Powerline to nowhere

Residents lash out again

RIVER VALLEY — Two and half years after the powerline controversy arose, residents of Sullivan County are still united in their fierce opposition to it. At two public hearings on October 29, a parade of speakers denounced the project and its potential negative impacts on the region.

One of the main arguments against the 180 mile lone line, which has been proposed by New York Regional Interconnection, was that it is not needed to ensure the electricity needs of New York State. The sentiment was underscored by a number of speakers who called the project a “powerline to nowhere,” because it ends in Orange County, not in the areas most in need of more power, New York City and Long Island.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, speaking at the hearing held by the New York Public Service Commission at the Callicoon Youth Center in the afternoon, pointed out that New York Independent System Operator, the nonprofit group that operates the state’s electricity grid, has said the line is not needed, and the largest utility in the state, Con Edison, has said the same thing. Hinchey said the project “will benefit a small number of wealthy and powerful individuals, and the rest of us will pay for it.”

State Senator John Bonacic, speaking at the evening hearing at Sullivan West High School, reiterated the point, as did county legislator Dave Sager who said, “This project is more about unadulterated greed that it is about meeting the energy needs of the state.”

Other objections raised have been heard often in discussions about the project: that it could be harmful to the health of nearby residents, that it will negatively impact the tourism industry – the second largest industry in Sullivan County, and that it will undermine efforts to promote sustainable energy in the state.

Also high on the list of negative impacts was the affect the line would have on property values. Gerald Euker, the owner of Eagle Valley Realty said his company had lost a dozen sales in the past year on properties that were located near the proposed route of the NYRI line. He also said that this line would have the same affect on property values as the Marcy South line, which was run through the county in the 80s. Euker said his company recently sold a large parcel in Liberty which was located under the Marcy South line for about $1,830 per acre. He said similar land not located under the line was worth about $6,970 per acre.

However, not all of the 180 or so people who attended the two meetings were apposed to the project. Dean Tambori, who represented the Hudson Valley Building Trades Council, said the project would mean good jobs for union members. But, he said, that he supported putting the line along the existing Marcy South line, instead of the primary route put forward by NYRI, which is closer to the river, and roughly follows the path of the Millennium Pipeline.

Before the meeting began, administrative law judge Jeffrey Stockholm said that during the nine previous meetings he had his co-judge Michelle Phillips had presided over, he had heard several arguments that would not have occurred to him. He did not, of course, give any indication about which way the permitting process would go, but it remains clear that the overwhelming number of people living along the route of the line remain strongly opposed to it.

The PSC should make a decision about granting or denying the application for the project by August, 2009.

Video archives of the meetings can be viewed at www.newyorkadmin.com.