NORWICH – Apparently, as New York Regional Interconnect Inc.’s project goes, so does their assumed ownership of development rights on railroad access.
In a letter recently written to New York Senator Charles Schumer, NYRI President Richard Muddiman states, “NYRI has acquired transmission line development rights from the Norfolk Southern for their right of way.”
When asked if NYRI had secured its right of ways, officials from the Norfolk Southern Corporation whose railroad NYRI plans to use downstate, said the deal is yet to be sealed.
“Not quite,” said Norfolk Southern spokesperson Rudy Husband. “They have a lease with us, but the project still has to receive regulatory approval.”
Husband added that if approved, the project would also have to conform to Norfolk Southern’s engineering and construction standards.
An official with the New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad had a similar response regarding the right of way deal with the pending private transmission company.
“It’s contingent on NYRI receiving all the necessary permits and approvals from the PSC (Public Service Commission),” said Thomas O’Neil, a spokesperson for the railroad. “I’m sure that agreement will be looked at as part of the review process.”
O’Neil would not go into detail on the deal’s specifics, but he did confirm that the NYS&W has received the lawsuit filed against them by the City of Utica a few weeks ago, contending their agreement with NYRI is illegal. O’Neil said the railroad has not had a chance to review the lawsuit.
The NYS&W rights of way for the power line would cover the route from the City of Utica to just Woods Corners, northeast of Norwich. Under a PILOT agreement, the NYS&W property in Chenango County is currently deeded to the county’s Industrial Development Agency, in exchange for tax exemption. According to the IDA attorney James Downey, the railroad has not contacted his clients regarding any right of way easements.
Bringing the NYRI issues up to speed, Senators Raymond Meier (R-Western) and James Seward (R-Milford) are holding another Senate Energy and Communications hearing, taking place from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at the New Hartford High School located at 33 Oxford Rd. in New Hartford. The New York state PSC will be at the hearing to provide an overview and answer questions about the Article VII process, which will decide the projects fate as it pertains to New York state law.
“We will continue to seek answers about this line,” Seward said. “We have established that the line will increase our electric rates, scar our landscape, and that it will benefit everyone but the people who own the farms, yards and hills across which they want to drape their Frankenstein towers.”
NYRI was invited, but did not return phone calls to confirm if their representatives would be attending the hearing.
107th District Assemblyman Clifford Crouch said that the eminent domain legislation passed in the state legislature last month is still awaiting Governor Pataki’s approval. “As far I know, it has not gone to his desk yet,” Crouch said. The Governor would have ten days to approve the bill once he receives it. His office did not answer calls or respond to an e-mail on the bill’s status.
Crouch added that in August, he will be sponsoring an informational meeting in Norwich, the date and location have not been finalized.
In Article VII news, New York state PSC spokesperson David Flanagan said that his agency is still reviewing the “completeness” of NYRI’s application, and that no timetable for a decision is set.
In a phone interview with The Evening Sun, U.S. Department of Energy representative Poonum Agrawal said that the DOE is still on track to complete its national congestion study by Aug. 8, and that decisions on National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors should be made by the end of 2006. “We will have a 45 day comment period asking for comments on where corridors should be, if any, and what their boundaries should be,” Agrawal said. “The department will be issuing a more detailed statement either a little bit before or a little bit after the congestion study is complete.”
NYRI is proposing to run a high voltage, direct current transmission line from the Marcy substation in Oneida County to the Rock Tavern substation in Orange County, covering 190 miles of upstate New York. The line would be supported by steel towers averaging 115 feet in height.
Communities and citizens up and down the route have expressed dissent toward the project after NYRI officials confirmed the line would increase wholesale utility rates, especially since the line can not be tapped by the municipalities it runs through. Citizens have also expressed concern over possible environmental, economical and health effects the line would create.