PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:                              Contact:

Wednesday, October 21, 2009                          Paul Ertelt, (518) 449-3870

                                                                     

Statewide Vote Needed for Power Line
Constitutional Amendment Allows Less Destructive Option

On Nov. 3, voters across New York will be asked to weigh in on a power line project to serve a remote, sparsely populated area in the northern part of the state. That’s because the Tri-Lakes Reliability Project impacts the Adirondack Forest Preserve, which is protected by the “Forever Wild” clause of state constitution. The Forest Preserve’s boundaries cannot be altered without a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by two separately elected legislatures and a statewide vote.

Proposal 1 would amend the constitution to authorize National Grid’s 46 kilovolt power line through land that is now part of the Forest Preserve. The New York Power Authority proposed the power line to provide the Tupper-Saranac-Placid area with a reliable electric supply by connecting the region to power plants on the St. Lawrence River.

The most reasonable route into the Adirondack Park is south from Potsdam, paralleling Route 56 to Sevey Corner, then east along Route 3 to Tupper Lake. While this route is mostly on private land, it requires the power line to cross a wedge of Forest Preserve along Route 56. Under the proposed amendment, the state would swap six acres of Forest Preserve for 43 acres of National Grid land in St. Lawrence County.

An alternative proposal would have routed the power line around Forest Preserve lands, but would have required clearing a 6-mile, 75-foot swath through sensitive boreal habitat. The alternative route would also have required construction of new roads and other infrastructure, precluding lands west of Route 56 from being later added to the Forest Preserve.

“The proposed constitutional amendment allows a shorter, less expensive and less environmentally damaging route,” said Neil Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club. “This is a reasonable, common-sense solution that will benefit residents of the Tri-Lakes Region while enhancing the Adirondack Forest Preserve.”

More information is available here.

The Adirondack Mountain Club, founded in 1922, is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.