ALBANY: DEC Issues Permits for New York City Projects—The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued "clean-air" permits, along with federal acid rain permits, for the Power Authority's installation of 10 small, clean electric generators at five sites in New York City and one on Long Island. The plants, planned for operation by June 1, are designed to avert power shortages during the summer peak-demand period. Two sites are in The Bronx, two in Brooklyn, one in Queens and one in Brentwood in Suffolk County. The generators, fueled by natural gas and outfitted with advanced emissions controls, will be the cleanest in the city. Each generator is rated at 44 megawatts (mw), with the output at each of four dual-unit sites capped at 79.9 mw. The DEC will consider issuance of a permit for another generator site, on Staten Island, after a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 25 there.

MASSENA: NYPA Solicits Comments on Project Relicensing—The Power Authority has distributed a draft application for a new 50-year license for its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project to state and federal agencies and regional interest groups for comments. The draft application includes provisions for nearly $41 million in ecological enhancements and more than $40 million in community and recreational benefits in the project area. In an effort to reach an agreement with local communities on unresolved issues, NYPA has offered to add to its basic proposal by creating a community trust fund, valued at $85 million over the course of the new license. The fund would be shared and administered by the communities. The final relicensing proposal must be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by October. The Power Authority's current license expires in 2003. The St. Lawrence-FDR project, which began operation in 1958, produces some of the nation's cleanest and lowest-cost electricity and is an anchor of the Northern New York economy.

BROOKLYN: NYPA Chills Energy Costs at Municipal Building— The Power Authority has begun a $6 million upgrade of the cooling system at the Brooklyn Municipal Building, installing energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment that is estimated to provide annual energy savings of more than $53,000. The new chillers will produce chilled water for use in air conditioning the municipal building as well as the Borough Hall across the street. NYPA's replacement of the existing quarter-century old chillers, which have exceeded their useful service lives, will also reduce maintenance costs and eliminate the use of ozone-depleting refrigerants. The work is scheduled for completion by mid-summer. It is one of the latest of hundreds of energy-saving projects undertaken by the Power Authority at government facilities throughout New York City, saving taxpayers nearly $34 million a year and enough electricity to serve about 65,000 homes, or about half of Staten Island's requirements.

ALBANY: NYPA Video Celebrates King Legacy—A Power Authority-prepared video tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a highlight of New York's official King holiday memorial observance in the Empire State Convention Center on Jan. 15. The video, which debuted before a capacity audience, depicts scenes from Dr. King's life and last year's memorial observance, at which NYPA Chairman C.D. "Rapp" Rappleyea helped unveil a Steuben crystal glass sculpture dedicated to the slain civil rights leader. NYPA's video group produced the tribute, using color footage of last year's event as well as archival black-and-white images of Dr. King. The sculpture, Seeds of Enlightenment, was created for Steuben, a Power Authority electricity customer, by artist Eric Hilton. NYPA helped defray the cost of the sculpture and was instrumental in getting it placed in a prominent position in the state's Empire Plaza Art Collection.

NIAGARA FALLS: Former Assemblyman Daly Joins NYPA Staff— Former Assemblyman Rob Daly has joined the Power Authority as a special adviser for the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project. "He will bring to the relicensing process a keen appreciation of the Niagara project's importance to Western New York and an invaluable local perspective as we seek to reconcile the interests of various groups," said Chairman C.D. "Rapp" Rappleyea. Daly was elected to the Assembly in 1998; his term expired Dec. 31. A Niagara Falls resident, he served on the Assembly's Energy and Economic Development committee and on the Task Force on Higher Academic Standards. Daly previously was a member of the Niagara Falls Area Chamber of Commerce's Government Relations Committee from 1995 to 1998 and a commissioner of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission from 1996 to 1998. Daly's father, the late John B. Daly, represented the Niagara Frontier as a state senator and assemblyman, and later served as a Power Authority trustee.

ALBANY: NYPA Official Urges Hydropower Relicensing Reform— With the warning that the federal relicensing process is "slowly, but steadily, turning off the tap on America's hydropower resources," a Power Authority official urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to significantly reform the process. "Two-thirds of all hydropower projects relicensed since 1986 lost generation as a result of relicensing," said Daniel Berical, NYPA's vice president for Policy and Government Affairs, at a public meeting conducted in Albany by FERC to review hydroelectric licensing procedures. "The existing licensing process is lengthy, uncertain and costly," he said, noting that the licenses of the Power Authority St. Lawrence-FDR project in Massena and Niagara project in Lewiston are up for renewal in 2003 and 2007, respectively. Berical maintained that relicensing reform "certainly should neither dilute nor diminish the thorough analysis of environmental impacts" but called for "a renewed sense of balance" to preserve's hydropower's environmental and economic benefits.

In the Community: Power Authority staff members presented briefings on NYPA's proposed gas-turbine generators in New York City and on Long Island to local officials and community groups, including the Five Towns Civic Association, Jan. 16; Staten Island Community Board #1, Jan. 11; the South Bronx Board of Trade, Jan. 10; and Brooklyn Community Board #7, Jan. 9….Steve Ramsey, a NYPA senior community relations representative, gave a presentation on the Authority's Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project, Gilboa, to the Cobbleskill Exchange Club, Howe's Cave, Jan. 16….NYPA officials met with Queens Cable Access, Jan. 11, and Brooklyn Community Cable Access TV, Jan. 4, for upcoming shows on the need for additional electric generating capacity in New York City….The temporary visitors center at NYPA's Niagara Power Project, Lewiston, will be closed weekends through March. During the week, the center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For further information, call (716) 286-6661.