UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. recently challenged top officials of New York Regional Interconnect to visit Oneida County for face-to-face meetings about the power line project being opposed by a swath of communities all along its route.

“For the past two and a half years, this project has been hanging over this community as a threat, with no one from NYRI ever taking the time to come here to sit down and talk with us,” Picente said. “Whether it is letters, press releases or legal documents, the only thing we have seen from NYRI is paper. The most recent letter I have received from NYRI President Chris Thompson implied that they want to talk, so I think it is long past time that they come here to this community and do just that.”

Picente, who has strongly opposed the NYRI project, said if NYRI refuses to accept the invitation to make its case in person, “NYRI’s actions will continue to speak louder than any words that this is a project that benefits a few at a cost too high for us to accept without fighting this project every step of the way.”

The text of the letter follows:

I have received your recent letters regarding the power line project New York Regional Interconnect is seeking to develop, and I have read with interest the statements and comments from Unions for Jobs and the Environment in regards to the proposed power line project.

Your August 29 letter urges me to “consider NYRI a solution that benefits all New Yorkers.”

I would love to take you up on your offer to meet with myself and other government officials who are faced with the prospect that the NYRI line would cut through their community. NYRI has never had a meaningful dialogue with the leadership and citizenry of Oneida County . All of the interaction by NYRI has been through press releases, newspaper interviews, and responses from your attorneys who have done little to address our questions or understand the issues that the NYRI line would pose to Oneida County residents.

Residents and businesses in Oneida County are living in fear that this project will destroy their homes, disrupt businesses, and pose other issues that would not be offset by your pledge of union jobs for construction workers, set aside construction jobs for veterans, and your pledge of tax dollars to host communities. Just so you understand things, many of the residents and workers in our county who would be impacted by the proposed NYRI line are union households, veterans, and family owned businesses. They are having a hard time comprehending why NYRI is good for them and the last time they checked, they were residents of New York State .

The Marcy NanoCenter initiative that is situated at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Marcy would be impacted by your proposed development. For the past two years, no one from NYRI has bothered to meet with our economic development team and business leadership to see how the NYRI project would impact the Marcy NanoCenter development or impact the SUNYIT campus. It is apparent that your technical advisors, attorneys and press spokespersons have glossed over this initiative, which is threatened by your proposed project. We are in the engineering phase for nearly $25 million in site development, infrastructure, and other related engineering and permitting for this project and we know first hand that your proposed route would cut through the Marcy NanoCenter site. If the line were relocated off site, there are concerns about other impacts associated with the NYRI line that have not been evaluated.

So in summary, since you have extended a willingness to meet, I want to take you up on this opportunity and invite you to meet with me, and other key local elected and business leaders so that we can hear more from you on how NYRI is good for our County. Perhaps we can take you on a tour of where your line would run, and show you the impacts that it would have on our community and then you can decide for yourself whether NYRI is truly good for all New Yorkers.

NYRI responded with this letter to Anthony Picente:

September 25, 2008

Dear Mr. Picente:

Thank you for your letter of September 9, 2008.

As you are aware, on August 27, 2008, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) officially deemed complete the Article VII application submitted by New York Regional Interconnect Inc. (NYRI). This PSC ruling marks the start of a 12-month period of public statement and evidentiary hearings conducted by administrative law judges of the PSC's Office of Hearings and Alternative Dispute Resolution. The first of these meetings was held September 8 in Utica , and ensuing public statement and evidentiary meetings will enable all interested parties to openly participate in the regulatory process which is being conducted pursuant to Article VII of the Public Service Law.

The August 27th PSC ruling and the subsequent period of hearings under PSC auspices has bearing on your invitation for us to meet with you because NYRI and the County of Oneida, individually and through Communities Against Regional Interconnect (CARI), are parties to the Article VII proceeding. Given your party status, your letter could be interpreted as an offer to enter into settlement discussions. We would welcome such an offer so please let me know by way of letter if you wish to engage in settlement discussions.

Under the Commission's settlement guidelines, all parties must be notified of proposed settlement negotiations and be provided a list of the issues that may be settled. If in fact your letter is intended to offer to engage in such settlement discussions, we are willing to prepare and file this notice, but we first need you to provide us with the issues that you would like to discuss as well as a list of dates that you may be available for a settlement meeting.

One issue that appears to be a potential productive subject for settlement is the issue you raised in your letter related to the proposed Marcy NanoCenter development. Contrary to what your letter states, the proposed NanoCenter development is not threatened in any way by the NYRI project. However, in order to have productive settlement negotiations regarding this issue, please provide us with any specific concerns you have so that we can be prepared to address them at the settlement meeting.

If there are other issues you would like to discuss in potential settlement discussions, please let me know and we will include them in the notice to the parties. We may also want to ask the Commission to appoint a settlement judge to facilitate the process.

We appreciate your interest in the project and look forward to meeting with you and other interested parties pursuant to the Commission's long-standing rules, which are intended to ensure that all parties have fair and open access to all information related to proposed projects.

Sincerely,

Chris Thompson

President

New York Regional Interconnect

Picente responded to this letter, with another, stating:

Dear Mr. Thompson:

Your letter of September 25th reflects either a major error in understanding or an intentional distortion of meaning.

There will be no discussions concerning any settlement on my part. Oneida County is acting regionally with community partners and we will not take any unilateral action.

I do not want to discuss a settlement with you behind closed doors. I want you to come to this community and explain your project, in full detail and in the full light of open, public discussions so that all of the calculations and claims made in your filings and press releases can be discussed openly by the people whose lives would be affected.

When you are ready to meet with people, and not until then, pleace contact my office.

Otherwise, there is nothing to discuss.

Sincerely,

Anthony J. Picente, Jr.

Oneida County Executive