ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced it will hold public statement hearings in the Town of Croghan, Lewis County and the Towns of Canton and Massena, St. Lawrence County, to receive comments on a request by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to rebuild its existing 230 kilovolt (kV) Moses-Adirondack 1 and 2 transmission lines. The transmission lines extend approximately 86 miles from NYPA’s Robert Moses Power Dam Switchyard in the Town of Massena, St. Lawrence County, to the Adirondack Substation in the Town of Croghan, Lewis County.

NYPA proposes to divide the project into two phases. Phase One would consist of replacing 78 miles of the two lines currently configured as single circuits on separate wooden H-frame structures with two new single-circuit lines on steel monopoles. Although NYPA intends to design and construct the transmission lines with the capacity to operate at 345 kV, the initial operating voltage would be 230 kV.

Phase Two would involve replacing the remaining length of the transmission lines with two single circuits on steel monopoles and upgrading the Moses Switchyard and the Adirondack Substation to operate at 345 kV. Prior to commencing Phase Two, NYPA intends to submit an Environmental Management and Construction Plan and petition to amend the certificate to permit the project to operate at 345 kV. Except for an approximately one-mile reroute at the State University of New York at Canton campus, NYPA proposes to construct the project entirely within an existing right-of-way that it maintains.

The application may be viewed at www.dps.ny.gov (search using the case number) or at public libraries in the following municipalities: Canton, Croghan, Edwards, Hermon, Harrisville, Massena, Madrid, Norfolk, Potsdam and Russell.

Opportunities for public comment will be held, as follows: 

During the scheduled informational forums, maps of the proposed route will be available to review, New York State Department of Public Service staff representatives will give a short presentation on the review process in this case, and NYPA representatives will be available to answer questions about its proposal. The public is welcome to stop in at any time during the informal informational forums to review information and ask questions.

Each informational forum will be followed by a public statement hearing where all those wishing to comment on NYPA’s request will have an opportunity to make a statement on the record before the administrative law judges. It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance, or present written material to speak at the hearing. Persons will be called to speak after completing a request card. Each public statement hearing will be held open for a minimum of one hour and will be kept open until everyone wishing to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements have been made to include their comments in the record. A verbatim transcript of each hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of this proceeding.

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at (518) 474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Commission at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.

Other Ways to Comment:

For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, there are several other ways to comment about this case to the Commission. Comments should refer to “Case 18-T-0207 – New York Power Authority.” Although comments submitted via these alternate means will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, they are requested by January 3, 2019.

Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “Search,” search using case number “Case 18-T-0207” and then click the “Post Comments” button at the top of the page; or send comments to the Secretary for the Commission at secretary@dps.ny.gov. Alternatively, comments may be mailed or delivered to Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350.

Toll-Free Opinion Line: You may call the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This number is set up to take comments about pending cases from in-state callers, 24 hours a day. These comments are not transcribed verbatim, but a summary is provided to the Commission.

Written comments received by the Department will become part of the record considered by the Commission. Written comments may be viewed online (go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “Search,” search using the case number and then click on the “Public Comments” tab). Many libraries offer free Internet access.