This Day in History: 1976-09-11

New River dam defeated on this day in 1976. The massive hydroelectric project, proposed by the American Electric Power Co., would have created two dams with a combined height of 300 feet in a pristine NC and Va watershed. During the decades-long debate about the dam project, Congressman Ken Hechler of West Virginia compared the idea of damming the New River to “dynamiting the pyramids.”