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For Immediate Release: 3/2/2023 Rory M. Christian, Chair Contact:
James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080
23021 / 22-T-0346 March 02, 2023
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Virtual Public Statement Hearings Set Regarding Offshore Wind Transmission Line |
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ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) will hold two virtual public statement hearings on Thursday, March 9, 2023, regarding Empire Offshore Wind LLC’s (Empire) plans to construct, operate, and maintain the New York portion of the transmission facilities required to interconnect Empire’s proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, to be located within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management-designated area to a point of interconnection at the Barrett 138-kilovolt (kV) substation located in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County. The New York project includes several components: three three-core 230-kV high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) submarine export cables located within an approximately 7.7-nautical mile (nm) submarine export cable corridor from the boundary of New York State waters offshore to the cable landfall; a cable landfall in the City of Long Beach; three 230-kV onshore export cable circuits, each with three single-core HVAC onshore export cables within an approximately 1.5-mile-long onshore export cable corridor from the cable landfall to the onshore substation; an onshore substation in the Village of Island Park, within the Town of Hempstead, which will step up the voltage to 345-kV for the onshore interconnection cables; and, up to three 345-kV interconnection cable circuits, each with three single-core HVAC interconnection cables within an approximately 1.7-mile-long interconnection cable corridor from the onshore substation to the point of interconnection.
Under New York State Law, the Commission may adopt or reject Empire’s proposal, in whole or part, or modify it. In doing so, the Commission will consider input from the participating parties and the general public. Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) are presiding over the gathering of public comments and all evidence related to the NY project. As indicated in the February 10, 2023 Notice, public statement hearings will be held to obtain comments from the public concerning Empire’s proposal.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that virtual public statement hearings will be held before ALJs Ashley Moreno and Lindsey Overton as follows:
Those wishing to comment on any aspect of this proceeding will have the opportunity to make a statement on the record at the virtual public statement hearings. Any person wishing to provide a public statement on the record at the hearings must pre-register to do so by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
To pre-register and provide a statement electronically: Participants who would like to provide a statement and will log in to a hearing electronically must pre-register by the date and time indicated above by visiting www.webex.com, where they should click “Join” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the event number listed above, and provide all requested information.
When logging in on the date and time of the hearing, participants will be asked to “select audio system.” It is recommended that participants opt to have the system “call me” or “call using computer.” The “call me” option will require participants to enter their phone numbers.
To pre-register and provide a statement by phone: Any participant who is not able to log in to a hearing electronically may participate by phone. Call-in participants wishing to make a statement must pre-register by the date and time indicated above by calling 1-800-342-3330, where they should follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide the following information: first and last names, address, and phone number.
On the day and time of the hearing, all call-in participants should dial 518-549-0500 and enter the access code listed above to join the hearing.
The public statement hearings will be held open until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made. Reasonable time limits may be set for each speaker as necessary to afford all registered speakers an opportunity to be heard. It is recommended that lengthy comments be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A verbatim transcript of the public statement hearings will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.
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 Department at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.
Other Ways to Comment
For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at the public statement hearings, there are several other ways to provide your comments to the Commission. Comments should refer to “Case 22-T-0346.” Although comments will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, they are requested by March 24, 2023.
Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, click on “File Search” (located under the heading “Commission Files”), enter “22-T-0346” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on the “Post Comments” box located at the top of the page.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.
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.
If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.
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