NYRI proposes to bury part of its power line in Chenango County

NORWICH – New York Regional Interconnect is proposing to bury a portion of its power line through Chenango County, according to a notice the company sent to The Evening Sun Thursday.

The notice, in summary, also offers a series of alternatives to the proposed route, including one that would use the existing Marcy-South transmission corridor.

Through Chenango County, the power line would follow the New York Susquehanna & Western railroad tracks, as well as a NYSEG corridor, for 44 miles. It runs through a total of eight counties.

NYRI was forced to offer route alternatives by the New York State Public Service Commission, the state’s power line authority, after its first route and permit application were ruled deficient. The company will re-file a complete application on or about Feb. 22, the notice states.

If NYRI’s proposed route is approved, based on information provided by Canadian-backed company, it appears roughly 6.4 miles of its line in the towns of North Norwich and Norwich would be placed underground. It will still slice overhead through the town and village of Sherburne, as well as the towns of Guilford, Bainbridge and Afton.



“In Chenango County, the route traverses the Village of Sherburne, continuing within the NYS&W railroad property in the Chenango River Valley to the Town of North Norwich, where it goes underground within the NYS&W railroad at NYS Route 12. At a point just south of NYS Route 320, the route departs from the NYS&W railroad and runs underground parallel to an existing electric transmission line ROW (right of way) and after passing under county Route 33 transitions overhead, passing across the towns of Norwich, Guilford, Bainbridge and Afton,” the notice states.

According to the description of the proposed route, the line would not be visible on the east hill overlooking the City of Norwich until it reached the base of Polkville Hill. And, although somewhat vague, it appears the line would be underground along populated areas of East River Road in the Town of North Norwich and Woods Corners, located in the Town of Norwich.

The PSC, however, has the final say how the route would look, if the line is approved.

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Reader Response

3 comments on this story

landew
February 9th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I hope everyone can see that this is just another FALSE attempt by the NYRI to show how concerned they are about us. They foolishly think that this will help them get this disastrous idea passed. And would anyone be surprised that if they could get the line passed that suddenly there would be a study from NYRI that stated they couldn't bury the line and they would put the line up just like they had originally planned. The only thing the NYRI should bury is their plan. Keep up the fight, the NYRI will always be a bad idea for us.
ronibaloney
February 8th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Just think if NYRI does bury the powerline underneath the old railway and the old railway is made into a hiking or scenic path as suggested. Would I then "feel the humming beneath my feet" as opposed to "wind beneath my wings"?
jmorse
February 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Although burying part of the line is nothing but an attempt to appease, there is something to be said for our area simply because the offer was made. It is our stretch that NYRI has offered to hide. No one should stop digging in their heals because this, but many in this county should take a tiny bit of quite pride from the fact that our fight has forced this concession from the company. It marks another small victory due to continued quality coverage and the work of the various grass roots groups involved.
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