the cayuga power plant: a case for its permanent retirement and a just transition for lansing

7/28/2019 The Cayuga Power Plant: A Case for its Permanent Retirement and a Just Transition for Lansing

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The Cayuga Power Plant:

A Case for its Permanent Retirement and a Just

Transition for Lansing

A Report by the Finger Lakes Action Network

FINGER LAKES ACTION NETWORK EDUCATION & OUTREACH MATERIALS

PAGE 1 OF 22 AGAINST THE PROPOSED REPOWERING OF THE CAYUGA POWER PLANT


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Table Of Contents

The Cayuga Power Plant and Repowering Proposal 3The Finger Lakes Action Networks Stance 6

Quotes from Individuals, Organizations and Businesses 8

The Toxic Legacy of Coal 12

No to Fracked Gas! No to Fracking! 14

A Just Transition offof Fossil Fuels 16

Who will be affected? 19

What Next? 20

About the Finger Lakes Action Network 21

Contact 21




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The Cayuga Power Plant and Repowering Proposal

The coal fired Cayuga Power Plant (formerly Millikan Station/AES Cayuga)

sits on the edge of Cayuga Lake in Lansing, just 10 miles north of Ithaca, and

burns dirty coal with two coal-fired turbine units. It is currently owned byUpstate New York Power Producers. They are currently seeking to transition

the plant from coal to fracked gas to replace the small amount of energy the

plant produces.

The plant has a toxic legacy in Tompkins County since the facility was first

opened in 1955. According to the Clean Air Task Force, around 7 deaths a

year in Tompkins County can be aributed to fine particle pollution from the

plant.1 There are also a number of cases of asthma a year that can be linked

to the plant, as well as the harder to measure eff

ects of toxic chemicalsreleased by the plant. EPA reports show that over the past 12 quarters the

Plant has spent 3 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10

quarters in non-compliance with the CleanWater Act.2 It has also shown up

on a recently leaked secret government watch list as a high-priority violator

for at least the last 98 months.3 The Plants coal ash dump has also been

seeping toxins into ground water, a type of contamination which is not

currently regulated by the EPA or the DEC.4

Since 2007, the plant has been struggling to stay open due to the lowwholesale price of energy. To remain open, the plant first negotiated a Pay in

Lieu of Taxes program with the Tompkins County Industrial Development

Agency in which they only payed taxes for 70% of their assessed value.5

However, this aempt failed to solve their economic woes and in 2011 the

plant declared bankruptcy. At this point, the AES Corporation offloaded their

company to their bondholders who formed a new company, Upstate New

York Power Producers. However, Upstate New York Power Producers found



1 hp://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/existing/map.php?state=New_York

2 hp://www.epa-echo.gov/cgi-bin/get1cReport.cgi?tool=echo&IDNumber=3610900001

3 hp://www.npr.org/series/142000896/poisoned-places-toxic-air-neglected-communities

4 hp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdf

5 hp://www.ithaca.com/news/lansing/article_af5b2218-6482-11e1-a1e9-001871e3ce6c.html
http://www.epa-echo.gov/cgi-bin/get1cReport.cgi?tool=echo&IDNumber=3610900001http://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/existing/map.php?state=New_Yorkhttp://www.ithaca.com/news/lansing/article_af5b2218-6482-11e1-a1e9-001871e3ce6c.htmlhttp://www.ithaca.com/news/lansing/article_af5b2218-6482-11e1-a1e9-001871e3ce6c.htmlhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://www.epa-echo.gov/cgi-bin/get1cReport.cgi?tool=echo&IDNumber=3610900001http://www.epa-echo.gov/cgi-bin/get1cReport.cgi?tool=echo&IDNumber=3610900001http://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/existing/map.php?state=New_Yorkhttp://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/existing/map.php?state=New_York


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that the plant remained insolvent and in July 2012 they announced plans to

retire the coal-plant, a procedure known as mothballing.

In January 2013, the Department of Public Services directed National Grid

and NYSEG to work with Cayuga Operating Company, LLC (owned byUpstate New York Power Producers) to look into re-powering the plant6. On

March 26th, the Cayuga Operating Company submied a 191 page re-

powering proposal in which they proposed four possible re-powering

options, the most expensive of which has an estimated cost of 370 million

dollars. All options involved somehow converting the plant to run on toxic

fracked gas. This conversion would be paid for price hikes for ratepayers, a

funding strategy that disproportionately effects lower income people and

subsequently people of color. Alternatives for the plant such as pump-

storage hydropower, solar and wind were not considered, even though such

alternatives could provide an excellent opportunity for Lansing to have

long-term, safe, local jobs.

While the Department of Public Service has received several positive

evaluations of the repowering plan, the most significant comments so far

have been in opposition. The Sierra Club, Earth Justice, Environmental

Advocates and The Business Council of New York, Inc. submied a

comment in opposition to the plan criticizing the narrow scope of theproposal and calling for the Department of Public Service to investigate

alternatives to repowering the plant with natural gas. Their comment

favored Non-Transmission Alternatives (NTAs) such as energy efficiency,

clean distributed generation, improved transmission system capabilities,

performance and efficiency or demand response over what they deemed to

be a costly and inefficient repowering to be paid for by ratepayers.

New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), one of the utility

companies tasked with evaluating the repowering proposal, also submied a

report to the Department of Public Service in opposition. They pointed out

that the Repowering proposal is based on a series of assumptions about

uncertain future variables including the price of natural gas, the number of



6 These documents can be found at the Department of Public Services site by searching the case #12-E-0577
http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=12-e-0577http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=12-e-0577http://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=12-e-0577


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hours that the repowered generators would be called upon to run, the

forward looking price of electricity and capacity, construction and

permiing uncertainties, financing risk and other variables. In that report,

NYSEG supported the much cheaper electrical grid transmission

reinforcements and upgrades instead of repowering. Following this report,the Sierra Club has decided to support NYSEGs recommendation for

transmission upgrades. Below is a statement issued to the Finger Lakes

Action Network by the Sierra Club:

The New York Department of Public Service is currently deciding whether to

approve a costly conversion of the Cayuga coal plant from dirty coal to dirty gas

or to replace the small amount of power actually needed from the plant with

cleaner and cheaper transmission upgrades. Because such a tiny amount of power

is actually needed, The Sierra Club urged the Public Service Commission to

investigate other solutions including energy efficiency, renewable power and

reducing energy demand when it is high. There are cleaner and cheaper optionsthat would beer serve New Yorks businesses and families who will foot the bill

for the changes.It is poor policy and bad business to require New Yorks families and businesses to

pay for uneconomical, dirty power plants which are unnecessary and whose

continued operation is inconsistent with New Yorks vision of a low-carbonenergy future. Remaining stuck in New Yorks dirty energy past will burdenbillpayers, deter investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and

cause more pollution.

As it stands now, the Department of Public Services is accepting public

comments until July 27th, a time-frame which the Finger Lakes Action

Network believes is woefully inadequate as many rate-payers to be effected

by the proposal are only learning of it now. According to their rushed

timeline, the Department of Public Service is expected to make a decision on

the plant by the third quarter of 2013. We urge you to oppose the repowering

plan.




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The Finger Lakes Action Networks Stance

The Finger Lakes Action Network, along with numerous other concerned

community members and organizations, is strongly opposed to converting

the plant to run on dirty fracked gas or its continued operation as a plantthat burns toxic coal. There are alternatives to fossil fuels, and now is the

time for a just transition, which means local, renewable energy andfair-

paying, safe,permanentjobs Here are our main reasons:

-The plants entire 58 year history of burning coal is a toxic one, relying on

the destructive mining of coal, leading to air and groundwater

contamination which have resulted in disease and death.

-Fracking, the procedure by which the gas is produced, is an industrial

process which contaminates the land, air and water. Supporting a plantthat burns this type of fuel means condemning countless people and

ecosystems to these disastrous environmental and public health effects.

-Burning fracked gas, when taking into account the cradle-to-grave

greenhouse gas emissions, has a similar effect on the climate as coal. In this

era ofcatastrophic climate change, we need strong leadership away from a

fossil fuel economy, not massive investments in it.

-Spending over a third of a billion dollars on fossil-fuel infrastructure is

incredibly unwise and does not abide by The New York State EnergyHighway Blueprint.

-The economic viability of the plant is based on expectations of continued

low prices for natural gas. In their filing with the Department of Public

Service, NYSEG pointed out that this assumption is not one that can be

made and that Natural Gas Market is more volatile than the plant expects.

Furthermore,low price estimates of natural gas arebased on theassumption of continued fracking throughout the Marcellus Shale,

including eventually in New York.

-The plant calls for an 18 mile pipeline to be built to connect to the

Dominion pipeline in Freeville, an invasive piece of industrial

infrastructure which puts communities at risk of deadly explosions. Such

a pipeline project will meet serious resistance including blockades, work




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stoppages and other forms ofcivil disobedience and direct action from both

anti-fracking activists as well as impacted land owners.

-Numerous credible alternatives to fossil-fuels have not been considered

in this repowering proposal, an oversight which creates a false choice

between accepting the fracked gas conversion or significantly impactingLansings tax base. We believe that options likeWind, Solar, Pump Hydro-

Storage and Energy Efficiency all would create longterm, safe, local jobs

and not damage the tax base.

-Rate hikes disproportionately effect lower-income people. Due to a long

history of social and economic injustice, this means the funding of the plant

would also disproportionately effect indigenous people and communities

of color.

-The existing coal plant and the proposed conversion to fracked gas both

constitute a violation of Two Row Wampum Treaty. Now is the time to

reverse the history of broken native treaties and genocide which hangs

heavily over the heads of all selers on stolen Cayuga Land.

-Fracked Gas Power Plants are dangerous for workers. In 2010, a fracked

gas power plant in Connecticut exploded killing 5 people and injuring 50

more.We demand safe, clean, renewable local jobs.




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Quotes from Individuals, Organizations and Businesses

"Investing 370 million dollars in a facility that would burn fracked gas is an investment in

ruin and devastation. Rather than swapping one climate-killing fossil fuel for another, we

could insist that the antiquated, coal-burning Cayuga Power Plant is transformed

entirely, becoming an emblem of a renewable energy future rather than yet another

incursion of the predatory natural gas industry into our beloved Finger Lakes. In fact, we

do so insist."

- Sandra SteingraberProminent science writer, activist and

founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking

"Lansing needs to look not at its own economic sustainability, but also at its impact on the

health of the planet. Coal is a dirty and unsustainable fossil fuel. Converting the Lansing

plant to natural gas, however, will not only be an expensive and short-term solution, itwill play a role in adding to carbon emissions and promoting the use of hydrofracking for

natural gas in our region. We need invest our local resources and visions in long-term

sustainable solutions, not continuing on the same unsustainable, environmentally

destructive treadmill."

- Karen EdelsteinLongtime Lansing Resident

"Any new natural gas facility, like the proposed repowering of the Cayuga Power Plant,

will damage health and climate by a factor of 60-150 per unit energy generated incomparison with a new wind, water, or solar facility. The repowered plant will be in place

for 30-40 years, so new natural gas plants will cause the damage for this period of time.

In addition, natural gas and coal require continuous mining of fuel, thus result in

damaging mining operations that will continue for decades. Because the fossil fuels are in

limited supply, their costs will rise over time. Wind, water, and solar technologies rely on

free fuel, thereby resulting in price stability over the long term. In sum, wind, water, and

solar technologies will eliminate harmful emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants

and stabilize prices while producing jobs. Natural gas and coal will continue to cause

human mortality and climate damage while resulting in unstable future prices."

- Mark Z. JacobsenStanford University Professor

and lead author of article demonstrating the feasibility of

converting New York to run on Wind, Water and Sunlight




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Our society needs to transition away from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral energy sources

within the next generation. In light of this goal, does it make sense to invest in long-lasting

infrastructure that substitutes one polluting, climate-warming fuel for another? The

answer in my mind is clearly no. There is a beer path. Investments in efficiency,

renewable energy, and a modern grid can allow us to take old power plants offline

permanently while meeting our energy needs, creating local jobs, and protecting our

climate, air and water for our children.

- Jon HarrodPresident of Snug Planet LLC.

One of Tompkins Countys Leading Energy Efficiency Businesses

In Kentucky, where I lived for many years, many towns are beholden to coal companies

for jobs and school funding, and in return must live with environmental destruction and

economic stagnation. We do not want fossil-fuel funding dependency to dictate our future

here in Tompkins County. The Cayuga Lake Watershed Networks 2012 position on gasdrilling and fracking states that shale gas dependency and development would forestall

the growth of the renewable energy sector that offers to bolster our economic vitality and

curtail greenhouse gas emissions. We support an energy policy that promotes

conservation and renewable energy sources.

Protecting our clean water resources is part of that policy. A worrisome legacy at the

AES/Cayuga site is their coal waste landfill. A recent report by EarthJustice found

Contaminated leachate and runoff from an onsite coal combustion waste landfill

discharged directly from a pond into Cayuga Lake. The contaminated discharge

contained grossly elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium and selenium. In addition, apartially unlined landfill contaminated groundwater and residential wells with elevated

levels of lead. Prior to any decisions being made about future uses of the Cayuga Power

Plant property, this problem must be fully assessed and mitigated so that it does not

further impact Cayuga Lake.

-Hilary LambertSteward and Executive director of

the Cayuga Lake WaterShed Network7



7Full text of CLWN Position Statement on Hydraulic Hydrofracturing: hp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/

clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdf

EarthJustice Fact Sheet, 2012, New York Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landfills: hp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdf
http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdfhttp://www.cayugalake.org/files/all/clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdf


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"We cant afford to sink more money into dirty energy of the past. The potential

retirement of the Cayuga coal plants is an opportunity to invest in a healthier future for

our kids that we cant miss out on. Upstate New York has tremendous potential for clean,

renewable energy like wind, solar and efficiency that together could cut energy demand,

lower electricity prices, create jobs, spur manufacturing, and clean up the air we all

breathe.

- Jennifer TuleRepresentative of the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal Campaign

Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) propose that public policy

decisions, like the proposal to repower the Cayuga Power Plant with natural gas, should

be based on the best available scientific evidence. A large proportion of the natural gas

used in the Cayuga Power Plant is likely to be developed using high volume hydraulic

fracturing (HVHF) of tight shale formations particularly the Marcellus Shale. Scientificevidence increasingly supports concerns that HVHF and the shale gas production process

hold negative consequences for efforts aimed to mitigate climate change and protect

human health. Lifecycle analyses of the climate dimensions (i.e., fugitive methane

emissions) of HVHF initially modeled and more recently measured directly in the field

demonstrate that over a 20-year time period HVHF may not enable us to reduce GHG

emissions sufficiently to avert dangerous climate change feedback loops and may actually

cause more warming than coal and oil.

Scientific studies have also identified environmental sources of emissions in the shale gas

development process that may expose humans to toxins, endocrine disrupting chemicals,and other compounds through exposure to contaminated air, water, soil and food. A

growing number of public health studies are currently underway to understand the

relationship between the environmental pollution from shale gas development and human

disease. In light of the well-understood climate and health concerns and the clear

information gaps that continue to persist, PSE suggests that decisions to repower the

Cayuga Power Plant with natural gas should be put on hold until the climate and human

health science is clarified. Additionally, PSE supports a full economic and environmental

feasibility analysis of renewable energy technology alternatives.

- Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy EnergyPosition Statement on the Repowering Proposal




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We oppose the repowering of the Cayuga Plant with natural gas and recommends the

immediate commitments of governments and public and private institutions to switching

to renewable sources of energy for our communities. To say that renewable energy is not

feasible denies the facts. The technology is here. The economic benefits in jobs and returns

on investment are far greater than for natural gas and other fossil fuels. The global

circumstances make it imperative that we drastically curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Its

a maer of societal will. The people are ready. Its time for our governing institutions to

lead. Lets go solar - NOW.

- Statement From The Dryden Resource Awareness Council,Energy Independence Carolina and the Danby Energy Group

(Full statement available at: bit.ly/18KXXWN )

There is only one solution for the civil society to stay intact and provide safety and

security for our children and grandchildren and possibly their and our survival. Thatpath is to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels of all types now.

The concerns of protecting the corporate economy and local tax base pale in comparison

to the larger issue we face as a community, a nation, and a species. We must stop ourusage of fossil fuels now. Recognizing humans cannot exist without managing some

energy, there is no requirement that we must use corporate controlled energy. We canand must consume much less energy and switch to renewable energy sources.And withthat switch to renewables, we will retain wealth right here in our community. Thatretained wealth will be the basis for a sustainable, buy local economy and stable tax base.There is a beer path. We must not let this Cayuga Lake power plant burn any more fossil

fuel.

- Don BarberSupervisor for the Town of Caroline

"The Two Row Wampum agreement reminds us that we must respect the laws of nature if

we are to live in peace. We are already seeing the effects of ignoring this wisdom.Fracking, and any use of fracked gas such as repurposing a coal plant, is a bridge to

nowhere when it comes to the climate."

- Lindsay SpeerTwo Row Wampum Renewal Campaign


http://bit.ly/18KXXWNhttp://bit.ly/18KXXWNhttp://bit.ly/18KXXWN


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The Toxic Legacy of Coal Coal fired plants, like the Cayuga Power Plant, are among the dirtiest

power plants in existence. The burning coal damages the environment,

community health, agriculture and ultimately contributes tocatastrophic climate change.

EPAreports show that over the past 12 quarters the Plant has spent 3

quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10 quartersin non-compliance with the Clean Water Act.

According to the Clean Air Task Force, the Cayuga Power Plant isresponsible for 5 deaths, 9 heart aacks and 78 asthma aacks a

year.

A 2012 report by Earth Justice found Contaminated leachate and

runoff from an onsite coal combustion waste landfill dischargeddirectly from a pond into Cayuga Lake. The contaminated discharge

contained grossly elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium andselenium. In addition, a partially unlined landfill contaminated

groundwater and residential wells with elevated levels of lead.

EPA reports show that over the past 12 quarters this coal fired plant has

spent 3 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Water Act.

According to the the EPAs Toxic Release Index [TRI], which quantitates

the total aggregate release of chemicals, in 2011 the Cayuga Power Plant

emied over 218,594 pounds of toxic emissions through burning coal.

This coal fired plant receives 900,000 tons of coal every year. This coal is

mined in Northern Appalachia through underground mines and open-pit

mountain top removal.

Coal fired plants, like this one, contribute to the ongoing practice of

Mountain top removal or MTR. The dangerous process of MTR includes

clear-cuing large swaths of pristine forests, permanently destroying

ecosystems, and the complete destruction and removal of mountain tops

using high powered explosives.




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MTR also contaminates the drinking water, air, farms, and land of

thousands of families in Appalachia. MTR contributes to increased

cancers, diseases, illnesses and overall quality of life for our friends,

families, and neighbors in Appalachia.

In addition to a slew of toxic chemicals including lead, ammonia, anddioxin compounds, the TRI reports that the coal-fired plant mostly emits:

vanadium compounds: exposure causes permanent health

problems and death. Although the EPA is still in the process of

updating vanadium to be classified as a carcinogen, all vanadium

compounds are carcinogenic, meaning they are known to cause

cancer in humans.

manganese compounds: in drinking water are associated with

increased intellectual impairment and reduced intelligence

quotients in school-age children. Chronic low dose exposure to

manganese has been linked to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's

disease, and multiple sclerosis.

barium compounds: affects the nervous system, causing cardiac

irregularities, tremors, weakness, anxiety, dyspnea and paralysis.

hydrochloric acid: is highly corrosive irritant with the potential to

damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines irreversibly.

sulfuric acid: is considered an industrial hazard and is the lead

component of acid rain.

acid rain: causes pneumonia, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and

permanent lung damage. Acid rain also extremely dangerous to

ecosystems dissolving the nutrients that trees and plants need to

be healthy and, particularly here in the northeast, contaminates

lakes and streams. This is deadly to wildlife and aquatic life that

are essential for maintaining stability in the ecosystem of theCayuga Basin bioregion.

Because prevailing winds in the Ithaca area come from North-Northwest,

toxic emissions from the coal fired plant travel over and through the city

of Ithaca on most days.




14/22

No to Fracked Gas! No to Fracking!

Switching the Cayuga Power Plant from toxic coal to toxic fracked gas

depends on the assumption that the price of fracked gas will remain stable.

In order for that price to remain stable the industry must be able tocontinue to frack the Marcellus Shale, the land formation that we live on

and depend on for our sustenance, and therefore survival. Here are some of

the many reasons that the Finger Lakes Action Network opposes the

conversion of the facility to run on fracked gas:


will increase demand and means increased presence of industrial

facilities and infrastructure such as pipelines and compressor stations.

The plant calls for an 18 mile pipeline to be built to connect to the Dominion

pipeline in Freeville, an invasive piece of industrial infrastructure. Beyond

the small but present risk ofdeadly explosions, this pipeline would disrupt

homes, farms and communities and further necessitate larger, more

environmentally dangerous pipelines (some of which are already being

planned and are proposed to cut through several counties in our

immediate area).

Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Fracked Gas have been shown

by scientific models to be equivalent or worse for the climate than coal.

Any rhetoric about the plant being safer for the climate is industry

propaganda that does not take into account the science.

Our neighbors, friends, and family in Pennsylvania will see the

continued disruption of their ability and right to have a healthy

environment to live in as well as the ongoing poisoning of their

communities, farms, and childrendue to an increase in demand for dirtyfracked gas from the Marcellus Shale formation.

Prices for gas are not stable. This means that even if the repowering is

approved, the longtime financial viability of the plant is not guaranteed

but based on the unpredictable fluctuations of the gas market.




15/22

Fracked Gas still produces nitrogen oxides when burned, contributing to

smog, acid rain and the associated environmental and health hazards.

Gas power plants pose serious safety risks and similar plants haveexploded, killing workers and injuring nearby residents.




16/22

A Just Transition offof Fossil Fuels

Now is the time to transition offof dirty fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry

is responsible for extreme environmental degradation, catastrophic climate

change, and increased cancers, disease, illness, and threat from dangerousindustrial sites to both wildlife and people. The fossil fuel industry and fossil

fuel consumption is perpetuating genocide against the indigenous peoples of

this world. Fossil fuels are running out, the industry is now using more and

more dangerous and expensive forms of extraction including fracking and

tar sands extraction.

We have dug ourselves into a deep hole where we are dependent on the very

corporations which poison our communities and causing irreparable

damage to the climate. Luckily, there are alternatives to fossil fuels, and nowis the time for a just transition, which means local, renewable energy and

fair-paying, safe, permanent jobs. We demand that viable alternatives to

fossil fuels like Wind, Sun, Hydro-Storage and Energy Efficiency are

explored and that Lansing is not forced to choose between community

health and funding for basic social services. The Finger Lakes Action

Network believes the social and environmental costs of alternative options

must be examined before any action is taken and offers the following

alternatives not to endorse any specific plan but in order to further

conversation by showing the broad swath of options that have not been

considered so far:

Sun

Even in cloudy Tompkins County, sun is a powerful source of energy.

NYSERDA recently released financial incentives for large solar arrays. Due

to the power plants pre-existing grid connection, such a solar array at the

former Plant site would be a wise move for Lansing and Tompkins county.

Furthermore, smaller distributed solar is being installed in hundreds ofhouses across Tompkins County every year, providing clean, distributed

renewable energy.




17/22

WindAlready, Tompkins County has seen support for wind energy, with the Black

Oak Wind Farm, a 12.6 mega-wa community owned, locally managed wind

farm in Enfield, New York expected to be operational in early 2014. Suchprojects could be explored in Lansing and elsewhere in Tompkins County

providing safe jobs and a long-term source of renewable energy .

Pumped Hydro-StorageLocal Engineer Milton Taam has proposed the innovative idea of converting

the Cayuga Power Plant to a Pumped Hydro-Storage Plant.8 This would

entail building a 1/2 sq. mi, 20 deep reservoir 700 feet above Power Plant

to store 4000 mwh of energy. The former Cayuga coal plant would host thegenerator and pump turbines.. The facility would buy electricity, particularly

off-peak renewably generated electricity, when demand and price is low to

pump water to the reservoir and release water to generate electricity when

demand and price is high.

The facility would be capable of 300 mw, 12 hours of daily electricity

production, equal to the peak output of the current coal-fired generators. The

proposal would allow for Cayuga Operating Company to transition to a next

generation power facility using its current assets of location and grid

connection while benefiing from broad community support. Pumped hydro

storage is the only proven, low-cost technology for utility-scale storage of

electrical energy, a crucial part of balancing the electrical load of intermient

renewables.

Energy EfficiencyEfficient use of our current energy sources has always been an important

step towards a transition off fossil fuels. In our daily lives and on an

institution level, there are many opportunities for using less fossil fuels toachieve the same results. In Tompkins County, NYSERDA has financial

incentives to make your home more insulated against the cold and the heat.

These energy efficiency upgrades create a bounty of green jobs and



8 hps://docs.google.com/document/d/1waeTUkdyBSUlFnb-qZgvFEgbFtx2XgxJChMGtXHnd0E/edit


18/22

businesses like Snug Planet are able to give many workers safe jobs and a

living wage. Even landfills can be a source of efficiency: methane is

harvested from the Freshkill landfill on Staten Island. While more efficient

use of fossil fuels will not solve our addiction to fossil fuels, they can be a

useful first step towards environmental justice and to reduce the power ofextraction corporations that endanger our lives and communities.

Transmission UpgradesBoth the Sierra Club and NYSEG have recommended to the Department of

Public Service that instead of repowering the plant, simple upgrades are

made to the electrical grid such as upgrading and adding new transmission

lines. This would allow Tompkins County to continue to be able to

consistently meet its energy demand with a much lower cost and make iteasier to add renewables (like Wind and Sun) to the grid.

Power DownThe energy required to maintain the massive infrastructure and high levels

of production, consumption, and waste in the United States is simply

unsustainable. The problems were increasingly facing arent just about what

energy source is used, but how its used, and how much. Mass-scale

industrial facilities (the type necessary in order to fuel current levels of

consumption) will always pose threats to communities, workers, and the

environment. The U.S. American mentality of hyper-consumption has to

change. To build strong, resilient local communities, we need to support

small-scale, sustainable infrastructure. This means powering down--simply

using less, and using what we do have in different ways. The planet was

never meant to support the levels of consumption many people in the

United States have come to consider normal. If we want to ensure the

survival of future generations, that paradigm needs to shi.




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Who will be affected?


means all customers in this area who receive their energy from CPP (about

95% of people in Ithaca proper) will be forced to pay for the increase inexpenses through unfair rate hikes in a time when so many are already

struggling. Lower income folks will be disproportionately affected by non-

consensual rate hikes. Due to histories of economic and social injustice his

also means that indigenous people and people of color will also

disproportionately affected.

Land owners along the 18-mile pipeline from Freeville will have their land

seized via eminent domain to put in an invasive and dangerous piece of

industrial infrastructure.

2013marks the 400th year anniversary of the Two Row Wampumbelt, the

first treaty between the indigenous peoples of this continent and European

colonists. The Haudenosaunee, comprised of Six Nations: the Cayuga,

Seneca, Tuscarora, Mohawk, Oneida, and Onondaga, are the indigenous

peoples whose land we now live on. The Haudenosaunee have increasingly

emphasized that ecological stewardship is a fundamental prerequisite for

honoring this treaty. Allowing the continued and increased industrialpresence as the combustion of coal andfracked gas blatantly violates the

Two Row Wampum treaty.




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What Next?

There are many ways to oppose this repowering project and advocate for a

just transition for Lansing offof fossil fuels.

You can submit your comments to the Department of Public Services until

July 27th, 2013. Search google for case number 12-E-0577.

If you are a legislator, you can pass resolutions opposing the repowering,

submit comments to the Department of Public Services or try and work with

Upstate New York Power Producers to investigate viable alternatives.

Whatever happens, Finger Lakes Action Network will remain resolutely

opposed to the repowering. This means that if the project is approved, therewill be sustained civil disobedience and direct action by citizens who cannot

in their good conscience let this project move forward.




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About the Finger Lakes Action Network

The Finger Lakes Action Network is an open collective of community members

organizing to defend the Finger Lakes region and its inhabitants from extractive

industry, corporate power, and state/military repression.

We strive to promote and support local solidarity networks and resistance to all

forms of institutionalized oppression and systematic violence.

Find us on Facebook! hps://www.facebook.com/FingerLakesActionNetwork

Our Anti-Oppression FrameworkWhile working together we will strive to cultivate an anti-oppressive and anti-

hierarchical framework. We understand that oppressive behavior is normalized and

internalized by our broader society. We acknowledge that the institutional, economic,political, social, and cultural dynamics of hierarchy, power, and privilege that define

mainstream society also permeate social and environmental justice organizing.

Combating these behaviors is an ongoing and difficult process.Anti-oppression and ourwork as grassroots organizers are very much intertwined. We strive to change

oppressive power dynamics within our society and are commied to being accountable

towards each other against any sexist, racist, classist, ableist, patriarchal, etc. behavior.

We recognize the importance of integrating an anti-oppression into this organizing space

so that we may move away from systems of hierarchy and oppression which only serve

to divide and weaken us as environmental and social justice organizers. We worktowards a horizontal structure of organization and incorporate anti-oppression so we

may empower each other, strengthen our community and move together towards the

collective liberation of all peoples and the earth for a world free from domination.

ContactTo get involved in local resistance to extractive industries [email protected]

Media inquiries should be directed to our email at [email protected] or

to to one of our spokespeople:

Sam Law- 607-229-3403

Kat Stevens - 607-591-0607


mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.facebook.com/FingerLakesActionNetworkhttps://www.facebook.com/FingerLakesActionNetwork


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AG 22 O 22 AGA S O OS O G O CA GA O A

the cayuga power plant: a case for its permanent retirement and a just transition for lansing

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