WASHINGTON – Congress defeated an amendment Wednesday, 257 to 174, that would have blocked funding for a controversial federal energy corridor program that fast-track’s the construction of electricity transmission facilities like the New York Regional Interconnection.
Members on both sides of the power line issue saw the vote as a win.
A representative for <a href="http://www.evesun.com/topics/news/NYRI/">NYRI</a>, a Canadian-backed company proposing to build a 190-mile long power line through eight upstate counties, called Congress’ action against the legislation, introduced by U.S. representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-Hurley) and Frank Wolf (D-Vienna, Va), a “victory for energy security and environmental stewardship.” NYRI contends its power line will relieve electricity congestion downstate.
U.S. Representative Michael Arcuri (D-Utica), one of the more vocal opponents of NYRI and the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor program – which could override state authority and give companies like NYRI the power of federal eminent domain to take private property – saw the defeat as a “good first-step” in educating other states about the pros and cons of creating a large-scale power line cattle call.
“Yesterday (Wednesday) was important,” Arcuri said in telephone interview Thursday. “We’ve taken a local issue and made it a national issue.”
Locally, citizens up and down NYRI’s proposed power line route have come out in opposition to the project. Many fear it would devastate local economies, alter the natural environment and deter future growth and tourism in an already depressed area. Many have called for energy conservation and generation closer to Metropolitan New York, where NYRI’s line would deliver cheaper upstate electricity. Talk of the project has already halted a planned hotel and resort in the Town of Norwich, hotel investors and municipal officials have said.
Questions about NYRI’s corporate identity, motives and credentials as a power line developer have also arisen. In June 2006, after being prompted by state Senators, Project Manager Bill May and NYRI attorney Len Singer admitted that the company’s project would raise electricity rates upstate, that they couldn’t say who their employers were, and that they didn’t know if the power line was for private or public good. In July, NYRI’s first official review application was turned away by the state Public Service Commission because it lacked information about the project’s impact on the environment and electricity reliability.
Still, May says the project will benefit New York state and the nation.
“The vote to defeat the Hinchey/Wolf amendment was really a victory for energy security and environmental stewardship,” said May in a written statement Thursday. “New transmission lines, along with conservation and new generation from clean sources, will play a key role in ensuring reliable electricity supplies. We hope this bipartisan vote by the House will encourage states to take actions that will keep our nation’s energy lifeblood flowing.”
