ALBANY – After three years of trying to gain approval for their $2.1 billion electric transmission line project, New York Regional Interconnect is calling it quits.
Citing investor concerns over a recent Federal Regulatory Commission ruling, the group’s general counsel informed the administrative law judges assigned to oversee the project’s Article VII review process on Friday that they were pulling their application.
“The investors have decided that the financial risks of cost recovery are too great at this time and as a result they are withdrawing their Article VII application,” said general counsel Len Singer, addressing Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Stockholm during evidentiary hearing proceedings on Friday.
Stockholm asked Singer to file a letter with the secretary of the Public Service Commission formally withdrawing the case by Monday, April 6. He also directed Singer to circulate copies of the letter to the other active parties in the case. Once the parties have received NYRI’s letter, they will have one week to advise the PSC if they see a need for the case to remain open.
“Unless someone argues this case should be continued, we fully expect to close this case and will do so in a ruling or a secretary notice … a week from Monday,” Stockholm said.
The timing of NYRI’s announcement has come as something of a shock, even to the project’s staunchest critics.
“I’ve been more and more convinced that NYRI would withdraw at some point,” said Eve Ann Shwartz, co-chair of the grassroots opposition group Stop NYRI. “The writing has been on the wall.”
But even she wasn’t expecting it to occur so soon. “I’m shocked,” she said.
While NYRI’s legal counsel stated the move was a result of a FERC ruling, Shwartz said she believes the PSC’s recent ruling that NYRI would need to thoroughly exploring the use of the NYS Thruway Corridor as an alternative route may have also been a factor.
“That was going to cost them,” she explained, adding that NYRI’s investors had already spent roughly $27 million on the project.
Despite the suddenness of the announcement, opponents of the proposed 190-mile high voltage transmission line have wasted no time declaring NYRI’s demise a victory.
“There is no doubt this is good news for Chenango County,” said Richard Decker, chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors. If approved as proposed, the electric transmission line would have cut a swath through seven townships in Chenango County, including North Norwich where Decker is supervisor, on its route from Marcy to New Winsor.
As a member of Communities Against Regional Interconnect, a coalition of counties and community action groups pitted against the line, Chenango County has contributed $150,000 to the legal fight against NYRI. Individual towns and villages have also anted up for the cause, Decker said. North Norwich has given $10,000, as have other municipalities.
“All of the various county employees, officials and citizens should be proud of the hard work that was put into this fight,” said Chenango County Director of Planning Donna M. Jones, who also serves as CARI’s designated local representative.
Elected officials from both Albany and Washington wasted no time weighing in on the news.
“This victory shows that by standing together and working for a common theme you can topple so-called industry giants,” said Senator James Seward. The state senator was instrumental in securing $1 million in state senate funding to aid in the fight against the powerline, and also testified against NYRI during a PSC hearing. He spoke earlier this year at a Stop NYRI meeting in Norwich.
“I have never been so proud to be a part of a fight as I have in my opposition to NYRI,” said Congressman Michael Arcuri. “Today’s announcement is a major victory for all of us who have opposed NYRI from the beginning.”
“We have spent years telling NYRI to fold up its tent if it didn’t listen to the community. Now it has,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “Let this be a warning to anyone else who wishes to build a power line upstate.”