News stories tagged with "power-authority"

(12/14/09) Governor David Paterson signed into law legislation to reform the state's public authorities, a measure he says will shed "sunlight" onto what has been a dark corner of government. Karen DeWitt reports.

(01/09/07) Martha Foley talks with Brian Mann about how the new administration and legislature in Albany could affect issues in the North Country.

(10/02/06) The St Lawrence River Power Project forever changed the landscape of the North Country. The hydro power dams erected almost 50 years ago expanded the Seaway, flooding 100 square miles of land on both sides of the river. St Lawrence County leaders who now argue for cheap power to stay here in the North Country say the state should remember that sacrifice.

Most of the flooding was on the Canadian side; we'll hear about the '10 lost villages' in a moment. On the American side, parts of Waddington and Massena were flooded, and hundreds of farmhouses along the old Route 37 were moved. Dale Hobson was an eyewitness. He spoke with Gregory Warner.

(09/04/06) Attorney General Eliot Spitzer revved up organized labor in Massena Friday morning as a part of a 3-day Upstate campaign swing with his running-mate David Patterson. The frontrunner in the Governor's race vowed to do what it takes to keep aluminum maker Alcoa in the North Country. David Sommerstein reports.

(03/02/06) A North Country native has been appointed to the board of the New York Power Authority. It's the first regional representative on the board in decades. David Sommerstein reports.

(01/09/06) St. Lawrence County leaders and citizens regrouped late last week after what they perceived as a major rebuff by the New York Power Authority. In 2003, they negotiated a settlement of $115 million and several hundred acres of land in exchange for the county's role in power production on the St. Lawrence River. But last month, Governor Pataki announced Western New York stood to get almost a billion dollars for the Niagara River power project. Many in St. Lawrence County felt cheated. At a meeting in Canton, state representatives urged calm. People preached teamwork. But what was billed as a planning session for the future became a rehashing of the past. David Sommerstein reports.

(12/30/05) Local officials will meet next week in Canton to discuss St. Lawrence County's two-year-old settlement with the New York Power Authority. As David Sommerstein reports, they may have trouble finding agreement on many issues.

(12/14/05) Two years ago, the New York Power Authority and St. Lawrence County closed a deal that ended years of negotiations. It allows the Authority to run the giant hydropower dam on the St. Lawrence River for another 50 years. In return, the county and its towns got more than $100 million and the return of 1500 acres of once-private land. Today that deal is in jeopardy. State law doesn't allow the land to be returned for free. And after Western New York got almost a billion dollars after similar negotiations over the Niagara Power Project, local officials say they've been had. As David Sommerstein reports, they want the Power Authority to return to the table, but they're not sure exactly what they want.

(12/13/05) North Country officials, including Congressman John McHugh, are lashing out at the New York Power Authority for its nearly $1 billion settlement for the power project in Niagara Falls. As David Sommerstein reports, lawmakers say St. Lawrence County got shortchanged in its power project deal, and they want more money.

(09/26/05) Two years ago, the New York Power Authority got a new 50-year license to operate the hydropower dam on the St. Lawrence River. One condition of the license renewal was that NYPA return 1,500 acres of once-private land to local hands. Much of it will go to the villages and towns in St. Lawrence County affected by the power project. But some was to be transferred to property owners who live along the river. The state Attorney General recently ruled that's unconstitutional, and that the land should be sold at fair market value. As David Sommerstein reports, many local residents feared something like this would happen.