CHENANGO COUNTY – It’s been 365 days since Woods Corners resident Betsy Mahannah and her family first received the troubling news that their home of 33 years might be taken from them.
Mahannah’s house, and over a dozen others that rest along or near the railroad tracks off of county Route 32 in the Town of Norwich, could be condemned if the New York Regional Interconnect Inc.’s power line is built over top of it.
Mahannah said this last year hasn’t been easy.
“It’s been most troublesome,” she said. “We thought this was where we were going be for the rest of our lives.”
The Evening Sun gave its first report of NYRI’s power line plans a year ago today. Many questions and concerns have arisen during that time, including fears that the line could have devastating impacts on public health, the environment, and the local economy.
Looking back one year, Hubbardsville resident and NYRI opposition leader Chris Rossi is optimistic despite the threat of NYRI.
“Everyone has come together on this issue,” he said. “I feel we are in a good position to beat this thing.”
The state’s Public Service Commission has already turned back NYRI’s first Article VII power line review application, citing it as deficient of required information. State politicians have also been successful in creating a law that blocks NYRI’s use of eminent domain to condemn and take private property, and federal bills have been introduced that would create significant obstacles for NYRI. However, the new state law will be challenged by the power line developer in federal district court this June. And many believe that the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will override state law – even if NYRI is denied by the PSC – to fast-track the project in order to meet downstate’s energy needs.
“Everyone has to stay focused and stay strong on this,” Rossi said. “We have to stay fully engaged and let our politicians know andNYRI know that we are still opposing this.”
NYRI, a Canadian energy firm, is proposing to build a 190-mile-long high-voltage direct current transmission line from Oneida to Orange County; spitting down 44 miles of Chenango – the largest stretch in any one of the eight counties the line would encroach. The line would be built along mostly railroad and utility right-of-ways; resting on 115 foot tall steel towers, which many local residents believe would devastate scenic views and alter the historic character of villages like Earlville and Sherburne. NYRI’s spokesmen say the upstate electricity surplus they’d use would relieve energy constraints downstate.
NYRI officials say they haven’t been surprised by the opposition they’ve received.
“There hasn’t been anything wildly unusual,” said project manager Bill May. “People have been anxious.”
May said he doesn’t see the PSC’s call for more information as a set back, and says the company plans to stay the course and continue to supplement the necessary information by June.
“We’ve been fully engaged in the process,” May said. “We know full well it’s going to be a lengthy process.”
Mahannah understands it will be a lengthy process also, but hopes that the communities will get stronger as the fight goes on.
“There is power in numbers,” she said. “People need to get involved and know the impact this will have on the entire community.”
“We are wondering where we are going to live if this project is approved,” she said.