An environmental travesty in Dutchess County

The Transco substation is proposed to be built on the site of a former active junkyard, with no plans for remediation. The site is situated such that leachate and runoff from the site will drain into the nearby Great Swamp. Numerous independent analyses of the proposed site clearly indicate the potential hazards it contains. For example, a study performed on behalf of the organization Friends of the Great Swamp, FrOGS, by a well-respected environmental scientist, John Sullivan, noted the presence of numerous carcinogens on the site, some of which in turn were found in nearby groundwater samples in areas that drain from the site into the Great Swamp. Their presence indicates substantial unremediated problems on the site stemming from its prior use, and the increased hazards that will result from building and operating the proposed substation.

Carcinogens found on the site include: Arsenic; Benzo[a]anthracene; Benzo[a]pyrene; Benzo[b]fluoranthene; Benzo[k]fluoranthene; Beryllium; Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phtalate; Cadmium; Chromium; Chrysene; Indeno(1,2,3-cdjpyrene. It would be simply terrible for any of these to infiltrate the Great Swamp, a large and productive wetlands extending over 6,000 acres in New York’s eastern Putnam and Dutchess Counties. It is one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the State, was designated by the USDA Forest Service as a Highlands Conservation Focal Area, and cited by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for its unique habitat, diverse wildlife, and scenic value. The Great Swamp serves a critical function is as an aquifer recharge area for the drinking water around it, serving numerous area residents. The section of the Swamp River that is adjacent to the proposed site drains into the Ten Mile River, then the Housatonic River, and then into the Long island Sound.

A site study performed by the well-respected independent Hudsonia Institute found numerous materials associated with the site’s former use as a junkyard., including oils, metals, tires, etc.

The Sullivan report details the seriously flawed procedures and analyses which were submitted by Transco for the project. The town of Dover Planning Board designated itself as Lead Agency under State environmental regulations for the project, and shockingly did not consider the Sullivan or Hudsonia reports as well as those from other independent sources, all of which noted substantial potential problems from constructing and operating a substation on the proposed site.

The Planning Board did not see fit to perform a full Environmental Impact Statement for the site, instead relying solely on the information provided by the applicant Transco. This is akin to taking Fox News’s assessment of Dominion voting machines at face value. State agencies including DEC and the PSC have made only the most perfunctory reviews of the project, and no genuine determination as to whether it is indeed needed and if so if it must be placed at this particular site.

The Town of Dover is a Designated Disadvantaged Community, and already bears an unfair share of energy related facilities, most notably the 1100 megawatt Cricket Valley Energy Plant, across the street from the proposed Transco site. CVE is a natural gas-fired facility, which went online in 2020. Its operations contravene New York’s important goals of a zero emissions energy grid by 2040, and its permit to operate is particularly galling and egregious given that much of its power goes out of state. Now Transco, absurdly citing CVE as illustrative of the community’s character, is exploiting the local community’s vulnerabilities, ignoring the dominant features of the landscape, including farms, horse rescue operations, the nearby schools, and its untouched rolling hills. Much like CVE, the Dover substation will have no local benefit, as it is designed to bolster interconnections outside of New York State.

Over 1,400 people in Dover have signed petitions against the project, not for NIMBY reasons but for well-founded rational concerns about the projects potential impact and the complete lack of consideration of data contrary to what Transco presented. The Concerned Citizens of Dover, joined by FrOGS and other groups, have filed an Article 78 accurately portraying the Town Planning Board’s process and decisions as arbitrary and capricious. They have also filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to halt the project from proceeding until it can be fully and appropriately reviewed.

We can only hope that reason will prevail, that a full, independent assessment of the project takes place, and that Transco is not allowed to proceed prior to determining the full potential for irreparable harm the project could cause.

In his first ruling on the TRO, the judge let it stay in place but allowed Transco to clearcut the trees on the site as it hadn’t been articulated that doing so would cause “irreparable harm.”

Tell that to the trees.

Robert M. Herzog of Wingdale, is the former Director, New York City Energy Office and is Managing Partner of Alchemy Value Services.