County continues to be targeted for wind power transmission lines

Officials from northern Oswego County continue to work with representatives from Upstate NY Power Corp. in regard to placing transmission lines through the northern part of the county that would originate on Galloo Island located in the Jefferson County Town of Hounsfield.

Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann said recently that he has arranged for former State Senator H. Douglas Barclay to represent him in negotiations.

“I signed Doug Barclay as my representative to discuss the whole process and to look out for the Pulaski, Sandy Creek, Richland area,” Leemann said. “He will be involved in the discussions on behalf of the legislature chairman.”

With negotiations with Entergy over the energy company’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement and other essential business currently in the legislature, Leemann said he does not have the time to devote to the power-line project.

“I am unable to attend many of the meetings myself and I have a keen interest in the outcome of this,” he noted.

So far, the involved parties have been meeting via conference calls, Leemann said.

According to Leemann, the route proposed for the power lines is “not one that we are happy with.”

Upstate Power, according to correspondence sent to Leemann July 6, is exploring some alternate routes. “While no solution is likely to be perfect for all parties involved, Upstate Power will continue to work with the Town of Richland and the Village of Pulaski to seek the best possible resolution,” wrote Robert Burgdorf of the law firm Nixon Peabody, LLP.

“As you may appreciate, siting a transmission line requires balancing many different interests, including environmental issues, agricultural issues, municipal needs and preferences, individual landowners’ needs and preferences, technical constraints, economic constraints, cultural and historic issues, and so forth,” Burgdorf wrote, adding that the concerns of the town, village, and county are important components of balancing the interests.

Oswego County Legislature Majority Leader Shawn Doyle is representing the town and village interests and has been involved in the meetings.

As reported in the March 15, 2008 issue of The Valley News, legislators had received telephone calls from angry constituents who received letters requesting the sale of right-of-ways or face eminent-domain proceedings.

Upstate NY Power, the company sending the letters, had applied to install 77 wind turbines in Jefferson County. Legislators said they were caught off guard by their constituents because, until their calls, they had no knowledge of the proposed project.

Since that time, Doyle said, meetings have been held and property owners who would be impacted have legal representation to assure they get a good price for the land for the right-of-ways.

According to correspondence sent to Doyle from Andrew Davis of the NYS Public Service Commission, “the application by Upstate NY Power Corp for an Article 7 license was found to be deficient in February, 2009. UNYPCo provided supplemental information in April, and the applicant is developing additional information to complete the application.”

Public hearings and informational meetings will eventually be scheduled.

Those representing the interests of the town, village, and county are scheduled to hold a conference-call meeting Friday. Doyle said he is hopeful that more information about the placement of lines will be available at that time.