NORWICH – The president of New York Regional Interconnect says the company may abandon its $1.6 billion power line project unless the state rules it has the right to take private property using eminent domain, according to documents obtained Friday by The Evening Sun.
NYRI representatives did say it is a possibility the company could seek eminent domain rights from the federal government now that New York state is part of a “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.”
According to a U.S. District Court affidavit filed in October, Chris Thompson, president of NYRI, claims the Canadian-backed firm can’t afford to build the line without the authority to condemn private property.
“It is not technically or economically feasible to complete the project without the right to obtain property rights through eminent domain,” he said.
If it were to abandon the project, Thompson says the company would forfeit $11 million it has already spent planning and developing the line.
NYRI has yet to file a complete power line permit application, known as the Article VII, and says it likely won’t until it knows whether or not it can use eminent domain.
NYRI’s rights came into question in October 2006 when former Governor George Pataki signed into law an amendment that was aimed at removing the company’s previously legal ability to purchase private property without negotiating.
Referring to the law, Thompson said, “it has a direct, current and substantial impact on whether NYRI can and should continue to seek an Article VII certificate.”
The Canadian-backed firm has filed a petition with the state Public Service Commission asking that it clarify if the law is constitutional and applies to NYRI.
The petition contains a host of legal arguments and case evidence supporting NYRI’s claim that the law is unfounded.
Mary Jo Long, an attorney from Afton who has been involved with the NYRI issue, says the law in question lacks legal merit and was just “window dressing” offered by politicians looking to get re-elected.
“The 2006 amendment to the Transportation Corporation Law was window-dressing to get our senators through the 2006 election,” Long said. “I am reminded of President Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ public relations event. Passing the 2006 amendment, similarly, was a public relations event unrelated to the fight ahead.”
Politicians who crafted the law, like Senators Tom Libous (R-Binghamton) and Jim Seward (R-Oneonta) have defended it, saying they believe it will hold up in a court or at the PSC.
NYRI filed a lawsuit in February challenging the law, but it was thrown out on technical grounds.
Long says if NYRI wants to challenge the law again, it should remain a court battle.
“I don’t buy NYRI’s argument that the PSC has the authority to declare the 2006 amendment to be unconstitutional,” she said. “I do think that the Amendment was unconstitutional, but that is for a court of law to determine, not an un-elected administrative body.”
NYRI is seeking to build a power line from Utica to Orange County. It would split 44 miles of Chenango.