It's Our River! Our Power! We're Owed This!

Here's the testimony I e-mailed to NYPA this afternoon:

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am writing to express my support for the plan to allocate $16 million and 20 megawatts of electricity to the newly created St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency. I am forced to submit my testimony in writing because the public hearing in Massena on July 23 was ended before the published time of 9 p.m. and I was not allowed to testify in person.

When Robert Moses, founder of the New York Power Authority, first travelled to Massena decades ago to promote the construction of the St. Lawrence Power Project he promised it would be transformational for our community and the entire region.

An indeed has been. The St. Lawrence Power Project truly changed our way of life.

While certainly there have been significant negative impacts on our community and its natural resources, the majority of the Project’s impacts have been positive. For over 50 years, Massena has been a gracious host to NYPA and NYPA, for the most part, has been a good neighbor.

Because St. Lawrence was the first of NYPA’s hydro projects to become operational, I believe a good portion of the Authority’s success has been built on Massena’s back.

This Project has generated millions and millions of dollars for the Power Authority and the State of New York. It has allowed bureaucrats and politicians to take credit for improving our region and has supplied incalculable megawatts of electricity for New York City, our state, and even a handful of neighboring states.

The RVRDA agreement between NYPA and local municipalities was negotiated in good faith and will return a minuscule amount of NYPA’s profits and bit of hydropower to the communities who sacrificed much to help make the Power Authority what it is today.

Plainly and simply, this agreement provides to us a portion of what is owed to us for being gracious hosts. The St. Lawrence is our river and for over five decades it has been used by NYPA to generate our power. Now we have a chance to reap some of the benefits of our largesse.

Last week I was told by a NYPA official that the RVRDA proposal and the allocation of the 20 megawatts was encountering some opposition on “the Second Floor” – Gov. Paterson’s office. Certainly that opposition is misguided and unwarranted. Those expressing such opposition are obviously ignorant of the history here and the burden we have carried as a host of this magnificent hydroelectric project.

So, as the elected Supervisor on the Town of Massena, I want to go on record as supporting this allocation of money and electricity to the RVRDA. While I have publicly expressed my opinion that this agreement does not go far enough and that we should actually expect more from NYPA, I realize that the agreement is in place and must be recognized and respected.

In conclusion, please proceed with due haste to strongly, even forcefully, recommend that Gov. Paterson sign and finalize this agreement so that it may be executed and our citizens may start receiving greater benefits from the presence of NYPA and its St. Lawrence Power Project in our community.

Please remember, it is our river and our power. We are owed this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Joseph D. Gray, Supervisor

Town of Massena

Town Hall

60 Main Street

Massena, NY 13662

315-769-3588

315-769-0578 - Fax