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NYPA defends controversial 10-year license review proposal, says it's a good deal for Massena, Waddington, Louisville, county

Posted 1/22/15

The New York Power Authority says they are satisfied with the outcome of the 10-year review of the 2002 relicensing of the St. Lawrence-Roosevelt Power Project. “This is a great day for St. …

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NYPA defends controversial 10-year license review proposal, says it's a good deal for Massena, Waddington, Louisville, county

Posted

The New York Power Authority says they are satisfied with the outcome of the 10-year review of the 2002 relicensing of the St. Lawrence-Roosevelt Power Project.

“This is a great day for St. Lawrence County. With these votes, NYPA and the communities can soon implement the many benefits afforded by this agreement,” said Steven Gosset of NYPA’s media relations department. “We believe it is an important step toward building the foundation that will restore the North Country’s economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for all of its residents.”

The Town of Massena and Village of Waddington on Wednesday voted to approve the review proposal. That gives it enough votes to go before the NYPA board for final approval. The Massena Central School District and St. Lawrence County Legislature voted against the measure. County lawmakers are expected to take a new vote at a special meeting on Jan. 26.

NYPA and the Local Government Task Force negotiated the deal. The LGTF is made up of elected officials from Massena, Waddington, Louisville, St. Lawrence County and the Massena Central School District. Lisbon opted out of the task force in exchange for NYPA returning several parcels of land.

One of the provisions of the deal heavily criticized by locals during public meetings included NYPA paying $5 million for an economic development study.

“There’s no implementation money,” said Mark Scott, Waddington’s former town supervisor and former LGTF vice chair, adding that municipalities likely won’t have wiggle room in their budget to make the recommendations a reality. He was speaking at Wednesday’s Massena Town Council meeting.

Gosset says there is money out there.

“In fact, there are existing resources that have gone unused in the North Country that could be employed to implement recommendations that emerge from the study,” Gosset wrote. “They include $13.5 million in economic development funds and 20 MW in unallocated power available through the St. Lawrence River Valley Development Agency, $1.5 million available for lending from the Greater Massena Economic Development Fund, $10 million in loans available through the North Country Economic Development Fund, and low-cost hydropower available through the state’s ReCharge NY program for companies that commit to retain or create jobs. There are resources available for implementation. What we need now is a plan for how to best use those resources.”

A summary of the tentative agreement released by NYPA:

• Up to $5 million in funding for an economic development study to assist the LGTF communities to attract business and industry. The study will include identifying alternatives to leverage existing monetary and power resources.

• The use by businesses and farms in St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Franklin counties of 239 megawatts of hydropwoer that Alcoa temporarily relinquished. The low-cost power will reduce electricity costs by a total of $10 million a year for up to three years.

• Initiation of an energy efficiency and renewable energy-savings program for LGTF government and school buildings that will include $1.5 million in grants to fund energy audits for identifying opportunities for reducing energy costs. The program will be aligned with the governor’s BuildSmart NY initiative, intended to reduce energy use in public buildings by 20 percent by 2020.

• Funding support for first responders at Massena Memorial Hospital, Louisville Company #2, and the Massena and Waddington rescue squads, with the amount to be determined by an ongoing study.

• Improvements to an emergency access road to Wilson Hill Island in the Town of Louisville and an evaluation of improving access to town property in the vicinity of the Iroquois Dam, part of the St. Lawrence-FDR project.

• Annual financial support for the maintenance of identified roads in the vicinity of the hydroelectric plant used by NYPA for its operations.

• Hiring an independent recreational facility consultant to assess possible measures for increased recreational boating opportunities and fishing tournaments to support additional tourism, with NYPA committing up to $7.5 million for the improvements.

• An additional $1 million for a shoreline stabilization program for landowners adjacent to St. Lawrence-FDR within the Towns of Waddington, Louisville and Massena, with elimination of restrictions on the length and cost of the erosion mitigation initiatives.

• Working with the LGTF, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and outdoor fishing clubs to identify additional opportunities to enhance walleye spawning in upstream tributaries of the St. Lawrence River.