NORWICH – Area residents gathered in force at the Chenango County Council of the Arts in Norwich to voice their concerns to the Public Service Commission about the proposed 190-mile electric transmission line that they feel threatens their lives, livelihood and, in some cases, their livestock.
Between the two information forums and public statement hearings, more than 50 concerned citizens spoke before the Administrative Law Judges Michelle Phillips and Jeffrey Stockholm.
Some cited facts and figures, others personal stories of the impact the proposed line will have on their families and business. They all spoke with passion and conviction and they all had the same message for the judges assigned to review New York Regional Interconnect’s Article VII application: the NYRI powerline is not needed or wanted in this area.
Village of Sherburne Mayor Bill Acee has been outspoken against the proposed project, which threatens to bisect his community.
“This is a lose-lose scenario for our friends, neighbors and upstate rate payers,” said Acee. “It is the wrong line in the wrong location and the wrong solution to New York’s energy problems.”
Todd Dreyer from the City of Norwich read a letter from Mayor Joseph Maiurano: “It cannot be overstated how devastating the power line would be ... one more nail in the coffin of our already economically depressed area.”
“This is nothing but a selfish corporate power grab designed to bring immense wealth to a few at the expense of many,” Dreyer added.
“I am opposed to this powerline,” said Assemblyman Clifford Crouch, who represents communities along the planned route through his district.
Crouch described contradictory reports from NYRI about the affect of the project on upstate electric prices as “trying to convince someone that snake oil tastes good.” He cautioned that the project could “incur the exodus of manufacturing from this area.”
Crouch quoted industry sources as he criticized the planned route as falling physically short of its goal to provide cheaper power to New York City residents. “There is a 75-mile bottleneck between the terminus and the true demand point,” he said.
Over and over again, speakers criticized the proposed powerline as bad policy and made the claim that the project was profit motivated.
“This is about money. And that money is not for us,” said Hubbardsville resident Lisa Oristian.
“The idea of this foreign company being reimbursed for this hideous intrusion is unconscionable,” said North Norwich resident Sondra Patterson.
“There is nothing environmentally friendly about NYRI,” said Dr. Glenn Stein of Norwich. “The only thing ‘green’ about NYRI is the money they plan to make for their investors, at the expense of all New Yorkers.”
Stein described his experience reading through the NYRI application, which he said was often misleading, and some cases “blatant lies.”
He said that NYRI’s idea of solving downstate energy issues with the powerline were misguided.
“NYRI sees a traffic jam on the Long Island Express Way, and wants to add extra lanes to Route 17 through the Catskills. They see congestion on the FDR and want to widen Route 12 through Norwich,” said Stein.
He compared the project to a kitchen remodel that solved a shortage of outlets with an extension line through the rest of the house, stopping just short of the actual kitchen. The analogy brought a chuckle from Stockholm, but the point was not lost.
“What we don’t need is a 190-mile long extension cord,” concluded Stein.
The idea that a private company could be granted the right of eminent domain, to condemn property needed for the project, has many residents up at arms.
Norwich Resident Perry Owen described the extensive research done by he and his wife to discover the potential impact of the proposed primary route on the area’s landowners.
In that research, he said he identified 1,097 properties in Chenango County alone of that could be threatened by eminent domain. “The first time U.S. citizens would be made refugees in their own country since the Civil War,” said Owen.
“Is this not a threat to the right of our citizens?” asked John Blackmoor of Madison County. “Is this not corporate welfare?”
Chenango County Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers spoke out against NYRI’s project proposal as a threat to the local agricultural community and the nation’s food supply
“Agricultural lands are vital to the economic well-being of our state, protect our environment and produce food,” said Vickers. According to him, 65 miles of NYRI’s 190-mile proposed route will cut through agricultural districts.
This NYRI powerline is a bad idea,” said area resident Carol Smith. “It’s time to examine our energy policy before going forward with any projects like this.”
“The assumption that more is always better is wrong. Corporate America always wants us to believe that more is better – Heaven forbid we learn to conserve energy and make do with what we have,” said Mary Jo Long of Afton, who spoke at the evening session.
Guilford resident Robert Davis expressed concerns about the photographs included with NYRI’s article VII application, which he said did not accurately depict the impact the power lines would have on he and his neighbors. Stein called these photos the result of “trick photography and creative camera angles.”
“Come and see for yourself the homes that will be affected,” Davis said.
Richard Weeks spoke on behalf of a Dutch family living at the “confluence of the Susquehanna and Unadilla rivers,” in Bainbridge whose property would be threatened by the line
“Que bono?” asked Weeks, in Latin. “Who benefits? Will the thousands of people who live here, recreate here benefit? No.”
Jayne Baran, an associate professor of Civil Engineering Technology at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica, gave a powerpoint presentation based on her research into NYRI’s investors and project application.
“People deserve a transparent company,” said Baran, who described the lengthy investigation required to discover the identity of the company’s investors. “It should be clear who we are giving our money to and where the money is coming from.”
As she talked her way through a series of 45 slides, Baran found fault with NYRI’s cost calculations, claim that the line would prevent future blackouts and their interpretation of transportation corporate law
Baran blasted NYRI’s claims that they would be able to provide cheap power to downstate New York. “There is a big discrepancy,” she said, highlighting the difference between her cost calculations and those presented by NYRI.
The civil engineering professor spoke about NYRI’s misinterpretation of Locational Based Marginal Pricing information. “This was meant to signal that new generation is needed in an area, not build new transmission lines to equalize cost.”
Baran then turned her attention to NYRI’s construction cost, which she said was much higher than other transmission line projects in North America.
“The current cost of the project is $2.1 billion, but it doesn’t include decommissioning costs and it doesn’t include costs to upgrade the railroad,” said the associate professor. She exhibited a series of photographs featuring rail lines and bridges along the route that have not been maintained and would need significant reconstruction.
According to Baran, NYRI included details from Metro North in their application, but nothing from the Norfolk Southern or New York Susquehanna and Western lines that are actually part of the proposed route. She also questioned NYRI’s description of the NYS&W railroad as a utility corridor.
Baran showed wind maps of the state, which indicated that the areas of highest wind concentration were off the coast of Long Island and around the Great Lakes. She said a proposal to build a wind farm off Long Island had been scrapped because of it’s price tag of approximately $700 million. “You could build three of these wind projects for the price of one NYRI,” said Baran.
She also took aim at NYRI’s claim that the proposed powerline would reduce the risk of future blackouts. “These blackouts have been caused because the existing infrastructure has not been maintained,” explained Baran. She said that NYRI’s line could actually add to instability because of the problems associated with interconnection.
Candace Ramer of Earlville summed up the sentiments of many in the afternoon session when she turned to NYRI President Chris Thompson, who was present at the hearing.
“Go home,” she said. “Go home.”