By DAN HEATH of the Press-Republican
PLATTSBURGH - Five people spoke out against a proposal to create an underwater electricity transmission system from Montreal to New York City. The comments came at the fifth public hearing on Transmission Developers Inc.’s Champlain-Hudson Power Express proposal to create a $1.9 billion 355-mile, 1,000-megawatt, direct-current transmission line and convertor station.
The 5-inch diameter lines would be buried in the bed of Lake Champlain by a machine that would use water jets to create a 3-foot-deep trench. A portion would be buried along a railroad right-of-way to avoid a section of the Hudson River where a dredging project is under way.
The hearing was held Tuesday night by the New York State Public Service Commission before Administrative Law Judge Kevin Casutto at the Plattsburgh Public Library. It is one of many steps needed for approval of large-scale electricity transmission projects under New York State Public Service Law.
Mike Winslow, a staff scientist with the Lake Champlain Committee, said the proposal could impact some of the least-understood parts of the lake. He questioned whether there is enough need for this supply of power in the metro New York area. Winslow also asked if the underwater route is the least environmentally damaging alternative. He said the process is likely to result in an incredible disturbance of sediment and damage to underwater vegetation, especially in the southern portion of the lake.
“We look forward to a thorough review of the Champlain-Hudson Power Express project by the Public Service Commission,” Winslow said.
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