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| Week of Nov. 2, 2003 |
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MASSENA: U.S. Issues New License for NYPA Hydro Project Gov. George
E. Pataki announced on Oct. 22 that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
had approved a new 50-year license earlier that day for the Power Authority
to continue running its St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project
here. The project, which began operation in 1958 as part of an international
hydroelectric facility on the U.S.-Canadian border, produces some of the
nation's least expensive electricity. Its original 50-year license, issued
Nov. 1, 1953, was set to expire at the end of October. The new license is
based on a historic agreement announced by the Governor in October 2001
between the Power Authority and stakeholders including North Country
communities, state and federal agencies, and environmental groups. It
provides for the return of additional land to the communities; a community
enhancement fund of at least $115 million for localities and school
districts; enhanced tourism opportunities; improvements to state and local
parks, campgrounds, boating sites and other recreational facilities;
enhancements of environmental facilities and fish and wildlife habitats; and
various other actions. NYPA's application to FERC was developed in an
Alternative Licensing Process, with wide-ranging input from local
communities. The application received broad support from the communities;
all federal, state and local agencies involved; local labor unions; and
major area industries. BUFFALO: Plan Streamlines Hydropower Allocation Process Power Authority Chairman Louis Ciminelli has concluded an agreement with utility and economic development officials that will make low-cost hydropower from NYPA's Niagara Power Project more readily accessible to support business and job growth. Ciminelli signed a memorandum of understanding here on Oct. 22 with representatives of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, part of a regional business association; Empire State Development, New York's statewide economic development agency; and Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Niagara project hydropower, some of the nation's lowest-cost electricity, will be available for allocation on a continuous basis, allowing greater flexibility and a more timely response to encourage job creation and new investment on the Niagara Frontier. EAST MEADOW: Lighting Upgrade Brightens Medical Center A NYPA lighting upgrade completed in October for the hospital and nursing facilities of the Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) will produce annual savings of more than $340,000, paying for the $1.1 million project in just over three years. Lighting improvements for NUMC's 1,500-bed health-care system included replacement of incandescent fixtures with fluorescent bulbs in public and storage areas. Savings result from the difference in energy consumption between the new and old fixtures, typically 34-watt fluorescents instead of 100-watt incandescent lamps. The project also provided for the replacement of mercury-vapor lighting with metal-halide lamps in loading docks and retrofitting of fluorescents with more-efficient T-8 lamps, electronic ballasts and specular reflectors in operating suites, maternity rooms, doctors' offices and examination rooms, hallways and cafeterias. LEWISTON: NYPA Acreage Dedicated as New Village ParkThe Power Authority has leased 47 acres of NYPA-owned land, formerly part of the state's Artpark, to the Village of Lewiston for recreational and nature-conservation uses. Known informally as The Plateau, the site at one time was a repository for excavated material produced during construction of NYPA's Niagara Power Project nearby. Through an arrangement with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the village will use part of the site for recreation fields, with the remainder to be set aside as a wildlife preserve. Last year, Power Authority maintenance crews seeded the athletic fields, while New York State, Niagara County, neighboring communities, area residents and local businesses provided assistance and in-kind services to develop the site. Joanne Willmott, NYPA community relations manager, was on hand at an Oct. 17 dedication ceremony attended by state Sen. George Maziarz, Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, Niagara County Legislator Lee Simonson and Lewiston Mayor Richard Soluri. MASSENA: Studies, Enhancements on Tap for St. Lawrence River Power Authority trustees have approved the hiring of a consultant to begin studies and develop management plans that will pave the way for $18 million in environmental enhancements tied to the new federal license issued for NYPA's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. As part of its license application, the Power Authority negotiated a settlement agreement with stakeholders, including the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New York Rivers United, that provides for the work in and around the St. Lawrence River. On Oct. 28, NYPA trustees chose Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield, Maine, to initiate studies and other tasks related to the enhancements, including the creation of 11 habitat improvement projects benefiting waterfowl, fish and other aquatic species. Work is scheduled to begin next year. By 2005, the Authority will start rehabilitating and upgrading the dikes and the water-control infrastructure at the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area. NEW YORK: Hearing Set on Power Sales to Hudson River Park The Power Authority has scheduled a Dec. 17 public hearing on a proposed contract that would make lower-cost electricity available to Hudson River Park, a waterfront area under development on the west side of Manhattan. The power would be sold to the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT), a public benefit corporation charged with developing and operating the new 550-acre park, which extends from Battery Park, in lower Manhattan, to West 59th Street. The contract, which is subject to the approval of Gov. George E. Pataki, would provide about 500 kilowatts (kw) of power for various public facilities and street lights. The hearing is scheduled at 11 a.m. at NYPA's midtown offices at 501 Seventh Ave. HRPT would be the latest downstate public agency to receive discount-priced NYPA electricity, joining 114 other governmental customers in the area. They include New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Westchester County. In the Community: A NYPA electric vehicle was on view at the Hispanic Day parade, White Plains, Oct. 25 .More than 3,000 people attended the annual Sc'ary County Harvest and Halloween Festival at the Blenheim-Gilboa project's visitors center, North Blenheim, Oct. 25. A Halloween event at the Niagara Power Project's visitors center attracted more than 550 people, who made Halloween masks and painted pumpkins, Lewiston, Oct. 25. The Blenheim-Gilboa project's visitors center played host to a meeting of the Power Authority's municipal and cooperative electric system partnership customers, which obtain all of their electricity from NYPA, Oct. 23 .The Niagara project's visitors center participated in Doors Open Niagara, which gave visitors an opportunity to tour unique Niagara buildings on both sides of the border with Canada, Oct. 18-19 .The Power Authority presented an electric vehicle and a Basics of Electricity show at the close of Art on Wheels, an exhibition of more than 50 wheel-themed moving sculptures in 57 public spaces throughout Erie and Niagara counties, Bidwell Parkway, Buffalo, Oct. 18-19. One of the entries, a 34-foot-wide wind-powered sculpture, was displayed this summer at the Niagara project visitors center's plaza. |