New York Congressmen weigh in on latest power line move

Public Service Commission urged to take no action

By FRITZ MAYER

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The three congressmen whose districts would be bisected by a proposed power line project have stepped up again to try to block it.

Congressmen Maurice Hinchey, Michael A. Arcuri and John Hall wrote a letter to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) and urged its chairwoman, Patricia Acampora, not to issue a ruling on whether the agency has the authority to grant the company the power of eminent domain to construct the power line.

According to the petition, “Without the use of eminent domain, any certificate approved by the commission would result in a project that is not economically feasible.” New York Regional Interconnect (NYRI) spokesman David Kalson indicated to reporters if the PSC does not rule in the company’s favor, it may seek eminent domain powers for the project through the federal government, as provided for in the controversial 2005 Energy Policy Act.

That is precisely the eventuality that many lawmakers at both the state and federal levels want to prevent. In October 2006, New York State then-Governor George Pataki signed a law that prevented NYRI from using eminent domain to build the power line. In February 2007, NYRI filed suit seeking to have the law overturned on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. On October 26, a federal judge dismissed the suit.

In their letter to the PSC, the congressmen said that if the agency issued a ruling, the company could use it to undermine the state. The letter read, “NYRI now seeks from the PSC what it was unable to obtain in federal court. It is our view that the burden of action lies with NYRI as a result of its responsibility to comply with state law, and that there is no need for the PSC to respond to a superfluous request for an interpretative ruling of that law.”

Hinchey, Arcuri and Hall who, like most of the communities they represent, have adamantly opposed the proposed power line that would cut through the Catskills and the Upper Delaware River Valley, further wrote, “The PSC is not legally required to issue a declaratory ruling unless it determines that such a ruling is in the public interest. Based on the clear and overwhelming public outcry against NYRI’s proposal, we do not believe such action would be in the public interest.”

The company, however, argued that the decision by the federal judge to toss the case was based on the grounds that the defendants-the legislators-were immune from the suit in federal court. The petition said this was a technicality and therefore, “did not address the merits of the case, and the decision does not preclude review and clarification by other bodies of the substantive issues.”

In the meantime, the PSC is still awaiting more studies and information from NYRI to complete the company’s application to build the power line. On its website, NYRI said it will submit the filing in the coming weeks. The filing will include studies of alternative routing options, and environmental and economic impacts of the proposed line.