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AT ISSUE: Developers must be more forthcoming with proposal
Whatever economic-development plans Mohawk Valley officials might possess, running a power line with gigantic towers through the heart of prime urban, suburban and rural communities certainly isn't one of them.
But that's just what a private company, New York Regional Interconnect, is proposing. While other communities along the route, particularly in the Norwich area, already have mobilized to fight the power line, local residents seem to be only just realizing the potential impact it might have on their communities and lives.
It's time that New York Regional Interconnect become much more forthcoming about a plan that right now would appear to be a detriment, not a boost, for our region. In the meantime, citizens must step up, organize and be heard by decision-makers so that the power line does not become a done deal.
The 1,200-megawatt line would carry power from Marcy to downstate Orange County, feeding a growing need for power created by that region's substantial population increase. Locally, it would mean construction of 115-foot high towers -- nearly 12 stories tall -- located about 700 feet apart in communities including South Utica, New Hartford, Chadwicks, Sauquoit, Clayville and Waterville.
The fundamental problem with the plan is that it runs through highly populated areas. That's because New York Regional Interconnect has secured rights to New York Susquehanna Railroad tracks owned by Delaware Otsego Corp. The tracks run through important local communities, and therefore so would the power line.
That means the line would run across Genesee Street not far from the Hess gasoline station in South Utica. That means the line would run just behind New Hartford's athletic fields. That means the line would run through the charming hamlets located along the Sauquoit Creek.
Area officials are nearly unanimous in their opposition for a variety of reasons, including the fact that taking power out of the Marcy-based power pool might wind up raising rates upstate even as downstate is helped. The company says it would counteract such increases with benefits locally, including new property tax revenue and community relations initiatives, but right now those seem nebulous at best.
There is still time for the company to enlighten all of us before regulatory hurdles at both the state and federal levels are cleared. But New York Regional Interconnect has conducted public meetings at which it has offered little in the way of detail on how the power line will affect residents. Its scripted answers became so maddening at a public meeting in Utica two weeks ago that Mayor Tim Julian suggested the crowd walk out, which many people did. Julian also rightly asks why a meeting on a project that affects South Utica was held in North Utica.
The O-D Editorial Board has sought to meet with the power company's representatives, who have failed to return telephone calls about a specific date. Here are the questions New York Regional Interconnect needs to be answering, and that all of us need to be asking:
* Why can't a different route be found away from heavily populated areas?
* Why can't portions of the line be built underground?
* Why can't the New York State Thruway be used as the route?
* What impact would such a power line have on property values?
* What possible risks would such a major power line pose in neighborhoods in terms of electromagnetic fields and in terms of children playing nearby?
* Would the line hum in a manner annoying to residents? Would it affect people's appliances and electrical devices?
* Who's benefitting financially from use of the railroad line?
* What impact might the power line have on Upstate New York electric rates?
* What alternatives exist to supply downstate with the power it needs?
Unless these questions can be answered satisfactorily, the Mohawk Valley's residents and leaders -- including U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, outgoing congressman Sherwood Boehlert, state legislators and municipal officials -- need to stand up and fight. The very future of our communities may be at stake.
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