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New
York Times
By
LISA W. FODERARO
September
5, 2002
Amid
Protests, Power Company Drops Plan for Rockland Plant |
A power company yesterday withdrew a proposal for a gas-fired plant in
the Torne Valley of Rockland County that had drawn widespread protest
from environmentalists and politicians who said it would endanger
wildlife and water supplies.
American National Power of Marlborough, Mass., said it decided not to
pursue the 1,100-megawatt plant in a wooded, hilly section of the town
of Ramapo because it could not find a buyer for the electricity the
plant would generate. The company also cited "continuing wildlife
habitat concerns."
Local officials, who had opposed the plant on the ground that it could
deplete drinking water supplies and imperil the habitat of the timber
rattlesnake, rejoiced at the news. "I have always said we should
be building power plants in brownfields, not green fields," said
Christopher P. St. Lawrence, supervisor of the town of Ramapo. |
American
National, a subsidiary of the London-based International Power, was
in the middle of New York State's review process, required of plants
that would generate 80 megawatts or more.
But the company withdrew its application yesterday. In a financial
report, the parent company made brief reference to wildlife concerns
but focused on the business climate in explaining its move.
"In the current wholesale market for electric power, it's a
very risky proposition to start the construction of a power
plant," said Paul Parshley, a company spokesman. He said the
company was unable to reach an agreement with a wholesale power
purchaser.
Late last year, another power company, Sithe Energies of Manhattan,
also withdrew an application to build a smaller plant in the Torne
Valley, a 1,500-acre expanse next to Harriman State Park about 35
miles northwest of New York City. |
At the time, Sithe attributed the decision to pull out to
"shifting energy market conditions," but a company official,
speaking on the condition of anonymity, conceded that the vociferous
opposition from within the county had also played a role.
The Rockland County Legislature voted unanimously to permit the county
to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees and
professional consultants to block the American National plant, called
the Ramapo Energy Project. Children held candlelight vigils, and signs
in opposition sprouted on lawns as far as 10 miles from the 65-acre
site.
"It's a major victory for Rockland County residents," said
C. Scott Vanderhoef, the county executive. "It just was a bad
spot to put it in." |
Residents and local leaders were joined by officials in neighboring
Bergen County in New Jersey. Both counties expressed worry over the
plant's impact on an underground aquifer as well as its emissions of
particulate matter. And the threatened timber rattlesnake emerged as
an opposition mascot. American National had countered that the plant
would be among the safest and cleanest ever built and would have a
negligible effect on the aquifer.
The Public Service Commission, the agency that oversees the state's
electric utilities, said the loss of the power plants in the Torne
Valley would not hinder the state's mission to bolster its energy
resources.
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