Why and How to Stop the NYRI Power Line Project on the Delaware River

Power line?  What powerline?
NYRI stands for New York Regional Interconnection, a project which seeks to capitalize on New York's electric energy power grid. They are scheduling completion of the power line project down the river by 2011.

The ruination of a river, the tourist trade, and business community.
The NYRI Power Line Project will have devastating impact on the scenic beauty of the Upper Delaware, the tourist-based economy of many businesses, and the livelihood of those who live and work here.

A beautiful river made ugly.
The project requires the construction of at least 100 120-ft towers [facts TBD] erected along the Pennsylvania side tracks of the Norfolk & Southern Railway.  It will transform one of the most beautiful rivers in the U.S. into an industrial conduit.

Canadian entrepreneur businessmen.
Although the NYRI Project keeps an office in Albany, a Canadian entrepreneur named Richard Muddiman is its president. NYRI investors remain anonymous, mostly probably other Canadian entrepreneurs. Why should foreign businessmen get rich at our expense? 

The river route is the cheapest route.
NYRI proposes to build a 200-mile power line, 73 miles of it along the railroad tracks adjacent the Upper Delaware from Hancock to Port Jervis. This route is the cheapest way for them to build, but it isn't the only way. They have other options, and they should be forced to take them.

Depressed real-estate values.
Real estate values that center around the beauty of this region and the river in particular, can only be decreased by the ugly prospect of high voltage towers up and down the river corridor.  We hope all local realtors will join in this fight for preservation.

Damage and destruction on a momunental scale.    
The NYRI Power Line Project will turn the river corridor into a construction zone for over 2 years.  The noise pollution of dynamite blasting, diesel cranes, and general commotion will displace wildlife, including eagles, perhaps forever.  No community will be spared, and the economic damage will be felt for years.  The tranquil beauty of a pristine river will vanish, and so will fishermen and summer tourists.

NYRI violates an Act of Congress.
This proposed construction is in violation of the protections of The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which was amended to protect the Upper Delaware River in 1978.  The Upper Delaware deserves protection from outside investors as much any other protected U.S. region. With fast, informed, unified action, we can stop it. We can stop this catastrophic project if citizens, businesses, conservation groups, and our elected representatives take unified act, together.

We have them outnumbered.
Besides the support of residents and businesses throughout the region, we will have massive environmental and political backing:  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Pres.,The Waterkeeper Alliance), the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (26th District, PA), The National Park Service, Sierra Club, American Canoe Association, Environmental Advocates of N.Y., (others),

Leveraging the powers that be.
The NYRI Power Line Project has big money and the law firm of Rudolf Guliani behind it.  But we have the law on our side, as well as political clout in the two states affected, New York and Pennsylvania. Every one of us can play a part in writing letters and e-mails to our Congressmen.

Support the legal battle to come.
The NYRI Power Line Project has the law firm of Rudolf Guliani behind it.  But we have the law on our side.  The Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition (UDPC) has hired the finest environmental lawyers to end or divert this project. We need your support.  Please help by joining the Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, making a donation online at http://www.udpc.net or by writing a tax-deductible check to: Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, P.O. Box 252, Narrowsburg, N.Y. 12764.

Asking President Carter to step in.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was in large part the brain-child of President Jimmy Carter, who has frequently fished the Upper Delaware.  The threat of the NYRI Power Line Project would get his attention, and yield results among law-makers and conservationists, alike. Write to President Carter at: The Carter Center, One Copenhill, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307.