Large Crowds Disappointed By County Inaction
by Tyler Sawyer
Like the previous monthly meeting, when the legislature replaced their leadership by selecting a new chairman, the October regular meeting was far from a normal meeting. For the second time in less than a week, the chambers of the Rensselaer County Legislature were packed with concerned residents predominantly from the towns of Stephentown, Nassau, Sand Lake and Schodack. They all were there for one reason: to plead with the legislature to adopt legislation that would help in protecting their drinking water from possible damage from the proposed Kinder-Morgan gas pipeline that will be located in their towns if approved.
[private]On Wednesday, October 7 at the regularly scheduled public forum, nearly 200 people jammed the legislative chambers, many wearing “Save Our Wells” t-shirts and holding similar signs and posters. Several legislators and staff felt that it was the largest attendance for a public forum that they could recall. They were there with hopes that they could convince the legislature to adopt a local law that would give the residents some protection from blasting operations resulting from a 36-inch pressurized gas line that would cut through parts of Schodack, Nassau and Stephentown.
Over 54 people stepped forward to speak on the issue and for over 4 hours, they spoke. One by one, they passionately urged the legislature to adopt the local law that mirrored the local law the Albany County Legislature adopted unanimously by a 39-0 vote this past August. That local law requires blasters to give advance notice of blasting activities that would protect persons and property during the blasting operations, and take pre-blast and post-blast sampling and analyses of wells at the blaster’s expense, not the residents. Their biggest concern was the adoption of the law that mirrored Rensselaer County version that was tabled by the Environmental Committee in September. The positions on that committee are held by Legislators Judith Breselor, Alex Shannon, both representing the towns of Nassau, Sand Lake and Schodack and by Mark Fleming, representing the City of Troy. During that September committee meeting, Legislators Breselor and Shannon, stating language concerns, voted to table the local law and Fleming voted in favor to move it forward.
That desired local law was soon replaced by a new version by the Legislative Majority. The new law contained many of the safeguards for pre and post testing of wells at the blaster’s expense, but added in the law was an “eminent domain” clause, that many felt, including legal representation, was a fatal flaw in the legislation. They felt it would not hold up in court if legally challenged. Many expressed their concerns that if challenged and defeated in court, that they would all be left with no legislation that would protect against the damage to their drinking water supply. Additionally, many speakers urged the importance in having an adopted local law in place in time for the law to be included in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission public comment period that would end on October 16, 2015.
By the end of the long and unprecedented public forum, it was clear that the vast majority of the nearly 200 people in attendance wanted the original version of the Albany County local law adopted in the upcoming October 13 legislative meeting and not the new version they felt would not stand the test of a future legal challenge. The public hearing closed and the large crowd exited with hopes that their Legislature heard them and would address their concerns at the Tuesday, October 13 regular meeting.
At the October 13 regular meeting, once again the legislative chambers were filled. Though not as many people as the past Wednesday. Nearly 100 were in attendance.
Chairman Brownell opened the public comment portion of the regular meeting by reading some remarks and rules of the legislature before beginning the comment period. He said there would be a 30 minute period for comments and asked that the speakers keep their comments to a minimum to allow for as many interested parties to speak. He said “We recognize this project is not in the best interests of those living in Rensselaer County, particularly in the towns of Schodack, Nassau and Stephentown. The NED (Northeast Energy Direct) project could hurt the quality of life, health, safety and property values of these communities.” Brownell continued by stating “Please be aware that any local law will apply to the entire county, therefore, the need for caution and deliberation in this process.” He stated “Furthermore, please note that despite our best efforts, it is sadly very likely that no legislation adopted by this legislative body will have the effect of stopping this project. Only federal or perhaps state action will stop the project. We will stay in the fight against NED, but residents are urged to contact their federal representatives to voice opposition and request that action be taken.”
A total of seven speakers came forward to voice their concerns about the proposed “eminent domain” version local law that was on the agenda for possible adoption. Most strongly urged the legislature not to adopt that law and adopt the Albany County version that they tabled last month. Dan Stillman, a Nassau resident said that the past ‘symbolic’ resolutions were like asking a bully to stop and asked the legislature to act as if the project was in their own backyard. Art Carus from Stephentown stated that he had two attorneys look at both bills and they concluded that the “eminent domain” bill had fatal flaws. His concern was that adoption of the wrong bill would result in no protection at all when it gets challenged and thrown out.
Fred Nuffer from Averill Park could not understand why the legislature would even consider adopting legislation they know will be challenged and overturned and asked that they pass the tabled Albany County bill. Terry Nord from Burden Lake was the last speaker. She, like those before her, urged the passage of the similar Albany County bill. She said she was asked by several legislators why isn’t the Kinder-Morgan project being pursued at a higher level? She said “Trust me, we are pursuing it with everything in us furiously at every level but this is where we never expected a problem, in our own neighborhood.”
At the meeting itself, the first action was a vote on the local law. Chairman Brownell called for a roll call vote on the law. Before the vote was started a member of the audience asked for clarification on which local law was being voted on. Brownell stated that they would be voting on the water protection law that contains the “eminent domain” language. With that, a loud chorus of boos from the crowd echoed in the chamber. Striking his gavel several times, Chairman Brownell called for order. At this time the Clerk of the Legislature called for a vote.
One by one each legislator voted no for the local law. Most preceded their votes with explanations of their vote. Again, most felt the eminent domain portion of the law was flawed and would pose legal problems for the county. Legislator Breselor stated that she would vote no on the law and was very disappointed that the legislature was not voting on the Albany County bill tonight. When Legislator Fleming rose to explain his vote, he said that the Albany County version of the bill should be a law by now and would be if the August bill was not tabled in the September environment committee meeting. He reminded everyone of the three member committee of which he is a member, Legislators Breselor and Shannon voted to table the law. He stated that that action has delayed the process and conceded that input for the FERC October 16 deadline for comment on the Kinder-Morgan project will not be met. Minority Leader Peter Grimm stated he was puzzled as to why they were voting on the eminent domain bill and it was obvious that nobody was going to vote for it. He stated “It doesn’t represent the will of the people.”
The final call for the vote on the bill was to Chairman Brownell. Brownell stated that he heard a lot of flaws in both local laws at the October 7 Public Forum and that he agrees with both sides of the aisle that we don’t have a perfect bill here. He said “We are going to roll up our sleeves and go back to work to put a bill together for you folks.” At that time such comments were heard from the crowd as, “stall,” “it’s too late,” and “when?” Brownell responded that they will not have something in time for October 16. He said they will get something together that’s responsible for Rensselaer County. With his vote, the local law was unanimously defeated.
After the vote, as the chamber emptied, it was clear that many of the people exiting the room, were not happy with not having a law in place that would protect their wells. Minority Leader Peter Grimm said he was disappointed that a local law was not in place in time to be included in the FERC comment period. [/private]