NEW SCOTLAND — A contract between the town and Champlain Hudson Power Express, for a transmission line CHPE is running to bring hydroelectricity generated in Québec to the New York City area, is being modified.

Some of the crossings have changed from the original plans the board reviewed in 2020, Crystal Peck told the town board at its Sept. 13 meeting. Peck is the attorney for New Scotland’s zoning and planning boards and handled the CHPE matter as the town attorney, Michael Naughton, left the meeting room because of a potential conflict of interest.

Maps that Peck later shared with The Enterprise, indicate that the CHPE line, which mostly runs along the railroad track, will cross Youmans Road “via trenching,” will cross Game Farm Road “via horizontal directional drilling,” and will also cross West Yard Road near Route 32.

CHPE, which is owned by asset-management giant BlackRock, received approvals for its $4.5 billion project to run 335 miles of underground cables from Canada to Queens.

On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Governor Kathy Hochul ceremoniously broke ground, along with leaders from Québec, CHPE, the United States Department of Energy, and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, for the transmission line’s converter station.

The two five-inch diameter 1,250-megawatt high-voltage transmission cables traversing most of eastern New York State are to deliver enough energy for one million homes, according to the project developer.

Approximately 60 percent of the cables are to be underwater, either under Lake Champlain to the north or the Hudson River to the south save for over 100 local miles where the cables would be run along railroad rights-of-way in Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Albany, and Greene counties. 

The Environmental Protection Agency cordoned off part of the Hudson River contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that were dumped by General Electric decades ago. Trenching the river between Washington and Greene counties risked kicking up those toxins. 

In Albany County, CHPE’s underground cables are to run for about 24 miles through the towns of Coeymans, Bethlehem, Guilderland, and New Scotland, and the villages of Ravena and Voorheesville. 

Each town and village had to approve the cable coming through their municipality, which was more of a formality because, if a municipality didn’t approve the line going through, the company would have moved to use eminent domain. In Guilderland, one town board member, who was outvoted, had raised widespread environmental concerns and concerns about indigenous people being hurt.

Peck told the New Scotland Town Board on Sept. 13 that all of the contract modifications, except for one, had been agreed to by the developer, Stantec. Matters agreed to include rights granted to lay the cable, CHPE construction responsibilities, road surveys and routes, road restoration and repair of damage.

The sticking point is financial security. CHPE wants a cash escrow of $90,000 while Stantec wants $375,000, Peck said.

“The purpose of the Financial Security,” the contract says, “is to guarantee reimbursement to the Town for all labor, material,equipment expenses the Town may incur in repairing any residual project damage ….”

Councilwoman Bridgit Burke asked why the board wouldn't wait for negotiations to be complete.

The sum “will have to be finally approved by Stantec no matter what,” Peck said, suggesting the board approve the contract with that condition.

“Why not go with Stantec’s number?” asked Councilman Adam Greenberg.

Peck responded that CHPE thinks Stantec has an overestimate on linear feet. Peck thought the best solution was to have the two parties speak directly, adding, “They do feel time is of the essence.”

Peck stressed, “This isn’t a payment to the town. It’s just a matter of security.”

If the board were to hold off on approving the contract, she said, it would delay work another month. Negotiations have been ongoing since May, she said.

Councilman William Hennessy asked if the water main in Feura Bush would have to be moved. Peck responded that the CHPE line won’t affect the town’s infrastructure or services.

Hennessy also asked about the town’s interconnect with neighboring Bethlehem. “It’s close,” responded Highway Superintendent Ken Guyer. But he concluded, “I’m not aware of any waterline movement.”

Ultimately, the board followed Peck’s recommendation and unanimously approved the agreement with the condition that whatever number Stantec agrees to for financial security will be used.

Naughton then returned to the room.