Members of the public will have an opportunity to share their thoughts on a proposed natural gas project in Cayuga County.
The New York State Public Service Commission recently announced that a virtual public statement hearing has been scheduled concerning a petition by Bluebird Renewable Energy seeking a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and lightened regulation from the commission to construct, own and operate a renewable natural gas project.
The proposed project will consist of facilities for the processing and transportation of biogas from anaerobic digesters located at the Aurora Ridge Dairy in Aurora and Sunnyside Farm in Scipio Center to a processing facility located at Sunnyside Farm.
The processed gas will be compressed for loading into U.S. Department of Transportation-approved carbon fiber tube trailers and trucked to a receipt point where it will be injected into an interstate pipeline, which Bluebird currently anticipates will be the Corning Natural Gas Corporation system near the Town of Caton in Steuben County.
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The project will include the construction of two pipelines. One, approximately 5.5 miles long, will run from the anaerobic digester at the Aurora Ridge Dairy to the Sunnyside Farm processing facility and cross publicly owned rights-of-way in the towns of Ledyard and Venice. The second, approximately 1,500 feet long, will transport raw biogas from the Sunnyside Farm’s digester to the processing facility. The processing facility will consist of systems that will purify, compress, meter and ensure the quality of the processed gas.
A public statement hearing will be held virtually before Administrative Law Judge James A. Costello at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at www.webex.com. The event number is 2343 110 5660 and the password is Feb2-4pm.
Phone-only access will be available at (518) 549-0500. The access code will be 2343 110 5660.
Those wishing to comment on any aspect of this proceeding will have the opportunity to make a statement on the record at the virtual public statement hearing. Any person wishing to provide a public statement must pre-register in advance of the hearing.
To pre-register electronically, participants who would like to provide a statement and will log in to the hearing electronically must register to do so by visiting www.webex.com by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1. From the Webex homepage, registrants should click “Join” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the appropriate event number listed above, and provide all requested information.
When logging in to participate in the hearing, participants should visit www.webex.com, click “Join” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, and input the event number for the hearing. You may need to “refresh” the webex home page if the “Join” button does not at first appear. Participants will be asked to “select audio system.” It is recommended that participants opt to have the system “call me” or “call using computer.” The “call me” option will require participants to enter their phone numbers.
Any participant who is not able to log in to the hearing electronically may participate by phone. Call-in participants wishing to provide a statement must register to do so by calling (800) 342-3330 by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, where they should follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide the following information: first and last name, address, and phone number.
On the date and time of a hearing, all call-in users should dial (518) 549-0500 and enter the access code listed above.
Pre-registration is not required to listen to the hearing without making a statement. The hearing will be livestreamed on the internet and available for viewing on the Department of Public Service YouTube channel at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2. To access that YouTube channel, visit the Department’s website, www.dps.ny.gov, and click on the YouTube icon at the bottom of the homepage. In addition, any person without internet access may listen to the hearing by phone by calling (518) 549-0500 and entering the access code.
Written comments by internet or mail are requested by Friday, Feb. 11, and may be made at www.dps.ny.gov, click on “Search,” search using “21-G-0576” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on “Post Comments” at the top right of the page; or by sending comments by email to the Secretary to the Commission at secretary@dps.ny.gov.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350.