BEFORE THE NEW JERSEY BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

Transcription

1 EXHIBIT JC-7 BEFORE THE NEW JERSEY BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY PURSUANT TO N.J.S.A. 0:55D-19 FOR A DETERMINATION THAT THE OCEANVIEW 30 KV TRANSMISSION PROJECT IS REASONABLY NECESSARY FOR THE SERVICE, CONVENIENCE OR WELFARE OF THE PUBLIC Direct Testimony of Tracey J. Janis Re: REAL ESTATE/PROPERTY RIGHTS

2 1 I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Q. Please state your name and business address. A. My name is Tracey Janis. My business address is 800 3Cabin Hill Drive, 5 Greensburg, Pennsylvania Q. By whom are you employed and in what capacity? A. I am employed by FirstEnergy Service Company ( FirstEnergy ), 6 as Manager, Right-of-Way Services. As the Manager, my primary responsibility 7 is the oversight, guidance and leadership of the Right-of-Way Services 8 group that acquires the land rights (easement and fee) necessary for the 9 construction and maintenance of transmission facilities. Q. Please describe your professional experience and educational background. A. I graduated with honors from Marietta College in Marietta, 1 Ohio in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis in ecology 13and environmental science. In December 000, I graduated from Duquesne University 1 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Master of Science in Environmental 15 Science and Management. I have been employed with FirstEnergy since when the merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy was complete. 17Prior to the merger, I was employed with 18 since 199 holding various positions in Transmission Engineering and Construction 19 and in Real 0 Estate. My education, experience and qualifications are1 fully-set forth in Appendix A to my testimony. 1

3 1 3 5 Q. Have you previously testified in Board of Public Utilities ( Board or BPU ) proceedings? A. No. Q. Have you testified in proceedings before other utility regulatory commissions? A. Yes. I have provided testimony before the West Virginia 6 Public Service Commission, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 7 Maryland Public Service Commission, and Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.8 9 Q. Would you describe the purpose of your testimony? A. The purpose of my testimony is to describe any necessary property-related 10 rights, including additional rights-of-way ( ROW ), access and vegetation 11 clearing rights, which may be required for the construction, operation and1maintenance of the 13 1 II. Oceanview 30 kv transmission line ( Project ). PROPERTY ISSUES Q. When did JCP&L acquire the ROW on which the proposed project will be built? A. JCP&L acquired the original ROW in the 1930s. The original 17ROW was acquired in both easement and in fee simple. In the early to mid-1970 s, 18 easements were amended and revised, as needed to accommodate the upgrades 19 to the existing 30 kv facilities that are present on a portion of the proposed 0 route. These upgrades consisted of modifications to existing structures, 1 the addition of 3 structures, and a conductor upgrade. Q. Does JCP&L own the ROW in fee or by easement?

4 A. It is a combination of fee and easement, with approximately 99% 1 being owned by 3 easement. Q. Does JCP&L need to acquire any new ROW or property for the construction of the project? A. JCP&L does not need to acquire new ROW or property to construct 5 the Project. However, JCP&L may need to acquire additional easement rights 6 for vegetation management. The Company may have to enter into temporary 7 right-of-entry agreements with private and/or public property owners for8access points and possibly laydown areas during the construction period of the 9Oceanview Project. JCP&L will negotiate with and compensate these property 10 owners for the additional easement rights that may be needed for vegetation management 11 and any temporary right-of-entry agreements that may need to be 1 entered into for construction access and laydown rights. Q. How many existing easements does JCP&L need to amend in order to construct the Project? A. JCP&L is currently reviewing its existing easements to determine 16 whether any will need to be amended for construction of the Project. Q. How many parcels and property owners are potentially involved in the areas requiring additional rights for vegetation and/or access? A. Based on the preliminary design, there are approximately thirty-six 0 parcels owned by twenty-eight different landowners which may require 1 additional rights for vegetation management. The rights could require amendments to the existing 3 easements or acquisition of additional rights. 3

5 Access road selection has not been finalized and as such, 1 the number of parcels requiring temporary right-of-entry agreements has not been determined. However, existing easement rights grant JCP&L ingress 3and egress to the property. Therefore, the number of temporary right-of-entry agreements that JCP&L may need are expected to be minimal. Q. How will JCP&L acquire the amendments or additional rights needed for this project? A. JCP&L will work with the property owners to acquire the 8 necessary rights, including additional easements, access and vegetation management 9 rights, for this Project. JCP&L will also prepare property value opinions 10 utilizing recent sales data for the geographic area and is hopeful that it will be 11 able to successfully negotiate with the affected property owners. If JCP&L is unable 1 to negotiate a settlement with a particular property owner, JCP&L will seek13 approval to exercise eminent domain rights pursuant to N.J.S.A 8: and 8: Q. What is the current schedule for negotiating with property owners for additional easement rights or rights-of-entry? A. JCP&L anticipates commencing negotiations in Spring 01 for this Project. Q. Does this conclude your direct testimony? A. Yes, it does. 0

6 Appendix A TRACEY J. JANIS Manager, Right of Way Services Employment History February 013 Manager, Right of Way Services Primary Responsibility: Management of right of way services and land right support for facilities. August 01 Interim Manager, Right of Way Services Primary Responsibility: Management of right of way services and land right support for facilities. May 011 Supervisor, Real Estate Services FirstEnergy Service Company Greensburg, PA Primary Responsibility: Management of real estate services and land right support for facilities. July 007 General Manager, Transmission ROW and Permitting Greensburg, PA and Fairmont, WV Primary Responsibility: Management of transmission siting, permitting, right of way and fee acquisition associated with transmission projects. This included management of the real estate activities for the Trans- Allegheny Interstate Line (TrAIL). June 006 General Manager, Real Estate Greensburg, PA Primary Responsibility: Management of real estate services and land right support for and distribution facilities. Responsible for managing the corporate land asset portfolio, including land rentals, acquisitions and divestitures. January 003 Manager, Real Estate Greensburg, PA Primary Responsibility: Management of real estate services and support for the construction and maintenance of distribution facilities and third party pole attachments. Responsible for managing the corporate land asset portfolio, including land rentals, acquisitions and divestitures.

7 December 199 Transmission Engineering and Construction Specialist, Environmental Greensburg, PA Primary Responsibility: Siting and permitting of transmission facilities March 1990 Staff Scientist/Project Manager Law Environmental, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA Primary Responsibility: Management and contract administration for asbestos-related services, air and water quality evaluations and environmental site assessments, including wetlands and habitat evaluations. Education Bachelor of Science-Biology, Marietta College, OH 1988 Master of Science-Environmental Science and Management, Duquesne University, PA 000