County pushes underwater route

Jefferson County legislators will consider Tuesday asking that the proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm transmission line be run completely underwater to Oswego County, rather than running over 20 miles of land in southern Jefferson County.

Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, said he's going to offer a resolution to ask the Public Service Commission to "give serious consideration to the aquatic line versus the above-land option."

Mr. Ormsby is chairman of the board's Planning and Development Committee. That panel will resume its meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the Galloo Island project.

He attended the public hearings on the 50.6-mile transmission line in Henderson and Belleville on Monday.

Upstate NY Power Corp., developer for the project, applied to the PSC for a route that would run about nine miles underwater from Galloo Island to landfall on Stony Point in Henderson, then turn south through Ellisburg, Sandy Creek and Richland to connect to a larger line in Mexico. One of the alternate routes that Upstate NY Power mentions in its application to the PSC is a completely underwater route to Scriba.

"My preferred route right along was the underwater one," Mr. Ormsby said. "I thought it would be the least intrusive on any of the property owners. And the public comments underscored that."

On Friday, Upstate NY Power said it will investigate the underwater route further.

"Upstate Power is committed to working very closely with local communities and the PSC to develop the best possible solution for the transmission line problem for all parties involved," said Robert W. Burgdorf, of Nixon Peabody, Rochester, who represents the developer. "The underwater route will be fully reviewed and vetted during the PSC process."

Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, said lawmakers have questions, both about the PILOT and the transmission line, that they want answered before voting on the PILOT.

"We've got to get answers on questions on the transmission line," he said. "Eminent domain — is it a possibility or isn't it a possibility? Where is the transmission line going to be put — do owners know, have they been talked to and agreed?"

Mr. Blankenbush again encouraged all of the legislators to attend the meeting, even though it will technically be a committee meeting.

"All of us need to understand the ramifications of it," Mr. Blankenbush said. "Not all of the legislators have heard the full story on the PILOT and the transmission line. We need to make a knowledgeable vote."

Representatives from the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, which helped craft the PILOT, and Upstate NY Power Corp. will attend Tuesday's meeting in the board's chambers in the old county courthouse, 195 Arsenal St.

The public will be allowed to comment on the PILOT as times permits before the Health and Human Services Committee meeting at 7 p.m., according to information from the county administrator's office.

If legislators aren't comfortable with the proposal, a vote on the PILOT will not be pushed, Mr. Blankenbush said.

"We are not going to vote on something we're not 100 percent sure of," he said. "If we do not have all the answers — if the board is not comfortable with voting, we're going to slow it down."