APA to allow power line project

NATHAN BROWN and EMILY HUNKLER, For the News
RAY BROOK — The state Adirondack Park Agency Board of Commissions voted Friday to allow National Grid and the New York Power Authority to construct a power line connecting to the Tri-Lakes area on six acres of forest preserve in St. Lawrence County, pending its formalization through a constitutional amendment.

In exchange for the six acres, National Grid will add 10 acres of its land in St. Lawrence County to the forest preserve. The land will be transferred to NYPA, with National Grid getting full ownership of the land in 2012.

Board members Richard Booth, James Townsend and Christopher Walsh, designee for the Department of Economic Development commissioner, voted against the line, saying construction on forest preserve is a violation of the state constitution.

The line will be 26.8 miles long total, and the portion the APA had to approve will run through the town of Colton. Work on clearing trees for the project has already begun, as the state Department of Environmental Conservation granted NYPA and National Grid a forbearance to start cutting trees on forest preserve in February. While 3.4 miles of it will run along state Route 56, 1.86 miles of it would run on what is now forest preserve on the sides of the highway.

Trees around the line will be cleared to a width of 75 feet on the privately-owned land it will run through and 32 feet on the parts of forest preserve that are not along the highway. The sections along the highway will be cleared up to 64 feet, although more than half of this is already cleared as the highway right-of-way. In addition, “hazard trees” on forest preserve land within 50 feet of the line will be removed. This could mean up to 1,000 trees, although NYPA officials said in a draft of the proposal that the number will probably be far fewer.

“I think that the agency can do better than this and do a lot better. There are other ways to do this that will not have an undue adverse impact and from the pictures we saw yesterday, I think there is an undue adverse impact and I can’t support it,” agency member James Townsend said at Friday’s meeting.

A new access road will also be constructed, to service the line.

The $11.9 million cost of the line will be shared by the New York Power Authority, Niagara Mohawk, and the villages of Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, pursuant to a September 2004 agreement between them. The portion of the line crossing what is now forest preserve will cost $1.5 million. It is anticipated it will create 40 construction jobs for a period of five months.

“I think we need to support this project,” said Richard Hoffman, designee for the state Secretary of State. “We need to look at our findings of no undue adverse impact and that is our narrow focus here and that is why I am going to vote for it.”

“With all due respect, this does not fall under the grey area of whether this is constitutional or unconstitutional,” Booth said. “I also believe the socio-economic benefits are vastly overstated.”

“I don’t want you to think that because I voted for it means I’ve changed my mind on the legality of it,” said agency member Cecil Wray, who at Thursday’s meeting was against an amendment to the constitution.

Supporters of the line, including the DEC and the Adirondack Council, said the line would have less environmental impact on the forest preserve, as it would be 6.9 miles long and go through boreal wilderness if built to bypass it.

The Regulatory Programs Committee voted to recommend approval of the construction Thursday afternoon, with Commissioners Townsend and Booth voting “no.”

“I can’t imagine what authority the DEC thinks they’re exercising in adopting this forbearance agreement,” Booth said. “It is simply beyond me. (Article 14) is intentionally difficult to change, and we ought not to tamper with it. I think going down this road is a dangerous precedent, and we will rue the day.”

Booth agreed the power line was necessary, but said it should still not be built until the state constitution is amended. Article 14 forbids sale or transfer of or construction on state forest preserve land, and a constitutional amendment is required to make the transfer legal.

A motion by Booth to send the matter to a public hearing was voted down.

Lake Placid is currently serviced by one power line, and one line runs from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake. Power outages are frequent, particularly in Tupper Lake. Supporters of the line say it is necessary, both for health and safety reasons and to avoid the lost wages, commercial sales and economic production caused by power outages.

“This will definitely improve the area’s public health, safety and welfare by having a second feed into the Tri-Lakes area,” said APA Planner John Quinn.

“The only reason you’re not going to approve this is if you want to make a protest statement to say it is unconstitutional,” Agency Chairman Curtis Stiles said before the vote Friday.