Bonacic: Senate Funding Flows To Fight Powerline

State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/I/C - Mount Hope) said today that over $400,000 in State funding secured through the State Senate’s Republican Majority has flowed to anti-NYRI group Communities Against Regional Interconnect. The funding is the first installment of up to $1 million allocated by Senate Republicans to oppose the NYRI plan.

Since the plan was first announced, Senator Bonacic has taken the following steps to oppose the NYRI project:

Brought the region’s local officials to meet in Albany with top officials from the Public Service Commission to formulate strategies to fight NYRI;

Successfully demanded that NYRI hold public information sessions in Sullivan County to address the issues raised by area residents;

Secured State funds in the amount of $50,000 for the Upper Delaware Council to fight NYRI;

Organized, along with four other State Senators, an eight-county coalition of local officials to work to stop NYRI;

Successfully called on FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer, who endorsed NYRI, to remove himself from deliberations on the NYRI project at FERC;

Introduced and secured the passage of legislation to prohibit NYRI from using State eminent domain laws to take private property. That legislation was signed into law by Governor Pataki and upheld on Federal Court Challenge by NYRI against Bonacic and other Legislators.

"The Senate Republicans are doing our part to battle NYRI. I urge the Assembly to also step up and commit funding to fight NYRI. This battle will be long and expensive and we need support from all our region’s elected officials who have the ability to access funding," Senator Bonacic concluded.

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