ROANOKE, Va., March 20, 2014 – The revised Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) for Appalachian Power’s Smith Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project in Virginia is available in its entirety online.

Property owners, businesses, contractors and other interested parties can find the SMP at www.smithmtn.com .  Also available on the site are application documents and a set of Frequently Asked Questions about the plan.

For area residents who do not have internet access, paper copies of the SMP are available at the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Bedford Visitors Center, and at public libraries in Rocky Mount, Westlake, Moneta, Gretna and Bedford.

As licensee and operator of the power generation project, Appalachian is required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop and maintain a comprehensive plan that regulates use of the shoreline and ensures protection and enhancement of the project’s resources at its two reservoirs—Smith Mountain and Leesville Lakes.  The latest SMP was updated with significant community input and approved by FERC earlier this year.

Some of the key changes adopted in the 2014 Shoreline Management Plan:

• Revised parameters for vegetation removal and replacement
• Minimum water depths for dock construction
• Creation of a Legacy Program
• Provisions to enhance protection of the islands
• New methodology for determining one-third of a cove

Lakes-area civic or professional groups can contact Appalachian Power’s Patricia Dade at pgdade@aep.com or (540) 489-2564 to arrange a presentation of the SMP key changes.   An Appalachian Power representative is available at the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce office on Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for general inquiries.

Appalachian also provides these direct contacts for specific needs and services at the lakes:

• Dock applications and general inquiries: Lisa Hammock at lhhammock@aep.com or (540) 489-2556
• Dock status requests for properties for sale: Ed Brennan at esbrennan@aep.com or (540) 489-2540
• Vegetation or shoreline stabilization applications or inquiries: Mark McGlothlin at jmmcglothlin@aep.com or (540) 489-2562
• Dredging applications or inquiries: Ken Stump at kjstump@aep.com or (540) 489-2543

Smith Mountain Project is a 636-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility that utilizes an upper reservoir (Smith Mountain Lake) and a lower reservoir (Leesville Lake).  Water stored in Smith Mountain Lake first passes through turbine-generators in the powerhouse to produce electricity and is discharged into Leesville Lake.  Most of the water is retained in Leesville Lake and pumped back into the Smith Mountain Lake for re-use.  A portion of the water goes through the turbine-generators at the Leesville powerhouse to generate additional electricity and to meet the minimum discharge requirements of the project's operating license.

Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. 

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