October 2, 2011

Citizen Power Alliance rebuttal to NEW YORK’S POWER PLANT SITING SOLUTION

Posted by coaxny under Article X, Citizen Power Alliance, COAX, New York State, Power NY Act | Tags: , , , , , |
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The author, Stephen E. Herrmann of this opinion viewpoint, was a former Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He is part of the law firm Richards, Layton & Finger. His bio states that he has 30 years’ experience in advising boards of directors on corporate governance issues.

From the offset, it should be emphasized that sound energy policy must be based upon actual need, effective cost, efficient generation and balanced environmental protection. Mr. Herrmann’s revealing admission that Article X’s true purpose is to override local zoning and land use authority is clearly stated, “new law hopefully will create a one-stop siting decision-maker”. The elimination of SEQRA compliance and discarding the principled legal standard of Home Rule, has been a main objective of foreign developers, as they rush to site ill-conceived projects, especially over the strong objections of local community representatives.

Absent in Mr. Herrmann’s advocacy for corporate interests is that the two local residents to the new board do not have a vote in the decision and that the five permanent members are NYS bureaucrat appointees that have no accountability to the general public, much less the residents where the project will be fast tracked.

The insignificant amounts for “intervener funding” and limited time for filing, actually creates a major profit center savings for single-minded developers. With a 25 megawatts trigger for jurisdiction, the conclusive result is that siting can and will be forced upon any location that benefits the developer.

In addition, absent in his analysis is that objecting groups or municipalities are prohibited from litigating decisions under Article X in NYS court. So much for representative government under the corporate governance scheme that Mr. Herrmann favors.

The Power NY Act of 2011 is a windfall for industrial wind factories that have a destructive environmental record that fails to generate useful and reliable electricity, while needing obscene public subsidies for development.

At a recent public forum, Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, a sponsor of Article X, stated that local zoning and comprehensive plans, if deemed to be unreasonable or onerous, by the New York State Board on Electric Generating Siting and the Environment, can be superseded by Albany.

The *Citizen Power Alliance strongly condemns the current version of Article X. The only applause for this one sided legislation, comes from companies and proponents that want more central planning, at the expense of local government. Level-headed environmentalism does not reside in the legal firms that ignore the factual reality that crony capitalism is bad for every taxpayer.

James Hall for CPA

*The Citizen Power Alliance is a coalition of independent groups organized to promote sound energy and environmental policy. CPA holds public officials and regulators accountable, while seeking the protection of the public interest.

Read the original article – NEW YORK’S POWER PLANT SITING SOLUTION

 

September 26, 2011

NEW YORK’S POWER PLANT SITING SOLUTION

Posted by coaxny under Article X, COAX, New York State, Power NY Act, Related Stories | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Related Item – the following is not necessarily the views of COAX NY

Recently Japan’s nuclear accident emphasized one important aspect of where to build power plants, and now the State of New York has adopted a new power plant siting law which could be a model for other states.

After not having a law on the books since 2003, New York has adopted a siting law and created a new panel to oversee the development of new power-generating facilities in the State. The bill, called the Power New York Act, was adopted to rare applause of both environmentalists and business groups. Efforts to establish a new siting law in New York had stalled over the years, thereby limiting the State’s ability to build new facilities and power sources including wind and solar.

Power New York Act of 2011 is a sweeping energy bill. Section 12 of the new law reauthorizes and modernizes Article X of the Public Service Law, which expired on January 1, 2003, governing the siting and approval of power plants in New York. The new law hopefully will create a one-stop siting decision-maker.

The law establishes a new seven-person board to oversee the development of power plants in excess of 25 megawatts of energy, which would capture wind farms and even some battery-storage facilities. The old law limited the board’s oversight to plants with more than 60 megawatts of power, which often left local communities to decide how to handle smaller projects.

The law creates and vests permitting authority with the New York State Board on Electric Generating Siting and the Environment. The statute provides that two local residents will be part of the board for each proceeding. The other five members of the board will be state officials. The law also provides for “intervener funding” which will enable municipalities and other local parties to participate in all phases of the administrative review, including the mandated adjudicatory hearing.

The board is given authority to override local laws and ordinances if they are “unreasonably burdensome.” Unless otherwise agreed by an applicant or extended due to a “material and substantial amendment to the application” or “extraordinary circumstances,” the board’s decisions must be rendered within a year of the application’s being deemed complete.

Article X overrides the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act which previously covered projects, and instead calls for several environmental analyses of a facility’s impacts. These analyses include a “cumulative air quality analysis” that evaluates the combined effects from the proposed facility, other proposed sources and all existing sources; describes the demographics of the surrounding community; and sets out “reasonable and available” alternative locations. It also requires the board to find that the project minimizes or avoids disproportionate impacts on the surrounding community.

The absence of a power plant siting law has been cited as an important reason why there has been scant development of power plants in New York in recent years, including alternative energy sources. If the new law works in New York, it could become a model for other states.

Source – American College of Environmental Lawyers

Read the Citizen Power Alliance rebuttal to NEW YORK’S POWER PLANT SITING SOLUTION

 

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