by Ian Solomon and Will Yandik

Six years ago, Claverack and Livingston residents became aware of a project proposed by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to expand the power transmission line corridor that runs through our towns. The general shape of the plan at that time was to widen the existing corridor, taking land via eminent domain where necessary, and install a second, perhaps larger row of towers next to the existing one.


Residents and town officials along the corridor, along with land trusts, environmental and historic preservation organizations challenged the PSC to rethink the project and consider its outsized impacts on our local communities. These groups and others organized as the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition (HVSEC). Both Farmers and Families for Claverack and Livingston were founding members.


Over the course of several years, HVSEC pressured the PSC and the governor’s office through a combination of public rallies, meetings, press, and lobbying of state officials. The organization also benefited from the assistance of state and county officials, including Assemblymember Didi Barrett, New York State Senator Kathleen Marchione and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, all of whom advocated for HVSEC’s cause within their respective areas of influence, and appeared as public speakers at HVSEC events.


After a sustained effort by Hudson Valley residents and years of filings and participation in various cases, the PSC modified the selection criteria for the project to include environmental and visual impacts as key factors. The PSC and HVSEC were then in general agreement about which proposals represented the least harm to the environmental and visual landscape of the Hudson Valley.


Although the parties were now in alignment regarding how they would rank the various proposals, HVSEC remained insistent that the project was uneconomic, wasteful and unnecessary; while the PSC maintained that it was needed. Ultimately the PSC was able to push through approval of the project without having to produce quantitative evidence that there was any need for it or that the project could pass a simple cost benefit analysis for ratepayers.


Currently, the project is in a “pre-Phase II” state.  The "winning" developer (the newly-formed transmission development conglomerate which includes National Grid) will be tasked with putting together and submitting a proposal for a new Article VII (the section of NYS Public Service Law governing the construction of electric transmission facilities) proceeding, a key step before construction can begin. They are now surveying the transmission corridor of the project to collect data for use in this submission. Adjacent landowners likely received letters to this effect.

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​The new Article VII proceeding could launch as soon as end of summer or perhaps as late as the end of the year. Upon its launch, the members of the HVSEC will become formal parties and intervenors in the new project and will continue to fight for the best interests of our community. We are actively engaged in the process and will send updates to you as the project develops.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 7, 2015

Regional Coalition Submits Expert Reports Showing Proposed Power Lines Would Have Environmental and Visual Impacts Including Impairment to Roosevelt National Historic Site

HVSEC looks forward to upcoming two-part technical conference

HUDSON VALLEY—The Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition (HVSEC) on July 6 submitted to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) a series of reports by expert consultants. These reports indicate potential major environmental and visual impacts from a current proposal for high-voltage power lines in the Hudson Valley. Research shows some of the proposed projects would threaten the farms and orchards in the heart of the valley’s agricultural region as well as the most-visited natural, cultural and historic sites, including the Roosevelt National Historic Site, where Franklin Roosevelt lived from boyhood through his presidency. The lines proposed under the state’s Energy Highway initiative could reach a height of 120 feet and cut through 25 communities in seven Hudson Valley counties, impacting businesses and regional assets that are the foundation of the region’s economy.

The expert reports will serve as the basis of HVSEC presentations in a PSC Technical Conference on Monday, July 20, to discuss environmental, visual and other impacts of the proposed transmission line projects. The HVSEC also has recently been informed by the PSC that its Department of Public Service staff will require more time to analyze need for the proposed high-voltage power lines, so the part of the Technical Conference that addresses need will be postponed until a future date.

Visual impacts could be damaging to FDR sites, Olana and other job-creating attractions

HVSEC engaged Dr. Richard Smardon, professor emeritus at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, to evaluate potential visual impacts from the transmission line projects. Dr. Smardon found that there was potential for significantly increased visual impacts in the Hudson Valley from some of the project proposals. Agricultural areas in Columbia County are particularly vulnerable to any increase in height or number of transmission towers, due to the significant distance over which lines can be seen on the agricultural landscape. Farms are a major part of the local economy in Columbia County. Agriculture and tourism in Columbia County are responsible for more than 1,400 jobs, and $115 million in spending annually.

In addition, a number of designated Scenic Areas of Statewide Significance would be traversed by the proposed power lines, which could be visible from the Olana State Historic Site and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, both of which are facilities attracting tens of thousands of visitors per year—and contributing strongly to the local economy—in part due to the scenic beauty of their natural surroundings.

One proposed project would create a new utility corridor directly adjacent to the FDR Home and Library and through the Roosevelt Farm Lane property and Val-Kill. These National Historic Sites are key destinations of the regional tourism economy in Dutchess County that brings in $475 million in spending yearly and is linked to more than 8,400 jobs. New transmission lines towering nearly 100 feet over the bucolic Roosevelt historic sites would detract from the beauty and integrity of these places. The Farm Lane—historically part of the Roosevelt estate and frequented by FDR during his lifetime—was sold by descendants of the president after his death. When Scenic Hudson preserved the land in 2007 and transferred it to the National Park Service, then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne termed it “the most important expansion of the Roosevelt National Historic Site that will ever happen.” The construction of new transmission lines through this key link between two National Historic Sites would be a major blow to the integrity of the properties and regional heritage-tourism economy.

Environmental impacts should be of concern to communities and local economies

HVSEC engaged CC Environment & Planning of Batavia, N.Y., to evaluate potential environmental impacts from the transmission line projects under consideration by the PSC. The firm found that all of the proposed projects would likely result in some permanent environmental impacts to wetlands, water resources, and/or sensitive habitat areas within the Hudson Valley. Projects that propose to use a new transmission right-of-way had high potential for significant impacts, and generally projects that consist entirely of reconductoring would have comparatively less impact. Numerous state-designated Significant Coastal Habitats, Significant Natural Communities and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation classified wetlands could be compromised by one or more of the proposals. Two of the proposals involve entirely new transmission rights-of-way that would impact the state-recognized Illinois Mountain Biologically Important Area in Ulster County.

In addition to Hudson Valley and other downstate utility customers paying 90 percent of the projects’ costs—which could exceed $1 billion—as well as 80 percent of any cost overruns, Hudson Valley residents also could lose one of the regional economy’s most important resources—the unique scenic and environmental qualities that attract visitors, companies and skilled workers.

Important environmental, scenic and agricultural lands are the cornerstone of a sustainable Hudson Valley economy. By maintaining scenic working landscapes, rural heritage and quality of life, preserving farmland also helps drive economic growth. A study by The Trust for Public Land notes that executives looking to relocate or start firms rank quality of life—including an abundance of parks and open space—higher than housing, cost of living and good schools. Further, conserved farms safeguard wildlife habitat and environmentally sensitive areas, including local aquifers and drinking-water supplies.

Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said, “While Governor Cuomo has stated his policy preference for projects that stay within existing utility corridors, the Energy Highway continues to attract projects that cast a shadow over the very assets of the Hudson Valley that are generating jobs and contributing to the region’s quality of life. Proposals that could cost ratepayers over $1 billion without demonstrated need and damage heritage sites such as the place where President Roosevelt guided the nation through the Great Depression and World War II should be relegated to the wastebin of history.”

“Large industrial-scale towers are incompatible with the Hudson Valley’s growing agritourism, which is a bright but fragile emerging upstate economy,” said Will Yandik, deputy supervisor of the Town of Livingston and fourth-generation farmer. “Increasingly, viewsheds and scenery are commodities that farmers capitalize on as much as the fresh fruit and produce they raise on their lands.”

Omega Institute for Holistic Studies Chief Executive Officer Robert “Skip” Backus said, “Every so often a decision comes in front of a community that can have impact for generations. For the Hudson Valley the proposed power line development is one of those decisions. The scenic beauty of the region is the foundation of our economic and social well-being and one of the main reasons we chose to call the valley home. My hope, given that we now know there is no need for this project, and the significant negative impact it will have on the region’s environment, is that we will act as stewards of the future and not proceed with the proposed development.”

“The Hudson Valley is one of the finest jewels in New York’s crown and the unique and speciality agriculture that the Hudson Valley has become known for needs to be nurtured and grown rather than be negatively impacted by the shortsighted, archaic and unneeded plan of more and bigger transmission wires to deliver electricity from upstate to downstate,” said Greg Quinn of Walnut Grove Farm. “Don’t downgrade the blooming agriculture industry and burgeoning agritourism in the Hudson Valley with this ill-conceived Energy Highway ‘upgrade.’ ”

“We depend on two major drivers for our economy in Columbia County—tourism and agriculture,” said Farmers and Families for Claverack leader Ian Solomon. “If a project comes along that threatens both of those drivers, we need to step back and take a look at why it’s being proposed, how much it might cost and what the benefit would be to area residents and businesses. So far we’ve been completely unsatisfied with the answers we’ve discovered.”

Coalition remains eager to demonstrate lack of need for proposed power lines

HVSEC also has engaged experts to evaluate whether the proposed transmission lines are needed at all. The PSC has postponed the part of the technical conference that would focus on this issue, so its staff can evaluate new power generation capacity expected to come on line, further reducing the rationale for the transmission solutions. The HVSEC is prepared to present its case on this issue when the PSC is ready to proceed.

About the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition

The Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition includes municipal officials; environmental, cultural, historic and land preservation organizations; businesses; and residents who support creation of a modern, comprehensive energy plan for the Hudson Valley and New York State. More information available at www.hvsec.org.

 

New! Farmers Market Committee for Livingston

We are thrilled to announce that Leslie Strilec, long-time resident of Glenco Mills, will be taking the reins of the Farmers Market Committee for Livingston. From the beginning, Leslie has been actively involved in Farmers and Families for Livingston working hard to oppose high voltage transmission lines. As Chairman of the Farmers Market Committee for Livingston, she is seeking volunteers to help at the Hudson Farmers Market on Saturdays.  Volunteers will hand out Power Line material along with information on a new telephone campaign created to encourage Governor Cuomo to protect the Hudson Valley from the adverse impacts of the pending power line expansion.  

Volunteers will be needed for 2 hours twice a month on Saturdays.  Claverack will cover the alternate Saturdays.  Volunteers should contact Leslie directly at (518) 851-3866 or email her at [email protected].