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Brian Adey
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Oneida County Executive Joseph A. Griffo today said that Oneida County will be joining a regional steering committee to coordinate efforts aimed at blocking the proposed New York Region Interconnect Power Line. Griffo said he and other county officials are meeting today in Norwich with state and county officials who are also opposed to the project.

“The broad-based citizen coalition against this project is being matched by an aggressive effort to bring together county and state governments so that we can gear up for an all-out effort to stop this project,” Griffo said. “Oneida County’s leadership in coordinating opposition within the county and across the path of the line has helped develop a coordinated anti-power line team that is now working with our state representatives so that our entire region can speak with one voice and act as a partnership. This meeting will help share data so that we can make the most effective case possible to stop this project.”

Griffo said today’s meeting will continue efforts to create a framework local and state officials can use to coordinate regional efforts and discuss steps that will be taken to secure legal and expert support that will be needed.

“The model that was used to stave off BRAC is a proven, successful model that provides a regional oversight of our effort and allows us to channel the outpouring of community activism we are now witnessing in the most productive ways possible, while also tapping into experts where needed to fight the legal, regulatory, environmental and political battles that lie ahead of us,” Griffo said, citing the key elements of the BRAC-like plan he supports:

• A regional, professional non-government group such as Mohawk Valley EDGE to provide professional staff who can coordinate hired experts and prepare documents needed for filings and hearing.
• Local government officials work as a collaborative team through a partnership that works under regional leadership.
• Citizens provide the energy that builds a regional groundswell of opposition to this project across the multi-county path of the line, linking environmental and other action groups across the region.
• Bipartisan partnerships at the state and federal levels help the region get access to decision-makers, as we did in the BRAC process, to ensure that the region gets the fair hearing it deserves.

Griffo said that after Thursday’s meeting, he will continue the dialogue he has already begun with local elected officials and community activists. “This issue is of critical importance to hundreds of people in many communities,” Griffo said. “We want to provide information so that all the efforts of our communities are focused and the energy of our community groups is harnessed together for success. Through meetings, phone calls and e-mails, we will keep all of our partners updated and involved.”

Griffo noted that he has asked the Oneida County Board of Legislators to commit $50,000 to support the regional effort under way to block the line.

“This is a long-term battle that needs a long-term investment of our resources – both staff time and money,” Griffo said. “Winning this battle is every bit as vital to the future of our communities as winning the BRAC fight was last year, and we will give this fight every ounce of energy. As we gear up for a fight that will go as long as it can, even to the courts if necessary, we need to pull together experts who can develop the case we will present to the state Public Service Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy. This will not be cheap or easy, but we will fight for the people whose communities, property and livelihoods are threatened by this project.”