Bonacic: "the battle still continues"

Albany – A federal district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by New York Regional Interconnect that challenged a state law that protects homeowners from the use of eminent domain by private transmission companies, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

NYRI wants to build a power line from Oneida County to Eastern Orange County.

State, county and local officials from one end of the proposed route to the other oppose the proposal.

State Senator John Bonacic of Mt. Hope, who has been leading the regional effort to block the power line, was glad to hear the news.

“As much as I am very pleased with the federal court decision, I am still concerned that our Congress doesn’t pre-empt the court ruling and the federal government does not move forward to trample our state’s rights, so the battle still continues,” he said.

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther is also cautiously optimistic. “I hope that this is only the beginning of making sure that this does not happen in our area.”

This past summer, the feds approved declaration of a national interest electric corridor in the northeast, which could pave the way for NYRI to take land by eminent domain.