Senate passes Griffo bill that will spur economic development St. Lawrence County

New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-I-C-Rome, announced today that legislation (S4261) he sponsored that would spur economic development in St. Lawrence County has passed the state Senate.

In 2014, as part of an agreement between St. Lawrence County, the Governor and the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Act was signed into law. The program was created to support eligible economic development projects located or proposed to be located in St. Lawrence County. It is funded by the sale of unallocated hydropower produced by NYPA at its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, which has been made available to the Town of Massena Electric Department under a 2012 contract with NYPA.

As of December 29, 2019, the megawatts eligible to be monetized for the purposes of economic development in St. Lawrence County have been reduced to ten. Sen. Griffo’s bill would remove the provision of law that resulted in this reduction, restore the 20 megawatts that existed from 2014 to the end of 2019 and provide for that megawatt monetization level to continue in perpetuity.

“I am pleased that this legislation has been passed by the Senate and am hopeful that the Assembly will take action on this bill,” Sen. Griffo said. “As we work to rebuild and reset our state and local economies, it is important that our local governments have the tools and resources that they need to move forward. This legislation will provide for additional opportunities for growth and economic development in St. Lawrence County and the North Country.”

A companion bill (A6206) has been sponsored in the state Assembly by Assemblyman Mark Walczyk, R-Watertown. That bill is in the Assembly’s Energy Committee.