeling, contingency analyses, and reliability needs presented to justify the new line and its proposed methods of installation, in determining need. Code § 56-46.1(B). Added to these factors, along with minimizing adverse impacts under subsection (B), are the costs of such construction. See Board of Supervisors, 216 Va. at 104, 215 S.E.2d at 926 (Commission properly considered, among other factors, economic and environmental factors, reliability of electric service, and engineering feasibility in approving route for transmission line); Town of Mt. Crawford v. Virginia Elec. and Power Co., 220 Va. 645, 650, 261 S.E.2d 311, 314 (1980) (affirming Commission's rejection of locality's proposed alternative route for new transmission line based on evidence showing that, among 24 other things, the deviation would substantially increase the cost of the entire line). The adverse impacts of a proposed project are not to be considered in a vacuum. When presented with an application for transmission line construction, the Commission must balance adverse impacts along with other factors and traditional considerations. Board of Supervisors, 216 Va. at 100, 215 S.E.2d at 923-24. Then the Commission, as a tribunal informed by experience, Appalachian Voices, 277 Va. at 516, 675 S.E.2d at 461 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), must decide within the parameters of the statute what best serves the total public interest. Board of Supervisors, 216 Va. at 104, 215 S.E.2d at 926. We conclude that the use of the word reasonably demonstrates the General Assembly's recognition of the multifactorial balancing that goes into such an investigation, and we find that the Commission did not err.