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NYPA defends relicensing deal amid critcism from local officials

Posted 1/5/15

By JIMMY LAWTON Following public criticism over the St. Lawrence-FDR power project relicensing agreement from some local officials, New York Power Authority representatives say the deal will be …

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NYPA defends relicensing deal amid critcism from local officials

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

Following public criticism over the St. Lawrence-FDR power project relicensing agreement from some local officials, New York Power Authority representatives say the deal will be beneficial to St. Lawrence County.

The agreement includes 15 major points NYPA says will be beneficial including the monetization of hydro-electric power that could produce up to $2 million a year for economic projects and $5 million for a five-year development study.

"We believe, as does the Local Government Task Force, that this agreement provides many benefits for St. Lawrence County. It will reduce the amount spent on electricity in the county, support new and existing infrastructure, enhance economic development and significantly boost recreational opportunities that will lead to more tourism in the region,” the emailed statement from NYPA spokesman Steven Gosset said. “It also provides $1.5 million in grants to fund projects aimed at reducing energy costs in line with the Governor's BuildSmart NY initiative to reduce energy use in public buildings by 20 percent by 2020."

The Local Government Task Force, a group made up of the representatives from communities affected by the relicensing agreement, supported the deal.

However, St. Lawrence County legislators have now rejected the agreement on two occasions. Once under the control of Democrats and now again under Republican control led by Joseph Lightfoot.

Waddington Village Mayor Otto-Cassada says she approves of some aspects of the agreement, but does not support the deal as it is. She says NYPA is not providing the communities with the compensation they deserve when compared to the deal NYPA made with western New Yorkers under a similar agreement.

Otto-Cassada also says the agreement lacks guarantees, and she remains wary of NYPA’s follow through given past experiences, in which she says they have failed to live up to their agreements.

Although the county rejected the agreement, The town of Waddington approved the deal with near unanimous support. Councilor Shaun Prentice, who works for NYPA, abstained.

Several other communities are expected to vote on the relicensing agreement prior to it moving forward.

A summary of the tentative agreement released by NYPA follows:

• Up to $5 million in funding for an economic development and strategic marketing and global search study by a top-tier management consulting firm to assist the LGTF communities to identify and attract businesses and industries. The study will include identifying alternatives to deploy and leverage existing monetary and power resources;

• The use by businesses and farms in St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Franklin counties of a large portion of hydropower—239 MW—that Alcoa temporarily relinquished at its Massena operations. 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 statewide BuildSmart NY initiative for reducing energy use in public buildings by 20 percent by 2020;

• Funding support for emergency response infrastructure and services, anticipated for 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 that are 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;

• Additional funding of $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 current restrictions on the length and cost of the erosion mitigation initiatives; and

• 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.