Reading between the lines of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address on Wednesday, 2012 may be a year of project related environmental battlegrounds in New York.
Governor Cuomo reiterated his support for a fast-tracked replacement project for the Tappan Zee bridge — an endeavor that will have substantial impacts on the Hudson River ecosystem as well as regional transportation impacts for decades to come. Environmentalists are disappointed that the fast-track bridge replacement project makes no provision for necessary mass transit improvements.
Governor Cuomo’s promise that
“we will develop an energy expressway down from Quebec,”
sounds eerily like a promise to build the so-called “Champlain Hudson Power Express” project, a submarine electric transmission cable running nearly the length of the Hudson River, with its own set of environmental and ecosystem impacts.
And the Governor’s non-committal recitation of the status of hydro-fracking regulations for New York’s Southern Tier can hardly be reassuring to those fighting to protect New York Communities from the environmental calamities caused by fracking in Pennsylvania. Cuomo promised only that the DEC will take action of some sort in 2012:
“DEC is reviewing all the comments and expects the final environmental impact study and the advisory panel’s recommendations to be released in 2012, before any decisions are made on how to proceed.”
All in all, the State of the State address seemed focused on all the infrastructure project-related jobs the Governor hopes to create. Sounds like the State of the State address is a prediction of three big 2012 New York environmental legal battles.
I am not an environmentalist but its sad to see they aren’t taking the Hudson River ecosystem into account and also traffic. Thanks for the update!
The time is no far when our environment will be ruined
Sad to see the Hudson being played like that. Whats next? Thanks for the information.
My name is Susan Filgueras and I have been trying to raise public awareness about the Champlain Hudson Power Express-PLEASE COME TO OUR TOWN BOARD MEETING(SEE BELOWFOR DETAILS) this company will be presenting at the
Stony Point Town Board meeting On Tuesday June 26, 2012, @ 7:00 PM
Where: Rho Building , Town Board meetings are held at the Stony Point Community Center (RHO Bldg) located at 5 Clubhouse Lane in Stony Point (same location as the Patriot Hills Golf Course)
this proposal will affect both Westchester and Rockland Counties. Essentially it is a 300 mile extension cord from Canada to Queens NY(see below for more details), with an unspoken promise to be the electric supply to close Indian Point, the Question is can they do that and at what cost to both Counties?
The bigger issues are –
Environmental –
1-Has a FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY been done specifically on a land installation with Rockland County?
2-What is the EMF fallout and the consequences within the residential neighborhoods in our parks and playgrounds been studied?
3-Has consideration been given to the fact that the installation will be in long established Residential area’s?
4-How can we ask questions when the project has not been properly presented to Rockland County?
Eminent Domain – has not been addressed at all.
What the CHPE project does not offer- in Rockland County or NYS:
1-Does not offer Sustainable Jobs (minimal construction work short term in Queens where the converter station will be built- converter station is unmanned once operational) for CHPE to say they are creating jobs by supplying electric to NYC, is somewhat difficult to believe
2-Does not offer Support to the existing Electrical Grid in NYS- the project totally isolates CHPE’s transmission line allowing growth only to CHPE, potential for MONOPOLY
3-Does not offer Improvements to the existing Electrical Grid
4-Does not offer – stranded NYS Generated electricity to be used
Susan Filgueras
SPACE, Board Member
Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment