Sullivan legislators rearm for NYRI battle

$50,000 more voted for legal expenses

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The battle over the proposed power line that would bisect Sullivan County is not continually on the front page as it was when the project was first announced, but the battle between the two sides continues on several fronts. Sullivan County chairman Chris Cunningham asked lawmakers for another $50,000 to continue the battle, and members of the planning committee unanimously agreed.

Cunningham is chairman of Communities Against Regional Interconnection (CARI), which is comprised of eight New York counties and four grassroots groups that are dedicated to stopping the 180-mile power line proposed by New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI).

County lawmakers in June 2006 voted to give an initial $50,000 to CARI, and those funds to fight the complex legal battles have just about run out. At the meeting of the county planning committee on April 19, planning commissioner Bill Pammer said that other counties are also moving for a second round of funding. He said Delaware County committed to $40,000, while Madison and Chenango counties each committed to $50,000.

Heather Brown, a staff member of the planning department, said that at the moment CARI’s lawyers couldn’t move forward because of the lack of funds. She also said this is a critical time in the battle against the power line because the one- year anniversary of NYRI’s application to the PSC is approaching. According to the 2005 Energy Policy Act of 2005, if a company applies to cite a power line, and the application is not acted upon within one year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) can override state governments and issue the necessary construction permits.

NYRI officials filed the application on May 31, 2006. The PSC, however, said the application was not complete, and ordered NYRI to undertake further studies, which have not been completed. Brown said it was not clear whether the one-year time period that would initiate FERC action began when NYRI filed its initial application, or will begin once the application is accepted as complete by the PSC.

However, Troy Bystrom, treasurer of the Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, said, “Our understanding based on the information we have is that the clock would not start until the New York Public Service Commission deems the application complete.”

Bystrom said NYRI officials are expected to finish the PSC-ordered studies at the end of May or the beginning of June. The PSC will then determine if the application is complete.

In any case, before FERC gains the ability to override any state governments, the Department of Energy (DOE) must create a National Interest Electronic Transmission Corridor (NIETC) in the area in question. So far, the DOE has not issued any NIETC designations in the country. A hearing on the NIETC process was scheduled for April 25 in Washington, DC.

Residents of the counties through which the power line would travel almost universally oppose it, and Sullivan lawmakers are also almost universally opposed.

At the planning meeting, Legislator Leni Binder said, “Of course we have to fight this, there was never a question.”

Lawmaker Kathy LaBuda agreed, calling the matter “too important” to ignore.

Cunningham said, “The money is going to the right place.”