Senate Acts to Guarantee St. Lawrence County Voice within NYPA

Bill passed Monday would guarantee St. Lawrence, Niagara County Seats on Board of Trustees

WATERTOWN (May 21, 2010)—Earlier this week the New York State Senate passed legislation to give St. Lawrence and Niagara counties permanent representation on the New York Power Authority’s seven-member board of trustees.

“It’s only fitting that with the power generation facilities in these counties, that the voice of these two counties be directly heard within the New York Power Authority,” said Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, a co-sponsor of the bill that passed. “We need to maintain representation from these two counties and this bill accomplishes that goal.”

The bill (S.3560-A) passed on Monday originally applied only to Niagara County, which currently does not have representation, but was amended to mirror another bill introduced by Sen. Aubertine that sought permanent seats for both counties to ensure continued representation. The legislation received unanimous support from the Senate and now awaits action in the Assembly, where its companion bill was also amended to include both counties.

St. Lawrence County is currently represented by Judge Eugene Nicandri from Massena, who was appointed in 2008 at the recommendation of Sen. Aubertine, but Niagara County has had representation on the board just four times in the 63 years since the Niagara Falls facility started operation. The board of trustees currently has two vacancies.

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