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The Daily Star - Otsego, Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie News, Sports, Breaking News, Text Alerts, School Closings - Bonacic doubts NYC hydro plan
Bonacic doubts NYC hydro plan
By Patricia Breakey
Delhi News Bureau
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is holding a series of public informational meetings to talk about its Westof- Hudson Hydroelectric Project, but one local official believes the project will never happen.
DEP spokesman Michael Saucier said the meetings begin at 7 p.m. today at the Sullivan County Community College Seelig Theatre. A bus will leave the college at 10:30 a.m. this morning to visit the Neversink, Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs.
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, a meeting will be held at Sullivan County Community College Seelig Auditorium, followed by a visit to the Schoharie Reservoir, and then a 7 p.m. meeting at the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors chambers in the county office building in Schoharie.
Saucier said the meeting will include an overview of the hydroelectric project and a question-and-answer period. Greg Starheim, chief executive officer of the Delaware County Electric Cooperative, said he plans to attend the Schoharie County meeting with state Assemblyman Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie. Starheim said he is convinced the DEP is using tactics to permanently put the project on hold.
The DEP initiated the licensing process to install hydroelectric projects at four of the city’s dams in August but did not name the co-operative as a partner.
The proposed Western Catskills Hydro Project was introduced in May 2008 by the DCEC in its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a permit. The Delaware cooperative proposed building projects at the Cannonsville, Pepacton, Schoharie and Neversink reservoirs.
The DEP submitted a competing application in November. The DEP is the New York City agency that oversees cityowned reservoirs.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission awarded the city the permit in March while denying the DCEC’s application, citing preference for municipal applicants. The DEP has since said it has no interest in developing hydroelectric capacity at the sites, but it wanted to work with DCEC on a project.
Starheim said Monday that the DEP missed the deadline to file a notice of intent that it aimed to apply for a license through the normal licensing process. He said the DEP then asked for a waiver allowing it to use a traditional review process that eliminates the strict scheduling procedures.
Starheim said the co-op protested the city’s request for the relaxed licensing process and advised all local elected officials, who all joined forces to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the DEP request.
“We were just flabbergasted when two months ago, FERC granted the waiver,” Starheim said. “This means that they could easily drag their feet for 10 years.”
Starheim said the DEP has also slashed the size of the project in half, making it not economically viable.
“They have made the project so small, the economics would never justify moving forward,” Starheim said. “The co-op has spend an enormous amount of time and effort on this project, and it appears fruitless for us to continue.
State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, said Monday that he supports the use of the reservoirs for hydropower, but he is concerned about who is going to run the system and who is going to be the beneficiary.
“We need a speedy process, and we need to make sure that the power goes to the watershed residents,” Bonacic said. “I don’t think the DEP is capable of being in the energy business, they can’t even fix their leaky waterline. The DEP should give it up and let the energy experts do it.
“I think the DEP is stalling the process,” Bonacic continued. “If we are stuck with the DEP, they need to stop dragging their feet and make it a deliberate open process. They need to guarantee that the watershed residents are going to benefit.”
The DEP wants to build a total of 11 hydropower turbines on dams at its Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton and Schoharie reservoirs. The turbines would produce a total of 38.75 megawatts of electricity. The DCEC plan would have produced 63 megawatts.
DCEC is a nonprofit electricity cooperative that serves 5,100 members in 21 towns in Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie and Chenango counties.
In July, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. wrote a letter to the DEP urging it to speed negotiations with the co-op regarding DCEC’s efforts to build hydroelectric plants and harness overflow at four city-owned Catskill reservoirs.
DCEC officials originally said they hoped to get final approval in 2011 and have the hydro plants open within a year or two after that.
The DCEC project, as proposed, Starheim said, would have created 100 construction jobs and generated between $400,000 and $800,000 a year in revenue for watershed municipalities and co-op member school districts.
The Daily Star - Otsego, Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie News, Sports, Breaking News, Text Alerts, School Closings - Bonacic doubts NYC hydro plan
Bonacic doubts NYC hydro plan
By Patricia Breakey
Delhi News Bureau
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is holding a series of public informational meetings to talk about its Westof- Hudson Hydroelectric Project, but one local official believes the project will never happen.
DEP spokesman Michael Saucier said the meetings begin at 7 p.m. today at the Sullivan County Community College Seelig Theatre. A bus will leave the college at 10:30 a.m. this morning to visit the Neversink, Cannonsville and Pepacton reservoirs.
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, a meeting will be held at Sullivan County Community College Seelig Auditorium, followed by a visit to the Schoharie Reservoir, and then a 7 p.m. meeting at the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors chambers in the county office building in Schoharie.
Saucier said the meeting will include an overview of the hydroelectric project and a question-and-answer period. Greg Starheim, chief executive officer of the Delaware County Electric Cooperative, said he plans to attend the Schoharie County meeting with state Assemblyman Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie. Starheim said he is convinced the DEP is using tactics to permanently put the project on hold.
The DEP initiated the licensing process to install hydroelectric projects at four of the city’s dams in August but did not name the co-operative as a partner.
The proposed Western Catskills Hydro Project was introduced in May 2008 by the DCEC in its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a permit. The Delaware cooperative proposed building projects at the Cannonsville, Pepacton, Schoharie and Neversink reservoirs.
The DEP submitted a competing application in November. The DEP is the New York City agency that oversees cityowned reservoirs.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission awarded the city the permit in March while denying the DCEC’s application, citing preference for municipal applicants. The DEP has since said it has no interest in developing hydroelectric capacity at the sites, but it wanted to work with DCEC on a project.
Starheim said Monday that the DEP missed the deadline to file a notice of intent that it aimed to apply for a license through the normal licensing process. He said the DEP then asked for a waiver allowing it to use a traditional review process that eliminates the strict scheduling procedures.
Starheim said the co-op protested the city’s request for the relaxed licensing process and advised all local elected officials, who all joined forces to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the DEP request.
“We were just flabbergasted when two months ago, FERC granted the waiver,” Starheim said. “This means that they could easily drag their feet for 10 years.”
Starheim said the DEP has also slashed the size of the project in half, making it not economically viable.
“They have made the project so small, the economics would never justify moving forward,” Starheim said. “The co-op has spend an enormous amount of time and effort on this project, and it appears fruitless for us to continue.
State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, said Monday that he supports the use of the reservoirs for hydropower, but he is concerned about who is going to run the system and who is going to be the beneficiary.
“We need a speedy process, and we need to make sure that the power goes to the watershed residents,” Bonacic said. “I don’t think the DEP is capable of being in the energy business, they can’t even fix their leaky waterline. The DEP should give it up and let the energy experts do it.
“I think the DEP is stalling the process,” Bonacic continued. “If we are stuck with the DEP, they need to stop dragging their feet and make it a deliberate open process. They need to guarantee that the watershed residents are going to benefit.”
The DEP wants to build a total of 11 hydropower turbines on dams at its Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton and Schoharie reservoirs. The turbines would produce a total of 38.75 megawatts of electricity. The DCEC plan would have produced 63 megawatts.
DCEC is a nonprofit electricity cooperative that serves 5,100 members in 21 towns in Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie and Chenango counties.
In July, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. wrote a letter to the DEP urging it to speed negotiations with the co-op regarding DCEC’s efforts to build hydroelectric plants and harness overflow at four city-owned Catskill reservoirs.
DCEC officials originally said they hoped to get final approval in 2011 and have the hydro plants open within a year or two after that.
The DCEC project, as proposed, Starheim said, would have created 100 construction jobs and generated between $400,000 and $800,000 a year in revenue for watershed municipalities and co-op member school districts.
