 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Witness Testimony
The Honorable Christopher Shays
Regional Energy Reliability and Security: DOE Authority to Energize the Cross Sound Cable
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for allowing me to testify today about concerns we have regarding the activation of the Cross Sound Cable, which connects the electric transmission grids of New England and Long Island and transfers power in both directions. We can all agree there is a clear need for electricity to go back and forth between states to protect regional energy security and ensure there is efficiently-generated energy in ample supply to meet demands. We may ultimately disagree about the value of environmental protections and review processes in meeting those goals. In the course of setting national energy policy, important environmental concerns are too often dismissed. While we must make sure we have plans in place to provide Americans uninterrupted service, we have a responsibility to future generations to also ensure due diligence is done to prevent unnecessary environmental harms and to follow processes established to ensure we adequately consider environmental objections. Back in 2002, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers published minimum environmental requirements for the Cable. These included stipulations for the depth at which the Cable should be buried that it does not meet at several points along its course. Its failure to meet those requirements, and its activation despite that significant shortcoming, has been a serious source of concern for Connecticut. The fact is the Cable does not comply with the State of Connecticut's construction permit. It doesn't even comply with minimum environmental standards established to protect this precious estuary. And its permanent activation could have consequences for Connecticut's ecosystem, oyster industry, power supply and maritime business. After ordering it indefinitely activated on August 28, Secretary Abraham shut down the Cross Sound Cable on May 7, an action we are grateful for. Nonetheless, it is still important to recognize that the method by which he had activated the Cable in the first place overrode the State's legally constituted authority to regulate its construction in a manner that protects this important natural resource, and circumvented important review processes in place to ensure the environmental integrity of the project. Secretary Abraham's decision to activate the Cable and the effort to codify that decision in the Energy Policy Act was simply the wrong way to proceed. These actions, which followed the August 14 blackout, came despite Connecticut's vigorous opposition and the North American Electric Reliability Council's public assurances that the electric grid in the Northeast had returned to normal operation. There is a right way and a wrong way for the system to work. State laws need to be respected and when they are overruled, there should be a process that's fair for ensuring their concerns are addressed. In this case, we have a system in place for doing exactly that, but the way in which the Cable was activated bypassed the process and was therefore objectionable. Mr. Chairman, the bottom line for me is, when dealing with a project of this magnitude, there is a process for ensuring environmental fitness, which in this case, was not followed. It is clear we must take action to maximize energy security, but environmental review need and must not be compromised in the process. Related Documents |
|||||||||||
|
