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| Week of Oct. 19, 2003 |
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MASSENA: Decision Nears on St. Lawrence Project Relicensing— The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is scheduled to consider NYPA's
application for a new license for its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project at the
commission's next meeting, set for Oct. 22 in Washington, D.C. The original
50-year license for the 800,000-kilowatt project expires Oct. 31. Last
month, FERC staff issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement with a
positive recommendation on NYPA's application, based on wide-ranging
community support achieved through a cooperative relicensing process the
Power Authority initiated in 1996. Also last month, NYPA presented federal
regulators with a settlement agreement with six out-of-state customers that
have been buying St. Lawrence-FDR power since the project began operation in
1958. As a result of extended negotiations, NYPA will cut alloca- tions to the six customers by about half, making an additional 34 megawatts of hydropower—some of North America's lowest-cost electricity—available for sale in New York State. That provision, along with a host of other benefits for North Country communities, is contingent upon FERC's approval of a new license for the project. VERONA: Action Urged on Transmission, Power Plant Legislation— The August blackout was "a defining moment" for the electricity industry, underscoring the need to strengthen the transmission system, NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Zeltmann told a meeting of large power users here on Oct. 2. "Now-more than ever-there is a clear need for the investment incentives, the cost recovery mechanisms and the efficient regional planning processes that will enable us to build new transmission when and where it's required," he said at the annual meeting of Multiple Intervenors. Zeltmann noted that the state Senate recently passed legislation proposed by Gov. George E. Pataki to facilitate upgrading of transmission lines in the state and provide financing for transmission and generating facilities, and he urged the Assembly to seriously consider the measure. He also called for renewal of the state's power-plant siting law, which has expired. Clean, modern plants-"along with transmission upgrades and aggressive energy-efficiency efforts-must be part of a balanced and effective power-supply strategy," Zeltmann said. NIAGARA FALLS: Leadership Niagara to Honor NYPA— Leadership Niagara has selected the Power Authority as a recipient of its Leader of the Year award for 2003 in recognition of the Authority’s role in "providing low-cost hydroelectric power to businesses and residents throughout Western New York, as well as for supporting tourism and economic development initiatives." NYPA Chairman Louis Ciminelli will accept the award at a dinner and reception at the Niagara Falls Country Club on Nov. 7. C. Mickey Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Seneca Niagara Casino, will also be honored. Calling the Power Authority "a pillar of the community for more than 40 years," Leadership Niagara noted that NYPA's economical electricity is linked to more than 60,000 jobs in the region. The organization also cited the Authority's contributions of $6.5 million for renovations to the Niagara Reservation State Park Observation Tower and the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center and its sponsorship of the Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival and other community activities. Leadership Niagara explores Niagara County issues and business culture while promoting leadership development. MASSENA: 'Back to School' for St. Lawrence River Sturgeon— New schools of young lake sturgeon are now swimming the waters of the St. Lawrence River, thanks to an ongoing effort by the Power Authority to increase populations of this threatened species near NYPA's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. Earlier this month, with the assistance of a handful of state employees and about 35 students from Massena High School's environmental club, NYPA returned about 100 hatchery-raised lake sturgeon to a site near Hawkins Point. Last month, 800 fish—only five months old and measuring 3-5 inches—were set loose in the St. Regis River, which flows into the St. Lawrence. NYPA has aided the state Department of Environmental Conservation's sturgeon-stocking efforts since 1997 by setting up holding tanks on project lands and providing access for releases of the fish into North Country rivers. As part of the new license proposal for the St. Lawrence-FDR project, currently pending before federal regulators, NYPA plans to establish six new spawning beds along the St. Lawrence River to support sturgeon reproduction. TOWN OF NIAGARA: Officials Dedicate Recreation Building— Town of Niagara Supervisor Steve Richards presided at the Oct. 11 dedication of the town's new Senior and Youth Activity Building, funded in part by the Power Authority, in the new 123-acre Veterans Memorial Park here. The town had been planning and saving for the complex for almost 20 years, but work did not begin until about three years ago, when NYPA, working with several sponsors, including state Sen. George Maziarz, provided a $500,000 matching grant to build the park, a playground and picnic and activity-center facilities. At the dedication, Richards thanked the Power Authority for helping to make the town's plans a reality. The Senior and Youth Activity Building is a one-story structure with a large meeting area and concession facilities. MASSENA: NYPA Provides Funds to Emergency Services— The Power Authority recently distributed $35,000 in annual donations to 38 emergency service organizations and the American Red Cross in areas around the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project here. Massena Memorial Hospital had received a NYPA donation in the spring. Duane O'Brien, safety, health and fire protection administrator at the project, presented a check on Oct. 11 to the Massena Volunteer Fire Department at the organization's annual dinner. NYPA mailed checks to 37 other volunteer fire departments and rescue squads in the North Country. HERE AND THERE: Halloween Gets Jump Start at Visitors Sites— The trick or treating will kick off a week early at NYPA visitors centers at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project in North Blenheim, Schoharie County, and the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, Niagara County. On Oct. 25 (rain or shine), a juggling clown will join the usual lineup of Halloween spooks for sc'ary fun, pumpkin painting and refreshments at the Blenheim-Gilboa Sc'ary Halloween event, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for the scariest, prettiest and most unusual costume and for the most creative pumpkin. Also on Oct. 25, visitors to the Niagara center will make their own Halloween masks and participate in interactive storytelling and pumpkin painting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to both events is free. In the Community: Engineering classes from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point toured the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project, Gilboa, Oct. 14….More than a thousand people enjoyed free NYPA-sponsored fireworks at Tuckahoe Night, part of the Columbus Day celebration in Eastchester and Tuckahoe, both Power Authority electricity customers in Westchester County, Oct. 12. The event featured GEM (Global Electric Motorcars) electric-drive vehicles presented to Eastchester in a NYPA-DaimlerChrysler donation program….The Power Authority gave an electric-vehicle demonstration to a Saquoit High School technology class, Oct. 14.…NYPA donated three Ford Neighbor electric vehicles to the Village of Monroe, Oct. 9. The small, battery-powered cars have a top speed of 25 miles an hour and are legal to operate in New York State on roads with speed limits of 35 miles an hour or less. |