So Obama gets credit for this - as a jobs creating move in an election year! How self serving...I wonder if there had been a Warren Buffet-like electricity mogul who would have lost from the electrical upgrade if Obama would have said no like he did to Keystone. Obama controls oil, electricity, GM, the media, the military etc, etc, IF it gets him elected? Im scared.

The power lines existed before the park did. According to PSEG, even if they were not allowed to install the higher voltage line they would still need to erect higher towers to meet todays safety standards. The amount of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard!) on this project reflects the selfishness and arrogance of those who bought cheaper land next to existing utilities, then demand that the utilities never make an upgrade or increase service. It's not fair to the rest of us who depend on the services. Don't buy houses next to existing utilities or "abandoned" train lines if you don't want to be inconvenienced by an upgrade.

Good article.

But, I'd like to know the names of the "conservation groups" that supported and will benefit financially from the mitigation money and thereby provided the political cover for this project. The public, their members, and the ENGO funding community would benefit from this information.

We blew the whistle on this mitigation deal last October, see:

POWER PLAY AT DELAWARE WATER GAP AND APPALACHIAN TRAIL — "Fast Track" Review Masks Pre-Selection of Most Damaging Transmission Route

http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1522

"The Secretary and the Director have unofficially committed to the companies that the NPS will select Alternative 2, the alternative preferred by the companies but which is the most damaging to the resources and scenery of the parks. In return, the companies have reportedly agreed to pay $60 million for land acquisition and administration inside and near the NRA. "

Obama is an arrogant two-faced liar. He cited "environmental concerns" when blocking Keystone pipeline, job losses and gas prices notwithstanding, to let his pal Buffett reap some profit. Now, he ruins a National Park because PSE&G gave a him hefty bribe, eh I meant campaign contribution. Thank you, Colleen O'Dea and other slime-covered media sycophants, for saddling us with this jackass!

Max and bill:

Who or whatever or president is is not the point here. The future will require more power and the lines need to be safe and upgraded, that's the issue here.

As to the presidents support of the keystone pipeline, so far the only thing he has supported is a " pipeline to nowhere with nothing in it".

One HUGE glaring omission in this story. That $40M of "mitigation" will be paid for by electric consumers in 13 states. Through federal ratemaking schemes, the power companies will add the cost of "mitigation" to the cost of their project that they will be recovering from electric consumers over the next 50+ years. They also earn a 12.9% rate of return YEARLY on the unpaid balance of the "mitigation." The "mitigation" will be a capital expense (asset) that will be depreciated (and end up in your bill) over a number of years. The effect of this is that YOU are paying for the power companies' bribe of the NPS, not PSE&G or PPL. The power companies get the benefit of the bribe, they make 12.9% interest on the amount every year, and national parks that belong to YOU are destroyed. The citizens/ratepayers lose on all fronts -- for a power line that is overbuilt and unnecessary.

Stop Path

You do understand that some of those funds are going to towns to remediate power line issues such as in Montville Township behind Lazar school and some towns in Sussex County? Are you saying the Montville BoE took a bribe???

I wonder if the environmentalists fighting this have smartphones that need charging, iPads, computers, and more than one TV in their houses? They want to protect the parks, yet they are demanding the electric power just as much as anyone else, I'm sure. They want to live their first-world, high tech lifestyles. This can't be accomplished without updating and improving the current power lines. I'm all for preserving nature, but you have to be realistic. If you want to keep this "plugged in" life, you have to accept what has to be done to maintain it.

Art, it is my understanding that the BOE took the settlement because it was the only way it could get money to move the ball fields if the taller lines come through town. It is evident that the TC isn't going to fight PSE&G's efforts. Serious question: Can someone please explain why not? Because it would cost the taxpayers too much to be part of a class action suit? I've never understood this. Also, where could the BOE actually move the Lazar fields? Last, when these proposals first started, and you were on the TC, you asked for baseline EMF readings on the existing lines so we could know whether 500' towers would dramatically increase exposure. Was that data ever obtained? Do we know that increased EMFs would only affect the ball fields and not the building itself? This is serious stuff. Talk to East Hanover's mayor about the health risks. I'd appreciate any answers you can give me. Thanks.

Hi Heidi
Yes the BoE took the money to remediate a potenial issue either real or imagined with the ball fields. I believe Stanhope was another town that very early on agreed to take about $400K as well as moving a playground. History proved them correct to maximize their payout prior to power company approvals and remove themselves from any law suits against the power company. Remediation in Montville's case I believe was moving the field but it is best to check directly with a BoE member for specific facts. I think the fields were to be moved onto neighboring property that they have/will purchase but again please check with the board. Actualy the TC, while I was on, discussed joining the lawsuit and not taking the original approx $450,000 offered to the township. At that point the township was neghotiating from a position of strength and could have made the best of a bad situation. When some members of the TC wanted to join the suit I pushed back. The folks involved in the suit had these TC members bull s'd that it would not cost the township any out of pocket money. The power company did put money in a fund for legal services incurred by the towns to fight them. I know it sounds strange but it is factual.

Of course the atorney's for the towns blew thru those funds and then wanted the towns to start paying. I got the rest of the TC to going along with joining the suit as long as it didn't cost the taxpayers any money and if we were billed we would pull out. Of course a few months later we got a bill which we didn't pay and we walked from the suit. Of course we also gave up the original $450,000 we would have got to stay out of it in the first place. By the way the BoE still could have, and did, work a deal with them regarding Lazar. I see this years budget is currently at 2.3% increase well that $450,000 is just over 2 tax points so if we would have taken the original deal this years tax increase would be 0 due to the $450,000 coming from the power company.

Now to one of the more stupid facts - Heidi, no one at any level is seriously adressing the EMF safety issues with this project. Montville Township should absolutly base line EMF levels this summer (peak power load thus highest EMF) regardless of any other entity. What I have been trying to push is our BPU forcing this throught the state. The only conclusion I can draw is politicians and the power company don't want the added complaints if EMF levels are higher after the line is built. While I completely understand the need for the line I also would want our citizens to know the truth and to develop a better understanding of EMF rather than stick our heads in the sand. If you and others can convince the TC to go forward there should be documented test procedures and historical data. Most important is to base line the current EMF levels under and around the transmission line. Also don't be fooled by any statements from the BPU that they have this info. I was told that while I was on the TC and asked for the info and you know what I got! As long as anyone interested keeps the discussion professional I will go with any citizen/s to a TC meeting and again try to get the right thing done.
Hope this helps!
Regards
Art

Thanks for all the info, Art. My biggest concern is EMFs, for obvious reasons. But the lines will also be huge and UGLY. Aesthetics and health issues combined should be important to all residents, not just middle school parents; think this won't affect property values? You said in your first post above that "history proved them correct to maximize their payout prior to power company approvals and remove themselves from any law suits against the power company." I think you were referring to Stanhope, not Montville. If every town affected by the transmission line had joined a class action suit instead of taking a settlement from PSE&G, don't you think PSE&G would have been put on the defensive? Instead, they have thrown money at the problem and have now managed to offer the ultimate buyout to the National Park Service. With President Obama's push to fast track the project, there is now little hope. The NJ/PA electrical unions are pressing hard for job creation, which ironically, may be brought in from other states. The purpose of the increased energy grid is to improve NYC's supply, not ours. PSE&G's purchases will get billed to rate-payors. From your comments, it sounds like the TC was split but that the real issue was whether or not legal action would cost the taxpayer, right? (BTW, I'm having this conversation on Patch instead of calling you privately because there are many people who would like to understand better.) Thanks!

The NPS cannot be overruled by the power companies. NEPA is a federal law. Investor-owned corporations have no power except that which occurs behind closed doors in Washington with lobbyists and public officials on the take. All the money that PSE&G (or other power company) is throwing around to get their way and shut people up and discourage them from fighting the project isn't PSE&G's money. It's YOUR money! New transmission projects are paid for through a federal ratemaking process that may include profitable incentives. In the case of the S-R line, all project costs (to include any money paid out as "mitigation" or "remediation" or "damages" or whatever the power companies want to call it ) is wrapped into the cost of the project. The power company's investment in the project (the money they spend) is repaid to them by 61 million electric consumers in 13 states and the District of Columbia over the useful life of the project (50 - 70 years). Each year, the power company receives a small percentage of depreciation on accumulated project assets in the rate base, plus a return (or interest) on the remaining balance. S-R earns 12.93% yearly on the unpaid balance of the project. We will all be paying PSE&G's stockholders 12.93% interest on their investment in the project for many years to come. The more money they spend now, the higher their ultimate profit. Buying off entities opposing the project is very profitable for PSE&G.