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AES Lawsuit Update. - Judge
Kloch dismissed all lawsuits concerning AES last week.
- US&J summarizes meeting at Barker
Central Auditorium. Almost 100 hundred attended and learned
how they can fight back against Corporate greed, higher
taxes and fight the the politicians that help it to happen
at the Town level, the County level and the State level.
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Tax Reform Niagara members Margo Bittner and Merrill
Bender were guests on OM Christy's show the PULSE on Cable
channel 20 last night form 10 to 11 to discuss the
information meeting at BCS and how and why all of Niagara
county should be outraged that County taxes alone will go up
3.5% due to the AES PILOT in the first year. Pulse will air
again through out the week, check listing for Cable access
channel 20.
AES LANDFILL: Siting board to discuss
landfill's future
By Tasha Kates/katest@gnnewspaper.com
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
SOMERSET — The New York State Board on Electric Generation
Siting will finally meet to discuss a recommended decision on
the future of AES Somerset’s landfill more than six months after
the decision was made.
The AES case is the third item on the June 21 docket, which was
scheduled officially in the last few days. Plant President Kevin
R. Pierce said he expects a straightforward meeting.
“Everything should be all set,” Pierce said. “We don’t expect
any kind of surprise for us.”
The case is appearing in front of the siting board courtesy of
lawsuits brought by the Town of Somerset and the Department of
Environmental Conservation in 2004. The plaintiffs are seeking a
more secure lining on AES’s landfill.
AES Somerset was processed under Article VIII, which created a
siting board of commissioners and also meant the DEC didn’t
control the construction of the large Landfill 1.
When the power plant added clean coal technologies in 1999, they
began using ammonia in the power process. The gas byproduct of
the burnt coal is treated with ammonia, creating ammoniated fly
ash that AES puts in the landfill.
Town Attorney Edwin Shoemaker said the Public Service Commission
told AES it would have to build more secure, double-lined
landfills to DEC standards, but AES continued to get variances
to increase Landfill 1’s capacity. When the landfill was finally
full, AES contested the belief that it needed a more secure
landfill to protect the environment from fly ash.
In July, AES, the town and the DEC created a joint proposal,
specifying a modified liner design using soil and HDPE
geomembrane barriers. Two administrative law judges created a
recommended decision based off the joint proposal, which was
issued in December.
AES submitted a 45-page brief on the recommended decision to the
siting board in January, saying they did not agree that all
current environmental regulations apply to them under Article
VIII of the PSC or that this case should not set precedent for
future cases before any regulatory agency.
Shoemaker said the siting board will be discussing the
recommended decision during the June 21 meeting.
“They will probably recess and we will wait to see if they will
accept, reject or modify it,” Shoemaker said. “We would hope
this is put to bed. We hope to turn the landfill over to the
DEC.”
In the meantime, Pierce said the plant hopes to continue
construction of the new section of its landfill this summer. He
said most of the infrastructure has been built.
“All of the construction conforms to the joint proposal,” Pierce
said. “It’s just a minor modification in the material liner.”
DEC representative Kimberly Chupa said the PSC and AES currently
monitor the landfill, which is classified as a non-hazardous
landfill.
“The Department anticipates that we will start inspecting the
facility in the near future in order to help ensure they are in
compliance with Department regulations,” Chupa said.
Contact reporter Tasha Kates at 439-9222, ext. 6241.
IDA Reform Bill - A8703/S2413
The biggest news out of
Albany this week is that Assembly Member Sam Hoyt, Chair of
the Local Governments committee, has introduced A8703,
a comprehensive IDA reform bill that includes the business
standards, accountability measures, and transparency reforms
that our statewide coalition has proposed. A8703 was
introduced with 20 co-sponsors including Chair of the Labor
committee, Assembly Member Susan John, and Chair of the
Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions Committee,
Assembly Member Richard Brodsky as co-prime sponsors.
A great editorial appeared
in today’s Buffalo News in support of Assembly Member
Hoyt’s bill—here’s
an excerpt, check out the full article via the link below:
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, a
longtime champion for industrial development agency reform,
will introduce a late-session bill that could significantly
affect the way IDAs handle development incentives. The
measure deserves attention in
Albany,
although the Legislature breaks camp for the summer soon.
The timing seems right…Hoyt, who proclaims a great passion
for reforming IDAs, is well positioned and there is a
governor in office who also backs state agency reforms.
This could be the year not just for talk, but for action.
There
was also a good article in the business section of the
Buffalo News today and coverage in several other Western
NY media outlets on
a report released by our allies at Good Jobs First in
Washington, DC.
The report,
"Sprawling by the Lake: How
IDA-Granted Property Tax Exemptions Undermine Older Parts of
the Buffalo/Niagara Area," is an in-depth study of sprawl
and consolidation issues in Erie and Niagara Counties and is
a great resource for our campaign, particularly since it is
home base for both our Assembly and Senate sponsors. See
clips below, and the full report, attached.
Back in Albany, Senator
George Maziarz,
Chair
of the Senate Labor committee, who introduced S2413, the
Senate’s comprehensive IDA reform bill,
is circulating a memo to
other Senators today requesting their co-sponsorship.
Currently, only Senator Serphin Maltese is officially
co-sponsoring the Senate version.
With
less than 15 official days of business left in the 2007
legislative session,
we must call all Senators
and Assembly Members with the following two requests:
-
Co-Sponsor the
Legislation.
Senators should submit a “buck
slip” to Senator Maziarz’s office to join as a
co-sponsor on S2413 and Assembly Members should submit a
“blue slip” to Assembly Member Hoyt’s office on A8703.
Legislators should be asked to submit these slips this
week—and if they get them in today, their names will be
included on the electronic version of the bills as they
are updated. See a list of current co-sponsors on the
Assembly’s website—for
those that have already signed on, please call to thank
them and request that they take the next step…
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Contact the Majority
Leader or Speaker about Bringing IDA Reform to the Floor
This Session.
Co-sponsorship is an easy request for our legislators to
fulfill—what’s most important is that they take this
next step to contact their leadership, either Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno or Assembly Speaker Shelley
Silver, about bringing the legislation to the floor for
a vote in the next three weeks.
Please make these calls to
your legislators today—it is important that they hear from
you that comprehensive IDA reform is a priority for your
organization and for our coalition statewide.
We
must have more sponsors on the bill representing every
region of the state in both the Senate and Assembly to show
that there is widespread support for reform. And with such
little time left in the legislative session, we must have
legislators contacting their leadership to let them know
that statewide IDA reform is one of the key issues that must
be resolved this session.
Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte 716-282-6062
Assemblyman Steve Hawley 585-589-5780
Senator George Maziarz
716-731-8740 He is the Senate Sponsor - encourage him to
work hard to get it passed. And to include Francine
DelMonte line from A 8303 where all PILOTS must be approved
by local taxing jurisdictions.
PILOT CONTROVERSY:
Tax Reform Niagara Goes Public In Somerset
By Tasha Kates -
katest@gnnewspaper.com
reproduced courtesy of: Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
~ 5/25/07
SOMERSET — Stealing a line from a car insurance commercial, Tax
Reform Niagara spent an hour Thursday night telling people how
“15 minutes could save you hundreds on your property taxes.”
The “citizen action committee” hosted its first meeting in the
Barker High School auditorium, the birthplace of many district
residents’ frustrations over a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes
agreement given to AES Somerset this year. The PILOT was the
catalyst for the group to invoke change in local government.
Tax Reform Niagara figureheads Merrill Bender, Margo Bittner and
Jim Giegerich spoke to a crowd of about 100 people about the
group’s current plans to seek Industrial Development Agency
reform on a local and state level to ultimately lower taxes.
“The IDAs are giving things away to friends,” Giegerich said.
“They’re not even representing you. The Legislature appoints
these people.”
The group had several action guides on hand for residents who
wanted to get involved. The guide includes instructions for a
letter campaign, asking people to copy prepared letters or write
their own and send them to politicians involved with state and
local IDAs and IDA reform.
A separate letter for those who wanted to protest AES Somerset’s
landfill was discussed. The landfill is the topic of a lawsuit
brought by the Department of Conservation and Town of Somerset
claiming the lining in the current landfill is inadequate and
should adhere to current DEC standards.
Bender presented an initial budget for the group, aiming for
$11,000 from individual and business contributions. The group is
hoping to print fliers and newsletters, have a tent at the
county fair and order four Tax Reform Niagara banners, 500 lawn
signs and 6,000 refrigerator magnets.
“We’re asking you to support and donate to our cause,” Bender
said. “I think we’ve been very successful so far with a tight
budget and a grassroots effort.”
A donation jar that was placed on one of the tables up front
gathered change and dollars as attendees came to sign up for one
of nine committees forming to collect support, factual
information and talent to get the word out.
Burt resident Mary Jo Harris is thinking about signing up for a
committee. Her motivation for IDA reform comes from a passion
for the school district, which she graduated from and returned
to so her son could attend Barker.
“I want to fight for my son’s education,” Harris said. “I don’t
know if it will be successful, but what other choice do I have?
The lawsuits are being fought in court. What is left for the
average person?”
Barker resident Virginia Prunella volunteered to do research for
the committee. She said she is disappointed the school has to
make cutbacks to stay afloat after the PILOT.
“There are some positions that will be eliminated that probably
would benefit some of the kids not going on to college,”
Prunella said.
Somerset Supervisor Richard Meyers questioned who was paying for
the event, which was begun with an update on the district’s
financial position from Barker Superintendent Steven J. LaRock.
The meeting was advertised on the district’s outdoor sign as a
“community informational meeting.”
Giegerich said the group plans to schedule more presentations
elsewhere in the county.
Contact reporter Tasha Kates at 439-9222, ext. 6241. |
