One More Thing to Worry About
The "confluence of rural and urban" celebrated in yesterday's article about Hudson in the New York Times is at risk--this time from Governor Andrew Cuomo's resolve to create an "energy highway" from Oneida County in the Mohawk Valley to New York City. Four proposals have been submitted to the New York State Public Service Commission--three of which have an impact on Columbia County and Hudson. The map below, published by the Public Service Commission, shows the proposed routes of the transmission lines. (Click on the map to make it bigger.)
Tonight at the Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, which takes places at 6 p.m. at City Hall, Pam Kline, of Farmers and Families for Livingston, is expected to speak to the committee about the proposed transmission lines and their potential impact on the farms and rural areas that surround Hudson and on our viewshed. Gossips, of course, will report on the meeting, but this may be a meeting that you want to attend yourself.
This proposal is a real threat to our area. It's too bad that we already have power towers running across Mt. Merino and through farmland in historic agricultural areas of Ghent, CLAVERACK and Livingston. The state should be planning to bury high power lines rather than destroying more farmland to benefit the city.
ReplyDeleteBut the plan IS to bury the transmission lines between Athens and Mt. Merino, if people would only acknowledge and welcome this in their public comments.
ReplyDeleteAnd why wouldn't the city's Common Council request this during the public comment period, or the mayor in his own comments?
The future of Hudson as an arts-based community is bound to recognize and celebrate the city's central contribution to American landscape painting, which has so much to do with the city's view to the Catskills.
Unfortunately these future Hudsonians will look back at us ignoramuses and wonder why we didn't jump on such a rare opportunity to bury the transmission lines when it was offered.
Perhaps I've been unclear: BURYING THE LINES TO MT. MERINO IS ALREADY IN THE PLAN.
The state is waiting to see whether or not anyone cares.