Transmission Lines' Effect On The Hudson Worries Riverkeeper

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A clean-energy project to build a 175-mile transmission line that will run underground and on the bed of the Hudson River to bring electricity from upstate wind and solar generation projects to New York City will be the subject of two hearings Wednesday in the Hudson Valley.

The $11 billion Clean Path project is the second of two renewable-energy transmission projects to include underwater cables in the Hudson River, the other being the Champlain Hudson Power Express.

The largest transmission projects in New York State in the last 50 years, these two are predicted to reduce NYC’s reliance on fossil fuel electricity by more than 80 percent by 2030 when combined with the State’s deployment of clean energy and offshore wind.

The New York State Public Service Commission will hold two in-person public information forums and public statement hearings Wednesday in the Hudson Valley.

LOCATION:
Croton-on-Hudson Free Library
171 Cleveland Drive
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
TIME:
Information Session – 1:00 p.m.
Public Statement hearing – 1:30 p.m.

LOCATION:
SUNY Orange County Community College
115 South Street
Middletown, NY 10940
TIME:
Information Session – 6:00 p.m.
Public Statement hearing – 6:30 p.m.

Riverkeeper is an intervenor in the case before the PSC, as is Scenic Hudson.

"Riverkeeper felt the need to intervene to make sure the PSC will evaluate the alternatives to see if there is any feasible route to take the transmission line out of the river or reduce it," Riverkeeper Staff Attorney Drew Gamils told Patch. "If we’re not successful in getting it out of the Hudson River we want to make sure we're involved to mitigate any potential harms to the extent possible."

Under the current plan, the Clean Patch transmission line will go into the river right by the Newburgh Beacon bridge, and travel south to the Harlem River, then in the East River and terminate in Queens.

"It avoids certain areas and will make landfall in six locations," Gamils said.

The proposed Clean Path project corridor is within the Hudson River for 39.7 miles, within the Harlem River for 6 miles and within the East River for 0.6 miles. The submarine transmission line corridor begins off the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge landfall and runs south for 4 miles on the west side of the Hudson River through Newburgh and New Windsor. The corridor then enters Cornwall-On-Hudson and passes through Fishkill, Phillipstown, and Highlands.

After passing Constitution Island, the submarine transmission line runs along the east side of the Hudson River for 10 miles to the Charles Point landfall. The submarine transmission line corridor resumes off the Croton Point landfall in Croton Bay in Ossining. The corridor then runs south on the east side of the Hudson River for 20.5 miles. The submarine transmission line corridor then enters the Harlem River at the Spuyten Duyvil Creek location, between Manhattan and the Bronx. The corridor encompasses the full width of the Harlem River for 5 miles to the Randall’s Island landfalls.

"What’s crazy about this is — this is going to be the second-longest amount of cable underwater," Gamils said. Comparatively, the transmission for the Champlain Hudson Power Express cable will be under the Hudson River for about 117.8 miles. The CHPE line in total is 338 miles. Now under construction, CHPE will be the largest transmission line in the U.S. built entirely underwater and underground. It is also part of the state's clean energy plan.

Power lines have been put underwater for a long time, but it’s usually for shorter distances. "On top of that it’s almost unprecedented to have CHPE with Clean Patch — two transmission lines in the Hudson near each other," Gamils said.

Riverkeeper's scientists are concerned about the effects of electro-magnetic fields on the fish in the river, as well as worried about sediment dispersion and habitat destruction during the construction phase.

"We want to make sure there is a mitigation fund that can be used to restore habitat," Gamils said. "Also, cumulative impacts with Clean Patch and CHPE have not been addressed. This should be an opportunity to do that."

It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance, or present written material to speak at a hearing. Persons will be called to speak after completing a request card. Each public statement hearing will be held open a minimum of 30 minutes and will be kept open until everyone wishing to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements have been made to include their comments in the record. A verbatim transcript of the public statement hearings will be made for inclusion in the record.

For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at the public statement hearings, there are several other ways to provide comments to the Commission. Comments should refer to “Case 22-T-0558.” Although comments will be accepted throughout the course of this proceeding, they are requested by Oct. 20.

Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “File Search” (located under the heading “Commission Files”), enter “22-T-0558” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on the “Post Comments” box at the top of the page.

Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.