Arcuri introduces amendment to investigate safety risks of NYRI power line
CHENANGO COUNTY – An amendment introduced by Congressman Michael Arcuri (D-Utica) that would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the safety of running high-voltage power lines along railroad tracks will go to vote in the House of Representatives today.
The revision was accepted Monday night in the House Rules Committee, of which Arcuri is a member.
If passed, the amendment – which was crafted in response to the recent train derailment in Oneida and the yet-to-be-approved New York Regional Interconnect Inc. power line proposal – would revise the Rail & Public Transportation Security Act. Listed as bill H.R. 1401, the alteration would require homeland security and the U.S. Department of Transportation to assess the possible “vulnerabilities” of erecting a high-voltage direct current transmission line (such as NYRI’s) on railroad right of ways, Arcuri’s office reported.
“After the Oneida train derailment just weeks ago, the possibility of running a huge electric utility line along a railroad rights-of-way raises grave safety concerns,” Arcuri said in press release Monday, referring to NYRI. “We need to thoroughly investigate the security risks posed by this route before we can move forward.”
NYRI’s line would use roughly 45 miles of active New York Susquehanna & Western tracks from Utica to Woods Corners, although the stretch from Sherburne headed south is currently out of use due to flood damage. The NYS&W is currently deciding whether or not to abandon the broken stretch permanently.
When informed of the pending homeland security evaluation, Village of Sherburne Trustee Edward LaCorte said he supports another roadblock for the power line, which would run through Sherburne’s historic downtown district.
“Anything that impedes this project from putting these lines through, I’m all in favor of,” LaCorte said. “From an aesthetic point of view, it’s certainly not something that will improve the rural image we have.”
Arcuri re-affirmed that he will continue to fight the project, which would rest a few hundred yards from his home in Utica.
“I vowed to fight the NYRI power line every step of the way – because the ill-conceived route promoted by NYRI runs roughshod over Upstate New York’s residents,” he said. “I’m pleased that my position on the House Rules Committee has afforded me this opportunity to introduce this amendment and continue fighting for Upstate.”
NYRI is a subsidiary of a Canadian energy firm. Its complete list of investors is unknown. In March 2006, the company publicly announced plans to construct a 190-mile-long. 400,000 volt power line from Oneida to Orange County, splitting through 44 miles and six townships in Chenango County. The line would take upstate electricity downstate in effort to relieve grid congestion. However, citizens along the route have voiced serious concerns about the project, citing negative health, environmental, and economic impacts as a result of the line. NYRI officials have admitted the line would raise wholesale utility rates upstate $166 million in the first year the power line is operation.
NYRI’s project has yet to receive regulatory approval from the state Public Service Commission. In July that agency ruled that NYRI’s first review application was deficient. NYRI has not filed a completed application.
The revision was accepted Monday night in the House Rules Committee, of which Arcuri is a member.
If passed, the amendment – which was crafted in response to the recent train derailment in Oneida and the yet-to-be-approved New York Regional Interconnect Inc. power line proposal – would revise the Rail & Public Transportation Security Act. Listed as bill H.R. 1401, the alteration would require homeland security and the U.S. Department of Transportation to assess the possible “vulnerabilities” of erecting a high-voltage direct current transmission line (such as NYRI’s) on railroad right of ways, Arcuri’s office reported.
“After the Oneida train derailment just weeks ago, the possibility of running a huge electric utility line along a railroad rights-of-way raises grave safety concerns,” Arcuri said in press release Monday, referring to NYRI. “We need to thoroughly investigate the security risks posed by this route before we can move forward.”
NYRI’s line would use roughly 45 miles of active New York Susquehanna & Western tracks from Utica to Woods Corners, although the stretch from Sherburne headed south is currently out of use due to flood damage. The NYS&W is currently deciding whether or not to abandon the broken stretch permanently.
When informed of the pending homeland security evaluation, Village of Sherburne Trustee Edward LaCorte said he supports another roadblock for the power line, which would run through Sherburne’s historic downtown district.
“Anything that impedes this project from putting these lines through, I’m all in favor of,” LaCorte said. “From an aesthetic point of view, it’s certainly not something that will improve the rural image we have.”
Arcuri re-affirmed that he will continue to fight the project, which would rest a few hundred yards from his home in Utica.
“I vowed to fight the NYRI power line every step of the way – because the ill-conceived route promoted by NYRI runs roughshod over Upstate New York’s residents,” he said. “I’m pleased that my position on the House Rules Committee has afforded me this opportunity to introduce this amendment and continue fighting for Upstate.”
NYRI is a subsidiary of a Canadian energy firm. Its complete list of investors is unknown. In March 2006, the company publicly announced plans to construct a 190-mile-long. 400,000 volt power line from Oneida to Orange County, splitting through 44 miles and six townships in Chenango County. The line would take upstate electricity downstate in effort to relieve grid congestion. However, citizens along the route have voiced serious concerns about the project, citing negative health, environmental, and economic impacts as a result of the line. NYRI officials have admitted the line would raise wholesale utility rates upstate $166 million in the first year the power line is operation.
NYRI’s project has yet to receive regulatory approval from the state Public Service Commission. In July that agency ruled that NYRI’s first review application was deficient. NYRI has not filed a completed application.
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