CHENANGO COUNTY – It’s back to the drawing board again for New York Regional Interconnect Inc., according to a letter the company received Monday from the state’s top power line authority.
The $2.1 billion high voltage line developer’s permit application was ruled deficient by the state Public Service Commission (PSC) Monday for the second time in two years.
Among NYRI’s newest mistakes, the PSC ruled that the company’s aerial photographs of its proposed 190-mile route “incompletely represented” or failed to “identify all cultural features” in 18 different spots, mostly in Chenango County.
“It follows what the citizen’s groups have been saying all along,” said Earlville resident Eve Ann Shwartz, co-chair of Stop NYRI. “NYRI really isn’t taking the PSC process seriously. They’re just trying to file something quick and dirty, again.”
Shwartz said, in her opinion, it appears that NYRI is trying to avoid a state review under new and controversial federal laws that allow power lines to get approved in Washington.
NYRI officials have claimed they are fully involved in the state review.