A Wind Project That Might Be More Than Hot Air . . .

John Brezinski has an idea: have Herkimer County develop a wind farm.

Wind farms, particularly in Herkimer County, have been a favorite target of mine. Although touted as “green,” their “foot prints” often extend over thousands of acres, radically changing the landscape and, for most people living near by, diminishing both their quality of life and property values. Benefits regarding “global warming” are speculative if not incalculable. They could justify more long distance power lines, such as NYRI — extending negative impacts all over the countryside. Consumers usually are charged more for such “green” power than conventional power, so it is not cheap. Companies seeking permits to construct such projects usually seek a “PILOT” or “payment in lieu of taxes” agreement — which amounts to a taxpayer subsidy not given to other businesses — to make their projects viable. And the power is simply not needed locally, because our so-called power ’surplus’ is the basis for the NYRI proposal. In sum, certain businesses request our subsidy and acceptance of negative environmental impacts for the “greater good” — of people living elsewhere, of ‘the earth’ — but probably for their own enrichment.

So why is Mr. Brezinski’s proposal worth looking at?

Several county officials met Thursday with Empire State Wind Energy President Keith Pitman to gain information about how much revenue can be made from wind projects, Brezinski said.

Pitman told county officials he would be able to give the county 75 percent of the revenue if he did a large project for the county, said Herkimer County Administrator James Wallace. That’s 10 to 20 times as much money as other developers are offering, Wallace said.

If the local benefit is great enough, it may make the local impacts more tolerable. (A year ago I wondered if some of the other proposals were simply ‘lo-ball’ offers that preyed upon Herkimer County’s economic desperation.)

Brezinski said he thinks the county should try to make it so that any project
it’s involved with developing will produce electricity to be used locally instead of sold to other areas. This could bring down electricity costs and attract businesses to the area, he said.

If the power is used locally, that reduces the need for lines and impacts to people not receiving a benefit. It also reduces transmission costs. This suggests that the cost of production and local distribution might be cheaper than if the County buys power from National Grid. IF cheap power can be created, it will be a business advantage.

Also discussed was the possibility of a small wind project that would place a few turbines near Herkimer County Community College to help power the college and possibly other county facilities, Wallace said.

Smaller projects mean smaller impacts mean fewer objections.

Not to get carried away, the County would be taking on both a significant investment and significant risk. Like other local government-run utilities, the expertise needed to be successful is likely to be lacking — hence the need for some professional management. And the negative impacts will still have to be dealt with in a way that is fair to neighbors.

But it is worth looking into … NOT for global warming . . . NOT for the ‘greater good’ … but for the possibility of bringing benefits to the people who will be paying the costs and living with the consequences.

New York State Promotes Urban Sprawl . . .

New York State is giving Hartford Financial Services Group (a private company) a $500,000 grant (your tax money) to locate in a new office park being developed in New Hartford.

I wonder how it ever became State policy to give grants that encourage construction in undeveloped areas? I wonder if a generic environmental impact statement was done on such a policy – - and what mitigation was proposed for the sprawl that it promotes?

Just wondering . . .

Unbuilding Bridges . . .

In Utica, we’re still debating whether or not the North-South Arterial should be elevated over Court Street, and how we can best speed traffic through to New Hartford.

In Syracuse, the conversation is taking a different tone. Like the Arterial, I-81 overpasses are nearing the end of their useful life, but there, the talk is about removing them all together. Sandra Barrett of the Onondaga Citizens League commented.

“Basically, we think someone needs to take an advocacy role for downtown, or others will make the decision for downtown,” Barrett said. “We want to make sure it’s not just dollars and construction costs on the table, but that people take a look at the community at large. We want to take a look at alternatives to a highway that cuts through our city and separates our downtown from our fastest-growing industries.”

People are starting to realize how superhighways, cutting through city neighborhoods, can destroy them. We need to think about this ourselves when remaking our own Arterial.

A Big Win for the Little Guy . . .

The Jordanville Wind Farm received a “setback” in court according to yesterday’s paper. The ruling is being greeted with the usual moaning and groaning when governmental officials — and big business interests — don’ t get their way. But in reality, the ruling is a big win for the little guy. . . on two levels.

A Big Win for Open Government

As reported today, the Towns of Warren and Stark will now pay for their failure to comply with the Open Meetings Law. Anything decided by the towns in violation of that law is void. This is a good thing. When decisions are made illegally behind closed doors, it usually is because government is being co-opted by private interests for their own benefit and the expense of their neighbors. Some of our Towns in Oneida County need to read this decision and learn a lesson from it. When government runs openly and honestly, everyone benefits.

A Big Win for the Environment

Another aspect of the ruling is that government decisions that are made without a ‘hard look’ at their environmental impacts will also be set aside. This has long been the law, but it is often forgotten because, quite frankly, local government seems to have been bought off by business interests, it’s easier and less costly to ignore one’s environmental responsibilities, and it is unlikely that private individuals or civic groups will fork over the money needed to sue. This case, however, was the exception: people did sue — and they won. If they had not, GOVERNMENT would have simply continued to violate the law. Some of our Towns in Oneida County need to read this decision from the environmental angle and learn a lesson from it. New Hartford in particular should read very carefully the “Pyramid” case cited within this decision. Again, this decision is a good thing. If environmental impacts are ignored, it is usually the neighbors – - – the little guys who derive no benefit — who are hurt. When all the impacts are revealed and studied and mitigated, everyone benefits.

The Key to the Future . . .

According to the O-D headline, “rivers, trails key to area’s future.” Oneida County is seeking to make better use of waterways in the Mohawk River corridor. Undoubtedly, the headline is a lot of hyperbole.

But Oneida County Chief Planner, Ms. Breiten, makes a good point:

“This whole thing started because there is currently a lot of public-held property within the corridor, along the river and the canal, and it just seemed logical to try to link these publicly owned lands,” Breiten said.

That’s what we like to see — LOGIC in our government’s workings. And linking existing publicly owned lands along the river and canal seems to be one way of making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

As readers of this blog know from some of my photos, there is a lot of beauty along the river and canal. I regularly bike from Utica to Oriskany and have gone from Oriskany to Rome. The bikeway is a great asset that people are just starting to become aware of and use.

A greatly under utilized (non-utilized is more accurate) area is the eastern end in Utica at the canal entrance to Utica Harbor. The lock looks non-functional. Maybe it can be fixed? The harbor proper holds potential for waterfront development and boat useage. Down valley villages have done a marvelous job with their harbors. Utica, the largest city on the canal between Syracuse and Schenectady, logically should have the largest harbor development. There is a lot of public land just ready to be used. And there should be money available to clean up a lot of the contaminated old riverfront sites.

A disappointment on the western end is the trail ending on a heavily traveled highway just short of Rome proper. It is just begging for a pedestrian/bike-friendly connection into downtown and the fort, with some clear signage.

Another disappointment is the lack of a connection from the canal trail to the Oriskany Battlefield and Monument. It would seem to be a natural destination.

Of course (and I hate to say it but it seems to be true) the O-D is pushing a New Hartford agenda again by wanting trails in the Sauquoit Creek Basin. While that would be nice, NH has already gotten a lot of County largess . . . and it can well afford to implement its own trail system. While the 840 trail is “OK,” it does not have the scenic or historic potential to attract a regional clientèle like the Mohawk River trail system does (which will eventually stretch from Albany to Buffalo). It would be wasteful to spend county money on far flung projects that would attract limited interest.

Lets focus on the Erie Canal – Mohawk River areas first — Utica, Rome, and Oriskany — and make better use of the public lands we find there.

Cheerleading Sprawl

Just when you think the O-D finally “gets it” with the headline “Growth must compliment existing uses,” the details tell you it has not.

“Route 840 was built with the idea that it would help invigorate economic growth.”

Where did that idea come from?

“Development in these areas must be encouraged.”

WHY?

” . . . we also have the obligation to protect the prospective developer.”

Since when? . . . and from what?

The editors seem to be working from a set of preconceived notions about the “benefits” of “development.”

If New Hartford can be used as an example, residents and taxpayers will pay the price in forms such as (1) bond issues to remediate storm water problems, (2) extending services, (3) traffic congestion, (4) more town government, (5) loss of crop land, and (6) the loss of the semi-rural character that brought them to the town to begin with.

“More” is not always good.

Consent Order (In)Justice

A reader pointed out some interesting passages in the October 10th and October 24th 2007 New Hartford Town Board minutes concerning Oneida County’s Consent Order with the Department of Environmental Conservation.

October 10:

• Part-County Sewer District and Consent Order – The Highway Superintendent has been talking with Oneida County’s consultants about all the initiatives that need to be submitted and agreed upon between the County and DEC by year’s end

• Consent Order – Rayhill Memorial Trail – Oneida County was required to pay a $150,000 fine related to the Part-County Sewer District and the County was successful in DEC agreeing that 20% of that fine could be allocated toward a local environmental beautification project; instead of paying $30,000 to DEC, the money will be made available to the Sauquoit Creek Basin Inter-municipal Commission who will administer the installation of a dedicated parking facility for trail use at the Middlesettlement Road BOCES property. Most likely, inter-municipal agreements will need to be executed among DEC, BOCES, the Town of New Hartford, the Sauquoit Creek Basin Inter-municipal Commission and possibly the Town of Whitestown. This project has been submitted to DEC and preliminary indications are that the project will be approved by DEC.

October 24:

 

Trailhead Funding – Philip Rayhill Memorial Trail

Councilman Reynolds and the Highway Superintendent confirmed that the Town of New Hartford has received funding approval for the trail head at the Philip Rayhill Memorial Trail. (NOTE: Refer to October 10, 2007 Town Board minutes.)

 

 

So let me get this straight: (1) Oneida County violates the law by allowing sanitary sewers to be hooked into its combined sewer overflow on the Mohawk River; (2) New Hartford approved the plans for the developments that made these hookups; (3) New Hartford greatly expanded its tax base and reaped tremendous financial benefits from the hookups and violations; (4) Oneida County manages to offset its fine by rewarding its accomplice, New Hartford, with parking for its Rayhill Trail. So New Hartford contributes to an environmental violation, gains financially, and is now rewarded with a parking lot! What an abomination!

New Hartford must have friends in high places at the DEC!

I have a better idea on how the money could be spent:

Build a picnic area adjacent to the County’s outfall in Yorkville.

The people in Yorkville have been dumped upon . . . and will continue to be dumped on until at least 2014. When the weather is good people will have a pleasant place to go.

And when we get rain, we will be reminded by the floating feces of how government has failed us.

Salivation in Whitestown . . .

Whitestown officials are virtually salivating at the prospect of “growth” a’ la New Hartford now that Rt 840 has opened. Per the O-D,

Such development will bolster the assessment roll and provide more opportunities for residents, Whitestown Town Supervisor Matthew Shannon says.

What opportunities? Another quick stop? More office space that will simply mean moving work from other parts of the region to Whitestown? We are an area of DECLINING POPULATION, remember? This is not growth — repeat, NOT GROWTH. It’s moving the deck chairs on a sinking ship. But Mr. Shannon wants Whitestown to be like New Hartford.

“That atmosphere is going to soon migrate over to the town of Whitestown,” Shannon said. “We’re prepared, and we’re shovel-ready for the growth.”

So we get another quick stop. But what do we lose? Perhaps an organic garlic farm? The region has plenty of quick stops, but not many garlic farms. In fact, anyone who can remember back 40 years when we had 85,000 more people in this County we also had a lot more active farm land.

What will happen when a plague or some other calamity hits the California vegetable bowl? Or the cost of transportation simply becomes too high? We will want farmland nearby– but by then it will be paved over. But that’s thinking long term — something that we’ve learned not to expect from our local officials.

How about short term?

Per the O-D the Roberts’ garlic farm is already threatened by runoff from the site of the proposed quick stop, caused by the apparently unregulated dumping of fill on the property. Echos of New Hartford! And, like in New Hartford, the negative impact falls hardest on particular individuals. These are the kinds of problems the residents of Towns expect their government to prevent from developing. . . not pay to fix damage caused by developers later. Town government should not worry about serving the interests of some entrepreneur in Arizona.

“Providing opportunities for residents” is a crock. Bolstering the assessment roll is the real deal here . . . providing opportunities for government officials. That’s been the story in New Hartford, and Whitestown wants to emulate it.

Enough already!

Wind: Not as Green as You Think . . .

In case you missed it in all the post election clutter, a local physicist, John Droz, Jr., had an interesting opinion piece in the Observer Dispatch on the negatives of wind farms. It is well worth reading. His conclusions:

“1) there is no consequential environmental benefit to industrial wind power, and 2) it is being promoted because it is an extremely lucrative business opportunity.”

The problem with wind energy is that without TAXPAYER/RATEPAYER subsidies, it would not be financially feasible — and it has a HUGE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT.

One reason why electric rates are so high in NYS (contributing to our region’s decline) is the state requirement that major suppliers must buy any renewable energy that is developed, and must buy it at a certain minimum charge which is in excess of the cost of other forms of energy. This means that you, the rate payer, are being forced to subsidize a method of energy production that is not cost effective. If so called “green” energy were cost effective, there would be no need for forced purchases at guaranteed minimum prices.

Wind farm purveyors often seek property tax breaks from their host communities. The tax breaks have been cited as necessary to make these projects financially viable. Again, that should tell you that wind farms are not cost effective, and that you, the taxpayer, are being forced to subsidize private business — business that will create no jobs to speak of. To make matters worse, if any of the turbines were to catch on fire, or if there would be vandalism, the burden to resolve these problems would fall upon the local municipality — the municipality that is not collecting a fair share of taxes from the business.

Coal is to the US what oil is to Saudia Arabia. There is plenty of it and it is more cost effective than wind power. Someone said they would rather have 20,000 wind turbines than 20,000 coal plants. How about 2 coal plants instead of 20,000 turbines? That is probably closer to the truth. Environmentally, thousands and thousands of acres will be affected by wind farms, while a few strategically placed coal fired plants would produce a more reliable stream of electricity, at lower costs, and affect only a fraction of the acreage. Technology has progressed to the point that these coal-plants do not have the impacts they once did. Nuclear, of course, is another option.

If the power from these wind farms were needed locally, it might be reasonable to tolerate them. But the fact — often cited by NYRI — is that Upstate NY has more than enough power for its own needs. Anyone who finds thousands of turbines strewn about our landscape acceptable must also accept miles and miles of power lines to get the power to the downstate market. And that is why politicians who push tax breaks by Herkimer and Oneida Counties for wind farms while opposing NYRI are not making sense. You cannot have one without the other.

The bottom line, echoing Mr. Droz, is that, at least for Upstate, wind farms are not about protecting the environment, and not about producing power efficiently. Rather, they are about producing “profit” for certain well-connected companies and people.

There is nothing wrong with “profit” as long as ALL those bearing the costs share in it — but that will not happen. NYRI is not planning to reimburse homeowners along their power line for losses in property values, must less than give them a share of the profits.

People who are talking about going “green” are not looking at all the consequences and who they will fall upon.

Sprawling in New Hartford

Urbanization marches on in New Hartford — even though the region’s population has suffered a drop of “Biblical” proportions — all with Oneida County’s cheer leading, if not complicity. According to the WKTV website (quoting Mr. Picente), the new development will include:

• Approximately 120 acres that can accommodate up to 1,000,000 square feet of development.
• Access from Route 5, Woods Highway and a new intersection with the new Judd Road Extension (Rt. 840).
• A brand new three level 130,000 square feet building for The Hartford on approximately 14 acres. Approximately 600-800 jobs will stay in New Hartford at this office – occupancy is slated for November 2008.
• Further development including a 15,000 square foot medical office complex. Negotiations are under way for a hotel (national flag) of approximately 100 rooms – both expected to break ground in Spring 200

Question: Where is all the sewage from this development going to go? If it’s going to go to the Sauquoit Creek Pump Station, isn’t the Town required to remove 5 gallons of storm water for every gallon of sewage that will be produced? Where/how has the Town done this? or will the 100 room hotel use “subsurface waste disposal” a/k/a cesspools?

A new intersection on 55MPH Rt. 840? Just what we need: another light. When did the state DOT decide to permit this abomination? and how did it decide this?

Some people in New Hartford won’t be happy until every large parcel of vacant land is developed and paved over.

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

. . . . . . . . . Joni Mitchell

Another take on this story is on New Hartford Online Blog.