KINGSTON – The Ulster County Legislature on Tuesday put the brakes on a resolution to have the county act as the lead agency for the construction of a proposed battery energy storage system in New Paltz.
In a unanimous, 23-0 vote, the legislature voted to refer Resolution 297 to the Laws, Rules and the Ways and Means Committee.
Majority leader Abe Uchitelle made the motion.
Approval of that resolution would have made Ulster County the lead agency for the mandatory State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, giving it primary oversight over the project’s environmental review.
Republican Legislator Jason Kovacs, who represents District 3, agreed with the referral, citing that the resolution’s companion, Resolution 298, which authorizes an easement so that construction could begin, has not yet been approved.
“Before we move forward with this resolution, I think we need a clearer record and formal legal opinion from the county attorney’s office with guidance on the county’s role, the status and legal significance of the easement, whether the Town of New Paltz objects to the county serving as lead agency, and whether the DEC or another agency should have a greater role,” said Kovacs. “Referring this back to the Laws and Rules and Ways and Means Committee does not kill the project. It simply gives us more time to make sure the process is clean, defensible and respectable to the Ulster County community.”
Key Capture Energy, the facility’s developer, is seeking zoning immunity for the project, which would remove the town board’s ability to enforce local safety, land use and zoning protections.
The 94-megawatt, lithium-ion battery storage facility is planned for the southwest corner of the county’s emergency communications center site on Paradies Lane.
The facility would store electrical energy during off-peak hours and feed it back into Central Hudson’s grid via the Ohioville Road substation during periods of high demand.
County officials say the project could generate millions of dollars in revenue for Ulster County.
Comments