NEWFANE -- More than 100 people packed Union Hall on Thursday to provide comments to the Vermont Public Service Board on a proposed electric transmission line that will cut through a number of southern Vermont towns.

About 20 people spoke at the hearing, which was moved from the Windham Superior Court due to accessibility issues.

The concerns ranged from the effects the line would have on amphibians in nearby wetlands, to the loss of maple sugar trees in their prime, to the impact the project will have on global warming.

Many of the speakers told the board that the plan is the wrong project for Vermont right now, when the state should be stressing conservation and not expanded energy consumption.

"This is a 1970s solution to a 21st century problem," Dummerston resident Alex Wilson told the board. "We should be addressing demand and focus on reducing energy use."

Vermont Electric Power Co. and Central Vermont Public Service Corp. want to add a second high-voltage transmission line along a 51-mile corridor between Vernon and Cavendish. The proposed line would run within a right of way already owned by VELCO, but the project would require

clearing a 100-foot-wide swath along the corridor.

If the project is approved, the power companies would also build or expand substations in Vernon, Newfane and Cavendish and add a new three-quarter mile line in Newfane.

Wilson's land would be affected by the project and he said he had concerns about erosion, wetland habitat and herbicide application.

But beyond that, he said, "This is a bigger picture issue. We should be talking about using more renewable energy."

Of the 20 people who spoke, every single one of them rejected the plan. The meeting lasted almost two hours.

The testimony at the hearing was not considered official by the PSB, but rather a chance for the board to hear from the public. Technical hearings on the project are planned for October and November.

Individuals, municipalities and companies directly affected by the project can petition the board for party status and take part in the technical hearings. The deadline to request party status is Jan. 25.

But PSB chairman James Volz stressed that the hearing in Newfane was not the only way to comment.

He said the board members will read every e-mail message that is sent and he said the Agency of Natural Resources and the Department of Health will also listen to concerns from Vermonters who want to weigh in on the proposed expansion.

Both the health department and ANR will apply for party status for the hearings.

Ralph Roam, VELCO project manager, said the existing line poses a risk to customers throughout southern Vermont. He said without investing in the expanded transmission line, there would be a "reliability exposure," from Brattleboro to Stratton to Bennington.

Newfane would be the site of one of the new substations and Newfane Selectboard member Dan DeWalt said his board was frustrated that CVPS and VELCO were not providing answers to some of the questions the board had about the project.

"We are allowing unbridled development," DeWalt said. "We are asking them to prove there is a need for this and they have not done a good job to show us."

DeWalt also took the PSB to task for scheduling the meeting on the same night the Newfane Selectboard was meeting.

Volz apologized for the scheduling conflict and he said the power companies would have to prove that "this is better. We will look at that."

Cary Gaunt, who said she has been studying environmental science for 25 years, asked the board to investigate the effects of electromagnetic energy on people who live near the lines.

And Suzanne Weinberg wanted the board to make sure it was not only going to consider the financial impact of the expansion.

"Look at the hidden costs," she said. "You have to look at what is best for Vermont."

PSB member David Coen agreed and he said, "Money is important, but it is not the only thing."

The board listened to each speaker and took notes.

John Burke, the third member of the PSB, said the board members would use the notes they took at the Newfane meeting to help craft the questions that would eventually be asked at the technical hearings.

Pieter van Loon, a forester with the Vermont Land Trust, asked the board to investigate how the new lines would affect property owners who are enrolled in the state's current use program.

Burke said he had not considered that and promised to include the thought in his research and eventual questioning at the technical hearing.

Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reform-er.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.