There won’t be any battle lines drawn in the effort to stop the construction of new above-ground, high-powered transmission lines through Oswego and Jefferson counties.
The two government agencies are hoping to pass a joint resolution to ask Upstate Power relocate the proposed lines to the bottom of Lake Ontario.
The 230-kilovolt line has been proposed to 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.
Upstate Power has proposed to construct a wind farm on Galloo Island, off the shore in Hounsfield, along with a new power line with the capability of transporting 1,000 megawatts south to assist in the need of downstate consumers.
Lawmakers are urging the lines be buried underground, and preferably under water, to preserve the aesthetics and economic-development potential of their communities, and further claim that there is no benefit to the counties for hosting the lines.
Former State Senator and U.S. Ambassador H. Douglas Barclay spoke at a public hearing held last week at the Pulaski High School. Barclay, who is representing Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann in the matter, stated that the county has already done its share in generating power for downstate.
“Oswego County has done its part in power generation for downstate,” he said. “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 continued, “Downstate wants us to produce its power so that it can shut down its plants, for example, Indian River nuclear plant. Oswego County has become the dumping ground for power generation for downstate, gaining few benefits. The county would welcome the fourth nuclear generator, which would solve the generation problem for downstate without having to construct more power lines."
Barclay also spoke of the company’s plans to construct the lines elsewhere and the rejection of those alternate routes.
“There have been a number of alternatives suggested by Upstate, for example, the underwater line from Galloo to Scriba, but all rejected out of hand by Upstate as being too costly,” he said. “What is the rush? These alternatives must be studied in depth and not summarily dismissed.”
Barclay also pointed out the potential for excessive tax incentives for Upstate Power.
“The project may receive a thirty-percent income-tax credit on the total cost of the project under the America Recovery Act and a multi-million dollar real-property tax exclusion under a PILOT agreement with the Jefferson County IDA,” he noted. “Even if it costs more to go underwater or bury the lines through the Town of Richland, it is a good investment for the future. Burying all present lines is being planned downstate in Nassau County.”
There is precedence for spending more money for an alternative, Barclay said.
“The Shoreham Nuclear Plant on Long Island was built and finished at a cost of $5 billion dollars but never activated—a $5 billion dollar loss that had to be picked up by the rate payers,” he said. “The residents believed that they did not have a proper escape route in the event of a disaster. The residents of Jefferson and Oswego counties are interested in future jobs, not tax breaks to Upstate."
An administrative judge for the Public Service Commission held two public hearings in Pulaski last week with only one of the many speakers supporting the current transmission line plan. It was reported that there is little support from the citizens in Jefferson County, hence, the idea for the joint resolution in opposition.
Opponents of the plan claim that as many as 1,000 jobs could be lost if the current plan is approved. Lawmakers said they have many concerns about the adverse economical impact to both counties.
County government is dependent on northern Oswego County for tourism revenue, most reaped from Salmon River fishing and snowmobiling.
Oswego County Legislator Shawn Doyle, who serves as the majority leader, has been working with Jefferson County leadership in regard to the matter and together they are seeking a resolution that will send a strong message to the company to reconsider the original plan of burying the line under Lake Ontario.
Both entities could pass the resolution next month.
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