NYRI foes claim a victory

Company says maybe not

By FRITZ MAYER

NEW YORK STATE — Opponents of the huge powerline project that would bisect Sullivan and eight other counties say a court decision filed on February 18 is a big win. A Federal appeals court ruled that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) cannot overrule a state agency if the agency denies an application to construct a powerline.

Two years ago, FERC ruled that it did have such authority because of language in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which said that FERC could step into the process if an application was “withheld” from approval by a state agency for a year. The three-judge panel, in a two-to-one decision, said that outright denial of an application was different from withholding approval, and FERC had wrongly interpreted the law.

The group, Communities Against Regional Interconnect (CARI), along with other groups that opposed the New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI) project, brought the suit. CARI chairman Steve Dimeo said, “This is a victory for states’ rights and a victory in the fight against NYRI. We are one step closer to eliminating the severe economic impact upstate New York would suffer if the NYRI project were built.”

Sullivan County planning commissioner Dr. Bill Pammer also lauded the decision, saying that the county legislature had invested a lot of resources into the effort and that this was a positive outcome.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey issued a statement saying the court’s ruling, “…is a decisive and hopefully fatal blow to the powerline proposal that NYRI is trying to force upon the residents of New York.”

But NYRI officials do not agree that their project is imperiled. Len Singer, general counsel for NYRI, issued a statement saying that the court’s ruling only applies if a denial comes within a year of the application for a permit, and if denial comes more than a year later, FERC would have jurisdiction. Moreover, Singer said in a press release, “NYRI’s application was filed February 20, 2008 so if a denial were to occur by the NY Public Service Commission (PSC) after February 20, 2009, it would be subject to FERC jurisdiction under the court’s decision.”

NYRI first filed an application in 2006 and filed an amended application in February 2008. But the PSC requested additional information, which was not supplied until August 2008, and that’s when the PSC considered the application to be complete.

In response to Singer’s assertion, Troy Bystrom, also a member of CARI, said, “NYRI’s claims are ridiculous. This is a last-ditch effort by NYRI to manipulate the system. PSC regulations clearly state that an application is not considered filed until it is deemed complete. The PSC determined NYRI’s application to be complete on August 8, 2008.”

Singer indicated that the matter will possibly go another round in court before it is finally settled. There is also the possibility that FERC could appeal the decision, though the chances of that happening are not considered strong. The appeal would go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which only accepts a fraction of the cases that are sent. Also, with the change of administration in Washington, many people familiar with the situation believe the political will to challenge the decision would not be as strong as in the previous administration.

The PSC is due to finish its review of the application in August of this year, but PSC staff has already recommended that the project not be permitted because it is not needed.