LongLine

The proposal calls for many windmills to be installed along the entire South shore in roughly 150 FOW. Therefore transmission lines would run North-South. As stated previously: Army Corps of Engineers is using Electric fields to block passage of fish upstream to repel them & prevent them from entering the Great Lakes, so to say Electric fields will not disrupt fish in Lake Ontario is total bunk. (There is a daily E-W migration, not just the fall run upstream.) Just as it’s also total bunk to compare effects of a single 480v electrical distribution line to some island to a thousand 100,000+v transmission lines. As to maintenance on underwater transmission lines, ever hear of galvanic corrosion? How about the effects of organic matter on steel? Or water erosion on concrete? (Look at the piers & breakwall of your favorite port) Guess project backers have never seen the corona effect on overland transmission lines nor ever heard of the ionization field that they cause. i.e. creation of nitrates. (the stuff algae thrives & “blooms†on) We all need more electricity? Guess no one has told project backers that the population of NY has declined in the last 10 years or that most of the manufacturing has left NYS. Who needs more electricity? I’ve cut my usage down. (Too expensive, but then they raised my rates anyways because I’m using less & they still have to make their profits.) 3rd shift is gone, 2nd is just a skeleton, stores close at 9:00. Why are all the lights on in the skyscrapers of NYC at night? They need more so they can waste more? Yes, Utility companies have to replace their out-dated plants with more efficient ones to supply periods of high demand. When are these high demand periods? During those hot, muggy summer days when everyone has their air conditioner on? And at night when all the lights of the city are on? Those same periods when there is no wind? No one told the project backers that windmills don’t produce electricity without wind. The utility company still has to build new efficient power plants just as a backup for those windmill blackout days & nights. If you need new plants for backup on those high demand days anyways, why bother with the trouble & expense of windmills? Just as they found out in Demark, Finland & Germany, that’s also why France has a moratorium on them. It’s all about making a buck. The project backers tried to install a farm off Cape Cod a couple years ago; however, rich people (& Edward Kennedy) said “NO – Not in my backyard.†The project backers backed off & are now trying to “$crew†the little people in the name of “going green.†(one of the few things I agreed with him on) Project backers may say these are “weak†arguments, but I haven’t seen a strong argument for messing with a multi-million dollar industry nor for putting them in my backyard. Tom B. (LongLine)

The windmills themselves probably won’t affect the fishing as they'll be way above water level. However towers, security, maintenance and underwater electrical cables will. Some of you guys run black boxes thinking a slight positive charge will attract fish. What will thousands of volts do? (Must be very high voltage to travel very far) The Army Corps of Engineers thinks electrical fields will keep the Asian carp contained. Those electrical fields will disrupt the E-W movement of salmon & trout around the lake. Additionally, people complain about their noise – noise is amplified & travels faster through water. How will that constant rumble transmitted through the tower affect aquatic life? (Fishermen generally try to be fairly quite when out there.) Lake Trout habitat will definitely be affected. We don’t need any new navigational hazards. The quantity they’re talking about will affect nearshore currents, especially in 100-150 FOW range. On the plus side: Quagga mussels will get a new home. (Then the power company can use fish killing chemicals or ultrasonics to get them off the connections - not a plus) Ragboats can race around them instead of their marker buoys. They should be great lightning rods & help attract thunderstorms out there. Off the Genny, planes probably wouldn’t be able to fly so low on their approach to the airport. (Air shows off Ontario beach probably won’t be as spectacular-not really a plus). Boaters crash into jetties every year - another thousand towers out there should help thin out the idiot population. If the state & the project backers had any brains they’d put them down the median of the NYS Thruway. State already owns that land; noise would be muffled by traffic noise; much shorter transmission lines to communities; with ¼ mile spacing they could install over 1,600; accessibility for maintenance (especially in winter) would be easier & cheaper; security would be easier (State troopers everywhere, air surveillance already in place. Even if they posted security guards 24/7 on each one, it’d be cheaper upkeep); possibly a few woodchucks but no cows to worry about. PR would be great as all the out of state travelers could witness first hand how "green' we are. (maybe up the toll - tourist attraction - 9th wonder of the world?) Everyone else wants to see windmill farms – “but not in my backyard.†As long as I can’t have a small one on my house to provide my own electrical needs then you can’t have a windmill farm on my lake. You want to mess with my only recreation and then make me pay for it, for someone else, and then raise my rates every year anyways. The purpose of this project is to make money for the guy that thought it up. It's not to be good to the people nor about us going green. It's an attempt to put big money in someone's pocket. The originator is not proposing this out of the goodness of his heart. He's trying to cash in on the environmental movement. If you want a windmill farm for NY City then put them on top of the buildings down there or off your own ocean beaches. Put them in your backyard, let the windmill farm affect the people that will benefit from it, which obviously won't be me. Tom B. (LongLine)