Canadian hydro power project faces court battles
Quebec to New York City electricity line will go under some Capital Region backyards
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Champlain Hudson Power Express, which is being built to supply New York City with Canadian hydroelectricity has this month found itself embroiled in at least a dozen court cases where the project’s developers are seeking to use eminent domain laws to cut through people’s yards and property.
The CHPE line, when it was being proposed, was touted as being largely underwater, with cables buried below the beds of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River on the 330-mile route from the Canadian border to the city.
But 40 percent of the line leaves the Hudson River. In those spots, the line will be buried underground, largely along rail line rights of way.
A good deal of that 40 percent is in the Capital Region, where developers want to avoid churning up harmful PCB residue that may still be in the Hudson River bed between Fort Edward in Washington County and Greene County.
That means when the line
is routed on land, it will need to cut through some private property in addition to the railroad rights of way.
Along that route, a number of homeowners have said “no” to entreaties to purchase easements to bury the CHPE
line on their properties from Transmission Developers Inc., the company behind the project.
The offers to property owners have varied between $1,000 and $33,600 for the easements, according to interviews
and court documents.
The $6 billion CHPE project aims to bring power from the Canadian border to New York City to supply about 20 percent of the city’s electricity needs. More than a decade in the offing, the developers’ pitch to build it was two-fold: the electricity comes from the relatively clean Hydro-Quebec hydroelectric dam system which avoids carbon emissions. And by putting much of the line underwater, they would avoid the long and costly fights that have characterized past efforts at building above-ground power lines.
Under eminent domain, a developer can “condemn” or force the sale of an easement if it can prove a project is for a larger societal good, and if it provides fair compensation.
“Similar to other transmission lines, CHPE has New York transportation corporation status — which allows for the use of eminent domain, but that is a last and final resort only after long periods of negotiation with property owners. Even during eminent domain proceedings, CHPE continues to seek negotiated agreements and, in many cases, has been successful,” TDI said in a prepared statement.
While the law may be on TDI’s side, property owners who are now finding themselves in court after declining
offers to sell their easements are unhappy.
“They’ve come and basically steamrollered over everyone,” said Matt Sgambettera, a Saratoga Springs lawyer. “People are upset.”
Sgambettera is representing Fort Edwards resident Tabitha Fish. TDI wants to bury the power line across Fish’s front yard on Canal Street, cutting down a number of trees in the process.
After she turned down an offer TDI made to buy an easement on her property, it launched condemnation proceedings under eminent domain laws. TDI had offered her $7,000, according to court records.
Other property owners in Saratoga Springs, the towns of Moreau, Ballston, Glenville, Wilton, Guilderland and New Scotland are also being sued under eminent domain laws.
The court filings, which began in the last month or so, weren’t the first indication that TDI would need to bury its lines across property owners’ yards.
Last summer, the company reached out to a group of homeowners, prompting meetings in Ballston and Ballston Spa about the plans. In some instances, TDI rerouted its proposed rights-of-way to avoid private homeowners.
“They moved it for us,” said Josephine Sabin, who lives on Kaleen Drive in the village of Ballston Spa.
TDI initially wanted to bury the line in Sabin’s backyard but now says it can go on the other side of her fence along the railroad tracks that run through town.
But not all of the properties could be avoided, thus the condemnation cases.
Still, Ballston Supervisor Eric Connolly said the development firm over the last year worked to avoid private residential easements where possible. Initially,
it identified 29 properties for easements, but is now looking at a handful.
Connolly added that TDI is paying the towns and counties for their trouble.
“There are a few outstanding, but those people are not responding with multiple efforts,” Connolly said of some homeowners who have not agreed to accept payments from TDI for easements.
Indeed, at least one homeowner being sued under eminent domain laws declined to speak on the record, saying they were negotiating with TDI.
It’s not unusual for property owners to seek a higher price than what is initially offered for an easement.
And in some cases, people may purchase land in the path of a project in hopes of selling their easements.
Some properties that TDI is seeking are in blind LLCs, or corporations in which the owners remain
hidden. But there is no immediate indication that these properties were purchased on speculation.
The costs of buying the easements probably don’t pose a financial threat to the $6 billion CHPE project, which is backed by the giant Blackstone private equity firm.
And eminent domain cases are designed to move quickly, but there are no guarantees.
Sgambettera, for in
stance, said that in his client’s case, there was an initial snag since the property in question is owned by a trust, not the individual who lives there.
There are also hiking and biking trails in Ballston that may have to be navigated, while other areas may have wetlands or environmentally sensitive spots that have to be dealt with.
The CHPE project is moving forward with construction and the eminent
domain cases are scheduled for local court hearings in the coming months.Developers said they don’t expect the cases to hurt their schedule and they still plan to start delivering electricity to New York City in 2026.
Unless all the cases are settled out of court, the upcoming eminent domain hearings may lead to condemnations.
“Nobody,” said Ballston’s Connolly, “likes eminent domain.”