Since 1961, Western New York has been home to New York State's largest electrical power producer, the Niagara Power Project, which generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the State Power Authority.
The authority wants to keep the electricity and money flowing, so it's closing on deals worth more than $1.5 billion in incentives to secure a federal license to continue to operate the power project for another 50 years.
The area, from Buffalo to Youngstown, would reap benefits for a half century, according to drafts of the deal obtained by The Buffalo News.
If approved, the settlement could mean millions of dollars in cash to Erie and Niagara county communities. Several local governments, school districts and the Tuscarora Nation would be among the winners.
Cut-rate electricity would go to many Niagara County homes and businesses.
Osprey nesting sites would rise along the Buffalo shoreline.
Projects to spur development, boost wildlife and link communities would take hold up and down Niagara River.
They would likely include about $9 million annually to help create a Niagara River Greenway between Lakes Erie and Ontario.
The deal, if it stands, compares well with other such relicensing settlements, in both scope and size, said Bruce Carpenter, executive director of New York Rivers United, a nonprofit environmental group.
"It's forward-looking," said Carpenter, whose group has monitored every hydropower relicensing in the state. "It's something our children and grandchildren can look at and say, 'They did something right.' "
In a time where money for ecological projects is increasingly hard to come by, the proposed settlement could become a reliable source of much-needed financial support, said Carpenter.
"We identified problems and started working on them," he said. "It doesn't solve all of them, but you can't solve all these problems in one bite."
Deep pockets
The Power Authority has the deep pockets to make lucrative offers to renew its power project license.
It reported operating revenues of $2.3 billion in 2003 alone.
The 2,400 megawatts produced by the Niagara Power Project makes up nearly a quarter of the Power Authority's total electrical production capability. The project can churn enough electricity to meet about one-quarter of the needs of New York City on a busy summer day, or about 11 percent of the state's entire power use on a midweek winter afternoon.
At present, only two of the nine proposed settlements -- for Niagara County communities and the Tuscarora Nation -- have had terms publicly discussed. None of the settlement packages are locked in until federal authorities approve the new license in 2007.
Power Authority spokesman Jack Kelly declined to comment.
Here are the highlights from the most substantial proposed settlements and requests for compensation:
The Niagara Power Coalition -- Niagara County, the City of Niagara Falls, Lewiston, the Town of Niagara and the school districts of Lewiston-Porter, Niagara Falls and Niagara-Wheatfield -- has publicly accepted its deal, though Lewiston officials have expressed some second thoughts.
Lewiston Supervisor Fred Newlin said he was trying to get a better share of low-cost power for his town, which has the power plant inside its borders. An independent energy audit is under way to help determine a fair split, and should be ready in another couple of weeks, Newlin said.
Three-part deal
The Power Authority says the coalition's package could be worth more than $1 billion over its lifetime. It's a three-part deal: land, money and low-cost electricity. About 104 acres, mostly in Lewiston and Niagara Falls, could be turned over to governments or neighbors.
Coalition members get up to 25 megawatts of low-cost electricity, enough to trim millions of dollars from their annual electric bills. One megawatt is roughly enough to power about 1,500 average homes in New York State.
They'll also split at least $5.5 million annually for 50 years from the sale of electricity sold on their behalf.
The Tuscarora Nation, with about 1,200 members, had about 10 percent of its land seized by the state to build the power project's reservoir. It also lost a bitter court battle over the state's actions.
The nation was impacted by the project in ways other communities were not, said Neil Patterson, Tuscarora environmental director. "The reason is we have a much closer connection to the land, a much closer reliance in many cases on environmental resources," he said. "When you take environmental resources away from people who depend on them, it has a much larger cumulative effect within their society."
The proposed Tuscarora settlement, aired earlier this month in a reservation meeting, includes $20 million for the nation, Patterson said. Unlike the installment-payment deals for the Niagara Power Coalition, the Tuscarora Nation can request a lump sum, he said.
Low-cost power for every home and business on the reservation today will be part of the agreement, increasing to allow for "reasonable growth" during the next 50 years.
The nation also got something worth more than money, Patterson said: it got respect due a sovereign people. The nation got a guaranteed role in shaping land policy along the Niagara River watershed, including culturally sensitive sites. It will also get "some sort of official apology" for the way the Tuscarora Nation was treated in the past, so a new relationship can begin, Patterson said.
The ecological settlement addresses impacts on the plants, animals and water quality of the Niagara River and nearby areas. One proposed version lists about $79 million in spending over 50 years, including habitat improvement projects, improved access to fishing areas, and $1 million annually for improving fish and wildlife habitats.
Wetlands would be restored on Strawberry and Beaver islands. Invasive species would be dealt with in Tifft Marsh in Lackawanna and Buckhorn Marsh on Grand Island.
Platforms would be built to encourage ospreys, black terns and common terns to take up residence in Lake Erie and along the river. Structures to attract fish would be placed in the Niagara River.
Frog Island, a low island that was once in the Niagara River south of Grand Island, and Niagara Falls' Cayuga Creek would be restored.
Ice boom an issue
Another set of projects would improve access to fishing areas. The Robert Moses Fishing Pier, near the generating plant on the Niagara River, would gain parking spots. An Upper Mountain Road parking lot, by the northwest shore of Lewiston Reservoir, would have 16 parking spaces. A fence would allow angler access to the upper Niagara River near the Power Project's water intakes.
City of Buffalo and Erie County officials are still negotiating with the Power Authority. A central issue is what impact the Power Authority's ice boom has on the environment.
City attorney Richard Stanton said he couldn't comment on negotiations. He outlined the city's initial request: money for waterfront repairs and inner harbor development; $30 million over 50 years for other waterfront development; and either low-cost electricity or money for a clean renewable energy generation site.
One of the biggest potential impacts on Western New York would come through funding for the Niagara River Greenway, which is envisioned as a system of parks, trails and waterfront sites from Buffalo to Youngstown.
A recent draft had the annual NYPA support at $9 million to $10 million a year, for 50 years.
The only relicensed state power project comparable to Niagara is the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project in Massena, which has about 38 percent of Niagara's generating capacity.
There, the authority agreed to pay $201 million over 50 years including $115 million to local governments that complained about lost property tax revenue; $66 million for fish and wildlife habitat improvements; and $20 million to enhance area parks.
Most seem satisfied
Except for Erie County, Niagara University and the Town of Lewiston, most parties seem largely satisfied with the outlined settlements, Carpenter said. Most people and groups involved are interested in the proposals being made final, he said.
Since a series of settlement meetings originally scheduled for the last month have been canceled by the authority, Carpenter said, he's not alone in hoping the process moves forward soon. It has taken several years worth of work, by the authority and impacted groups, to get this far.
"It is not a good thing to leave it sitting out there. People want this over with and done," Carpenter said. "The longer it floats around, who knows what might happen?"