Energy Company Sells $32M Worth of Wetlands for $16M

CHARLESTON, WV-Environmentalists get $32 million worth of undeveloped land for the bargain basement price of $16 million as Hagerstown, MD-based Allegheny Energy sells 12,000 acres of wetlands in the Canaan Valley to the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The transaction expands the eight-year-old Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge to over 15,300 acres. Allegheny has been in possession of the property for 80 years.

“Allegheny Energy is committed to environmental stewardship and operating our business with respect for the environment,” says company president and CEO Alan J. Noia. “Now, it is clearly the highest and best use of this property to be protected by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as part of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.” Allegheny had originally planned to erect a hydroelectric plant and reservoir on part of the land, but that plan came to a halt when the company was refused a permit to flood the property. An additional 8,000 acres in the same area remain under Allegheny ownership.