Public voices opposition to transmission lines during hearing

No one attending Tuesday night’s public hearing on the Galloo Island transmission lines proposed by Upstate NY Power Corp spoke in favor of hosting the high-powered lines under the current plan.

The 230-kilovolt line would run from Galloo Island in the Jefferson County Town of Hounsfield through the towns of Henderson, Ellisburg, Sandy Creek, and Richland, as well as the Village of Pulaski to a proposed substation and interconnection with existing transmission lines in Mexico.

An administrative law judge for the Public Service Commission conducted both a morning and evening public session held at the H. Douglas Barclay Court House in Pulaski.

Barclay, a former state Senator and U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, was one of a number of speakers to comment. Earlier this year, he was named to represent Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann on behalf of the county.

“Oswego County and the Town of Richland have a very high unemployment rates and are in a depressed area,” he said in a prepared statement that he shared with The Valley News. “Jobs are one of the most important issues. The town needs 1,000 sustainable new jobs in the immediate future to become economically viable.

“Local government officials have been working hard to find those jobs by developing the infrastructure, zoning, and planning,” Barclay continued. “There have been a number of studies conducted by various planning departments to find the best economic-development plan to produce jobs.”

Barclay said studies have show recreation and tourism as the best economic-development strategy.

“The town is pristine and has great recreational areas such as the Salmon River and Lake Ontario,” he noted. “The Salmon River is a world-class fishery and attracts people from overseas and out of state. In the summertime, thousands of people visit Pulaski and the town, staying at the Selkirk Shores State Park and Brennan’s Beach and a number of other facilities. With proper development the river and the lake can produce a need for new facilities that will create the long term jobs.”

Barclay said he is opposed to the transmission-line plan unless it is buried because it will produce minimal construction jobs.

“It will reduce future new jobs because tourism and recreation facilities will not be built,” he said. “There will be visual pollution throughout the eastern section of the town. The power line will reduce future jobs and provides no benefits to the landowner. Oswego County has done its part in power generation for downstate. It produces more electric power than any other county with three nuclear facilities and a gas generating plant and other generating facilities, including water power on the Salmon River.”

He added that Oswego County has become a “dumping ground” for power generation for downstate.

During the public hearing, Barclay shared some of the corporation’s history with those in the audience

“Upstate is a shell corporation formerly owned by Babcock & Brown, a huge Australian conglomerate in financial trouble,” he said. “This summer, the American Wind Power operation of Babcock & Brown was sold to the Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C. Carlyle is one of the largest private equity firms in the world.”

Barclay accused Upstate Power of coming to Oswego County in a stealth manner.

“Landowners were not aware of where the transmission lines would be located, and on several occasions have summarily relocated the line without notice,” he said. “I noticed in the papers that the line was to be located in the eastern section of the Town of Richland, and later found out that that had been changed to the west, and I was shocked to see that it ran through the Village of Pulaski.”

Legislator Shawn Doyle, who was present at both the morning and evening sessions, noted that only one speaker in the morning indicated favor for the project, while all other comments were in opposition.

He said he asked the administrative judge to add to the record that Upstate representatives left the evening session prior to its conclusion.

Doyle said there was also criticism because the hearing notices were not placed in the large daily newspapers. “Placing the notice in an Oswego newspaper that hardly anyone here reads is useless,” he said.

Barclay also brought up the issue of eminent domain. “Eminent domain has been abused by non-public entities,” he said. “There are no substantial benefits to the landowner. Upstate has negotiated right-of-ways of $4,000 an acre, which is a joke. This is the price that the seller gets for a right of way in perpetuity no matter how many lines may be attached to the tower in the future to increase the profits of upstate.”

Doyle said the residents would not be as opposed to the project if the lines were buried.

Assemblyman Will Barclay, who was unable to attend the hearing due to a previous commitment, issued a statement calling for the lines to be placed underground.

“Over the last several years, the Village of Pulaski has partnered with the Town of Richland to preserve its historical areas,” said Assemblyman Barclay, who is the son of Doug Barclay. “Among other things, the Village of Pulaski has invested $1 million dollars into buried power lines in order to preserve the aesthetics of the area. As a result, there has been an increase in economic development and residential growth.”

The assemblyman added, “To site unattractive power lines through the Town of Richland will be a step in the wrong direction and will hinder our efforts in attracting residents to the town and village.”

Leemann said he was unable to attend all of the meetings and conferences regarding the power lines as he has been involved with the negotiations with Entergy Nuclear in regard to their tax agreements, which are due to be renewed in the near future.

By Carol Thompson

The Valley News

www.valleynewsonline.com

21 November 2009

Tags: Wind power, Wind energy

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