October 1, 2019
New York

Lawmakers question Albany meeting location for Long Island wind project

By Cayla Harris | Times Union | September 30, 2019 | www.timesunion.com

ALBANY – Two members of the state Legislature are criticizing the Department of Public Service for scheduling a meeting in Albany next week regarding a Long Island wind project.

In a letter to the Department of Public Service on Monday, state Sen. Ken LaValle, R-Long Island, and Assemblyman Fred Thiele, I-Sag Harbor, asked officials to relocate a conference about the location of a transmission line for an offshore wind farm.

The meeting is booked for Oct. 8 at the public service department’s office in Albany, but the farm is set to be constructed in East Hampton – a 250-mile gap that legislators say hinders local stakeholders from voicing their opinions on the project, which has already stewed controversy in Long Island. East Hampton town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc also signed the letter.

“While this location may be convenient for the Public Service Commission and the attorneys and lobbyists for the applicant, it is a hardship for locally based parties to this proceeding who wish to personally attend this meeting,” the officials wrote.

The lawmakers noted that there is no legal obligation to hold the meeting in Albany and asked to switch the location to East Hampton, “where the project is to be located and where public interest and potential impacts are the greatest.”

“Holding meetings more than 250 miles away from the host community evinces a continued lack of concern for public involvement and participation,” the lawmakers wrote. “In turn, this can only serve to make the ultimate settlement of issues regarding this project even more difficult.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/10/01/lawmakers-question-albany-meeting-location-for-long-island-wind-project/