NORWICH – Almost one year after it began, the fight against New York Regional Interconnect Inc. has gotten complicated, local opposition leaders said at a public meeting Tuesday, but it’s still raging on.
“We are still here, and we are still fighting,” said Chris Rossi, the co-chair of STOP NYRI, a citizens group representing Madison and Chenango counties. “We’re doing a damn good job, and we are going to celebrate and let NYRI know about it.”
Rossi is referring to a public rally in Sherburne scheduled for May 19, the one-year anniversary of NYRI’s incomplete Article VII power line application filing with the state’s Public Service Commission.
A crowd of roughly 30 gathered at the United Church of Christ in Norwich and heard updates on federal power-line related legislation, the PSC process, STOP NYRI funding and legal efforts, the work of Communities Against Regional Interconnect (a seven-county coalition against the project), and NYRI’s public relations campaign.
“They’ve spun this project to make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread,” Rossi said. “It’s important that we go right back at them.”
The explosive train derailment Monday in Oneida brought up concerns in the audience about the significant length of NYRI’s power line that would be located along railroad tracks.
“It really highlights the danger of putting a power line along railroad tracks,” STOP NYRI co-chair Eve Ann Shwartz said.
NYRI is an Albany-based subsidiary proposing to build a 190-mile-long, 400,000 volt transmission line from Oneida to Orange County, splitting 44 miles of Chenango. Many question the company’s intentions and identity, and fear the line would blight scenic views, lower property values, impose harmful health effects, and displace citizens from their homes and communities. NYRI contends its project would provide affordable upstate electricity for downstate consumers, benefiting all of New York state.
The project has yet to produce a complete application, and has not undergone any formal review on the state or federal level. NYRI claims it will re-submit its Article VII around June, which means it could be under review by next fall.
Locally, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors recently held-off on immediately providing $50,000 in funding for CARI, because they were unsure of how the money was being used, and if other counties were still supporting the government funded group.
“It’s not as strong a show of support as we’d like to see,” said Shwartz. “They (Chenango County) are an active part of this. We will do more to educate them so they can understand how the money has been spent and be comfortable with what is going on.”
CARI is still waiting for $1 million in state legislature member funding that was promised in the fall.
“The county money has been spent to date,” Shwartz said, citing legal fees mostly. “We have to remind the Senators (Tom Libous and Jim Seward) that the $1 million has not been provided. That is a serious concern ... it’s not right; it’s making people nervous.”
Shwartz said attorneys from CARI and other parties recently completed mediation hearings at the PSC offices in Albany, mainly to develop ground rules for studies NYRI will have to conduct. CARI’s legal team will also be reviewing NYRI’s challenge to state eminent domain law, and the group is searching for consulting firms to provide expert studies refuting NYRI’s case.
“There’s more than one way to skin this cat,” Shwartz said.
Rossi suggested citizens step-up letters and responses to local papers, and continue educating the populations about the project. The co-chairs said they were encouraged by continued anti-NYRI support from U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), who recently met with the power line company’s representatives.
“We’ve asked them to stay with us on this issue, and they have,” said Shwartz. STOP NYRI is hopeful it can secure meetings with the senators, and possibly with Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who has expressed negative feelings about the project.
A spokesman for U.S. Representative Michael Arcuri (D-Utica) was in attendance, and said that three pieces of legislation the congressman is co-sponsoring – which could fully or partially curb federal involvement in the NYRI power line issue – are still in their infancy and being reviewed in House sub-committees.
“It’s going to take some time,” said Peter Scalise, a representative from Arcuri’s Utica office. “But our office is still staunchly behind these bills.”
NYRI is currently challenging a state eminent domain law that removes its power to secure private property without negotiations. That lawsuit is expected to be heard in federal district court in Albany in June.
For more information about the power line and STOP NYRI, visit the organization’s website at www.nyri.info.