The Cayuga Power Plant: A Case For Its Permanent Retirement and A Just Transition For Lansing

FINGER LAKES ACTION NETWORK
EDUCATION & OUTREACH MATERIALS
The Cayuga Power Plant:

A Case for its Permanent Retirement and a Just Transition for Lansing
A Report by the Finger Lakes Action Network
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AGAINST THE PROPOSED REPOWERING OF THE CAYUGA POWER PLANT

Table Of Contents
The Cayuga Power Plant and Repowering Proposal The Finger Lakes Action Networks Stance Quotes from Individuals, Organizations and Businesses The Toxic Legacy of Coal No to Fracked Gas! No to Fracking! A Just Transition o of Fossil Fuels Who will be aected? What Next? About the Finger Lakes Action Network Contact 3 6 8 12 14 16 19 20 21 21
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The Cayuga Power Plant and Repowering Proposal

The coal red Cayuga Power Plant (formerly Millikan Station/AES Cayuga) sits on the edge of Cayuga Lake in Lansing, just 10 miles north of Ithaca, and burns dirty coal with two coal-red turbine units. It is currently owned by Upstate New York Power Producers. They are currently seeking to transition the plant from coal to fracked gas to replace the small amount of energy the plant produces. The plant has a toxic legacy in Tompkins County since the facility was rst opened in 1955. According to the Clean Air Task Force, around 7 deaths a year in Tompkins County can be a ributed to ne particle pollution from the plant.1 There are also a number of cases of asthma a year that can be linked to the plant, as well as the harder to measure eects of toxic chemicals released by the plant. EPA reports show that over the past 12 quarters the Plant has spent 3 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Water Act.2 It has also shown up on a recently leaked secret government watch list as a high-priority violator for at least the last 98 months.3 The Plants coal ash dump has also been seeping toxins into ground water, a type of contamination which is not currently regulated by the EPA or the DEC.4 Since 2007, the plant has been struggling to stay open due to the low wholesale price of energy. To remain open, the plant rst negotiated a Pay in Lieu of Taxes program with the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency in which they only payed taxes for 70% of their assessed value.5 However, this a empt failed to solve their economic woes and in 2011 the plant declared bankruptcy. At this point, the AES Corporation ooaded their company to their bondholders who formed a new company, Upstate New York Power Producers. However, Upstate New York Power Producers found
1
h p://www.catf.us/fossil/problems/power_plants/existing/map.php?state=New_York
2
3 4 5
h p://www.epa-echo.gov/cgi-bin/get1cReport.cgi?tool=echo&IDNumber=3610900001
h p://www.npr.org/series/142000896/poisoned-places-toxic-air-neglected-communities h p://earthjustice.org/sites/default/les/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdf h p://www.ithaca.com/news/lansing/article_af5b2218-6482-11e1-a1e9-001871e3ce6c.html
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that the plant remained insolvent and in July 2012 they announced plans to retire the coal-plant, a procedure known as mothballing. In January 2013, the Department of Public Services directed National Grid and NYSEG to work with Cayuga Operating Company, LLC (owned by Upstate New York Power Producers) to look into re-powering the plant6. On March 26th, the Cayuga Operating Company submi ed a 191 page repowering proposal in which they proposed four possible re-powering options, the most expensive of which has an estimated cost of 370 million dollars. All options involved somehow converting the plant to run on toxic fracked gas. This conversion would be paid for price hikes for ratepayers, a funding strategy that disproportionately eects lower income people and subsequently people of color. Alternatives for the plant such as pumpstorage hydropower, solar and wind were not considered, even though such alternatives could provide an excellent opportunity for Lansing to have long-term, safe, local jobs. While the Department of Public Service has received several positive evaluations of the repowering plan, the most signicant comments so far have been in opposition. The Sierra Club, Earth Justice, Environmental Advocates and The Business Council of New York, Inc. submi ed a comment in opposition to the plan criticizing the narrow scope of the proposal and calling for the Department of Public Service to investigate alternatives to repowering the plant with natural gas. Their comment favored Non-Transmission Alternatives (NTAs) such as energy eciency, clean distributed generation, improved transmission system capabilities, performance and eciency or demand response over what they deemed to be a costly and inecient repowering to be paid for by ratepayers. New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), one of the utility companies tasked with evaluating the repowering proposal, also submi ed a report to the Department of Public Service in opposition. They pointed out that the Repowering proposal is based on a series of assumptions about uncertain future variables including the price of natural gas, the number of
6
These documents can be found at the Department of Public Services site by searching the case #12-E-0577
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hours that the repowered generators would be called upon to run, the forward looking price of electricity and capacity, construction and permi ing uncertainties, nancing risk and other variables. In that report, NYSEG supported the much cheaper electrical grid transmission reinforcements and upgrades instead of repowering. Following this report, the Sierra Club has decided to support NYSEGs recommendation for transmission upgrades. Below is a statement issued to the Finger Lakes Action Network by the Sierra Club:
The New York Department of Public Service is currently deciding whether to approve a costly conversion of the Cayuga coal plant from dirty coal to dirty gas or to replace the small amount of power actually needed from the plant with cleaner and cheaper transmission upgrades. Because such a tiny amount of power is actually needed, The Sierra Club urged the Public Service Commission to investigate other solutions including energy eciency, renewable power and reducing energy demand when it is high. There are cleaner and cheaper options that would be er serve New Yorks businesses and families who will foot the bill for the changes. It is poor policy and bad business to require New Yorks families and businesses to pay for uneconomical, dirty power plants which are unnecessary and whose continued operation is inconsistent with New Yorks vision of a low-carbon energy future. Remaining stuck in New Yorks dirty energy past will burden billpayers, deter investments in energy eciency and renewable energy, and cause more pollution.
As it stands now, the Department of Public Services is accepting public comments until July 27th, a time-frame which the Finger Lakes Action Network believes is woefully inadequate as many rate-payers to be eected by the proposal are only learning of it now. According to their rushed timeline, the Department of Public Service is expected to make a decision on the plant by the third quarter of 2013. We urge you to oppose the repowering plan.
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The Finger Lakes Action Networks Stance

The Finger Lakes Action Network, along with numerous other concerned community members and organizations, is strongly opposed to converting the plant to run on dirty fracked gas or its continued operation as a plant that burns toxic coal. There are alternatives to fossil fuels, and now is the time for a just transition, which means local, renewable energy and fairpaying, safe, permanent jobs Here are our main reasons: -The plants entire 58 year history of burning coal is a toxic one, relying on the destructive mining of coal, leading to air and groundwater contamination which have resulted in disease and death. -Fracking, the procedure by which the gas is produced, is an industrial process which contaminates the land, air and water. Supporting a plant that burns this type of fuel means condemning countless people and ecosystems to these disastrous environmental and public health eects. -Burning fracked gas, when taking into account the cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions, has a similar eect on the climate as coal. In this era of catastrophic climate change, we need strong leadership away from a fossil fuel economy, not massive investments in it. -Spending over a third of a billion dollars on fossil-fuel infrastructure is incredibly unwise and does not abide by The New York State Energy Highway Blueprint. -The economic viability of the plant is based on expectations of continued low prices for natural gas. In their ling with the Department of Public Service, NYSEG pointed out that this assumption is not one that can be made and that Natural Gas Market is more volatile than the plant expects. Furthermore,low price estimates of natural gas are based on the assumption of continued fracking throughout the Marcellus Shale, including eventually in New York. -The plant calls for an 18 mile pipeline to be built to connect to the Dominion pipeline in Freeville, an invasive piece of industrial infrastructure which puts communities at risk of deadly explosions. Such a pipeline project will meet serious resistance including blockades, work
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stoppages and other forms of civil disobedience and direct action from both anti-fracking activists as well as impacted land owners. -Numerous credible alternatives to fossil-fuels have not been considered in this repowering proposal, an oversight which creates a false choice between accepting the fracked gas conversion or signicantly impacting Lansings tax base. We believe that options like Wind, Solar, Pump HydroStorage and Energy Eciency all would create longterm, safe, local jobs and not damage the tax base. -Rate hikes disproportionately eect lower-income people. Due to a long history of social and economic injustice, this means the funding of the plant would also disproportionately eect indigenous people and communities of color. -The existing coal plant and the proposed conversion to fracked gas both constitute a violation of Two Row Wampum Treaty. Now is the time to reverse the history of broken native treaties and genocide which hangs heavily over the heads of all se lers on stolen Cayuga Land. -Fracked Gas Power Plants are dangerous for workers. In 2010, a fracked gas power plant in Connecticut exploded killing 5 people and injuring 50 more. We demand safe, clean, renewable local jobs.
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Quotes from Individuals, Organizations and Businesses

"Investing 370 million dollars in a facility that would burn fracked gas is an investment in ruin and devastation. Rather than swapping one climate-killing fossil fuel for another, we could insist that the antiquated, coal-burning Cayuga Power Plant is transformed entirely, becoming an emblem of a renewable energy future rather than yet another incursion of the predatory natural gas industry into our beloved Finger Lakes. In fact, we do so insist."
- Sandra Steingraber
Prominent science writer, activist and founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking
"Lansing needs to look not at its own economic sustainability, but also at its impact on the health of the planet. Coal is a dirty and unsustainable fossil fuel. Converting the Lansing plant to natural gas, however, will not only be an expensive and short-term solution, it will play a role in adding to carbon emissions and promoting the use of hydrofracking for natural gas in our region. We need invest our local resources and visions in long-term sustainable solutions, not continuing on the same unsustainable, environmentally destructive treadmill."
- Karen Edelstein
Longtime Lansing Resident
"Any new natural gas facility, like the proposed repowering of the Cayuga Power Plant, will damage health and climate by a factor of 60-150 per unit energy generated in comparison with a new wind, water, or solar facility. The repowered plant will be in place for 30-40 years, so new natural gas plants will cause the damage for this period of time. In addition, natural gas and coal require continuous mining of fuel, thus result in damaging mining operations that will continue for decades. Because the fossil fuels are in limited supply, their costs will rise over time. Wind, water, and solar technologies rely on free fuel, thereby resulting in price stability over the long term. In sum, wind, water, and solar technologies will eliminate harmful emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants and stabilize prices while producing jobs. Natural gas and coal will continue to cause human mortality and climate damage while resulting in unstable future prices." - Mark Z. Jacobsen
Stanford University Professor and lead author of article demonstrating the feasibility of converting New York to run on Wind, Water and Sunlight
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Our society needs to transition away from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral energy sources within the next generation. In light of this goal, does it make sense to invest in long-lasting infrastructure that substitutes one polluting, climate-warming fuel for another? The answer in my mind is clearly no. There is a be er path. Investments in eciency, renewable energy, and a modern grid can allow us to take old power plants o line permanently while meeting our energy needs, creating local jobs, and protecting our climate, air and water for our children.
- Jon Harrod
President of Snug Planet LLC. One of Tompkins Countys Leading Energy Eciency Businesses
In Kentucky, where I lived for many years, many towns are beholden to coal companies for jobs and school funding, and in return must live with environmental destruction and economic stagnation. We do not want fossil-fuel funding dependency to dictate our future here in Tompkins County. The Cayuga Lake Watershed Networks 2012 position on gas drilling and fracking states that shale gas dependency and development would forestall the growth of the renewable energy sector that oers to bolster our economic vitality and curtail greenhouse gas emissions. We support an energy policy that promotes conservation and renewable energy sources. Protecting our clean water resources is part of that policy. A worrisome legacy at the AES/Cayuga site is their coal waste landll. A recent report by EarthJustice found Contaminated leachate and runo from an onsite coal combustion waste landll discharged directly from a pond into Cayuga Lake. The contaminated discharge contained grossly elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium and selenium. In addition, a partially unlined landll contaminated groundwater and residential wells with elevated levels of lead. Prior to any decisions being made about future uses of the Cayuga Power Plant property, this problem must be fully assessed and mitigated so that it does not further impact Cayuga Lake. - Hilary Lambert
Steward and Executive director of the Cayuga Lake WaterShed Network7
7 Full text of CLWN Position Statement on Hydraulic Hydrofracturing: h p://www.cayugalake.org/les/all/
clwn_position_statement_on_hydraulic_hydrofracturing_may_2012.pdf EarthJustice Fact Sheet, 2012, New York Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landlls: h p://earthjustice.org/sites/ default/les/ny-coal-ash-factsheet0512.pdf
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"We cant aord to sink more money into dirty energy of the past. The potential retirement of the Cayuga coal plants is an opportunity to invest in a healthier future for our kids that we cant miss out on. Upstate New York has tremendous potential for clean, renewable energy like wind, solar and eciency that together could cut energy demand, lower electricity prices, create jobs, spur manufacturing, and clean up the air we all breathe.
- Jennifer Tu le
Representative of the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal Campaign
Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) propose that public policy decisions, like the proposal to repower the Cayuga Power Plant with natural gas, should be based on the best available scientic evidence. A large proportion of the natural gas used in the Cayuga Power Plant is likely to be developed using high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) of tight shale formations particularly the Marcellus Shale. Scientic evidence increasingly supports concerns that HVHF and the shale gas production process hold negative consequences for eorts aimed to mitigate climate change and protect human health. Lifecycle analyses of the climate dimensions (i.e., fugitive methane emissions) of HVHF initially modeled and more recently measured directly in the eld demonstrate that over a 20-year time period HVHF may not enable us to reduce GHG emissions suciently to avert dangerous climate change feedback loops and may actually cause more warming than coal and oil. Scientic studies have also identied environmental sources of emissions in the shale gas development process that may expose humans to toxins, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and other compounds through exposure to contaminated air, water, soil and food. A growing number of public health studies are currently underway to understand the relationship between the environmental pollution from shale gas development and human disease. In light of the well-understood climate and health concerns and the clear information gaps that continue to persist, PSE suggests that decisions to repower the Cayuga Power Plant with natural gas should be put on hold until the climate and human health science is claried. Additionally, PSE supports a full economic and environmental feasibility analysis of renewable energy technology alternatives.
- Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy

Position Statement on the Repowering Proposal
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We oppose the repowering of the Cayuga Plant with natural gas and recommends the immediate commitments of governments and public and private institutions to switching to renewable sources of energy for our communities. To say that renewable energy is not feasible denies the facts. The technology is here. The economic benets in jobs and returns on investment are far greater than for natural gas and other fossil fuels. The global circumstances make it imperative that we drastically curtail greenhouse gas emissions. Its a ma er of societal will. The people are ready. Its time for our governing institutions to lead. Lets go solar - NOW.
- Statement From The Dryden Resource Awareness Council, Energy Independence Carolina and the Danby Energy Group
(Full statement available at: bit.ly/18KXXWN )
There is only one solution for the civil society to stay intact and provide safety and security for our children and grandchildren and possibly their and our survival. That path is to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels of all types now. The concerns of protecting the corporate economy and local tax base pale in comparison to the larger issue we face as a community, a nation, and a species. We must stop our usage of fossil fuels now. Recognizing humans cannot exist without managing some energy, there is no requirement that we must use corporate controlled energy. We can and must consume much less energy and switch to renewable energy sources. And with that switch to renewables, we will retain wealth right here in our community. That retained wealth will be the basis for a sustainable, buy local economy and stable tax base. There is a be er path. We must not let this Cayuga Lake power plant burn any more fossil fuel.
Supervisor for the Town of Caroline
Don Barber
"The Two Row Wampum agreement reminds us that we must respect the laws of nature if we are to live in peace. We are already seeing the eects of ignoring this wisdom. Fracking, and any use of fracked gas such as repurposing a coal plant, is a bridge to nowhere when it comes to the climate."
- Lindsay Speer
Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign
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The Toxic Legacy of Coal

Coal red plants, like the Cayuga Power Plant, are among the dirtiest
power plants in existence. The burning coal damages the environment, community health , agriculture and ultimately contributes to catastrophic climate change.
EPA reports show that over the past 12 quarters the Plant has spent 3
quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Water Act.
According to the Clean Air Task Force, the Cayuga Power Plant is
responsible for 5 deaths, 9 heart a acks and 78 asthma a acks a year. A 2012 report by Earth Justice found Contaminated leachate and runo from an onsite coal combustion waste landll discharged directly from a pond into Cayuga Lake. The contaminated discharge contained grossly elevated levels of arsenic, cadmium and selenium. In addition, a partially unlined landll contaminated groundwater and residential wells with elevated levels of lead.
EPA reports show that over the past 12 quarters this coal red plant has
spent 3 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Air Act, and 10 quarters in non-compliance with the Clean Water Act.
According to the the EPAs Toxic Release Index [TRI], which quantitates
the total aggregate release of chemicals, in 2011 the Cayuga Power Plant emi ed over 218,594 pounds of toxic emissions through burning coal.
This coal red plant receives 900,000 tons of coal every year. This coal is
mined in Northern Appalachia through underground mines and open-pit mountain top removal.
Coal red plants, like this one, contribute to the ongoing practice of
Mountain top removal or MTR. The dangerous process of MTR includes clear-cu ing large swaths of pristine forests, permanently destroying ecosystems, and the complete destruction and removal of mountain tops using high powered explosives.
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MTR also contaminates the drinking water, air, farms, and land of
thousands of families in Appalachia. MTR contributes to increased cancers, diseases, illnesses and overall quality of life for our friends, families, and neighbors in Appalachia.
In addition to a slew of toxic chemicals including lead, ammonia, and
dioxin compounds, the TRI reports that the coal-red plant mostly emits:
vanadium compounds: exposure causes permanent health
problems and death. Although the EPA is still in the process of updating vanadium to be classied as a carcinogen, all vanadium compounds are carcinogenic, meaning they are known to cause cancer in humans.
manganese compounds: in drinking water are associated with
increased intellectual impairment and reduced intelligence quotients in school-age children. Chronic low dose exposure to manganese has been linked to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
barium compounds: aects the nervous system, causing cardiac
irregularities, tremors, weakness, anxiety, dyspnea and paralysis.

hydrochloric acid: is highly corrosive irritant with the potential to
damage respiratory organs, eyes, skin, and intestines irreversibly.

sulfuric acid: is considered an industrial hazard and is the lead
component of acid rain.

acid rain: causes pneumonia, asthma, chronic bronchitis, and
permanent lung damage. Acid rain also extremely dangerous to ecosystems dissolving the nutrients that trees and plants need to be healthy and, particularly here in the northeast, contaminates lakes and streams. This is deadly to wildlife and aquatic life that are essential for maintaining stability in the ecosystem of the Cayuga Basin bioregion.
Because prevailing winds in the Ithaca area come from North-Northwest,
toxic emissions from the coal red plant travel over and through the city of Ithaca on most days.
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No to Fracked Gas! No to Fracking!

Switching the Cayuga Power Plant from toxic coal to toxic fracked gas depends on the assumption that the price of fracked gas will remain stable. In order for that price to remain stable the industry must be able to continue to frack the Marcellus Shale, the land formation that we live on and depend on for our sustenance, and therefore survival. Here are some of the many reasons that the Finger Lakes Action Network opposes the conversion of the facility to run on fracked gas:
Switching the Cayuga Power Plant from toxic coal to toxic fracked gas
will increase demand and means increased presence of industrial facilities and infrastructure such as pipelines and compressor stations.
The plant calls for an 18 mile pipeline to be built to connect to the Dominion
pipeline in Freeville, an invasive piece of industrial infrastructure. Beyond the small but present risk of deadly explosions, this pipeline would disrupt homes, farms and communities and further necessitate larger, more
environmentally dangerous pipelines (some of which are already being planned and are proposed to cut through several counties in our immediate area).
Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Fracked Gas have been shown
by scientic models to be equivalent or worse for the climate than coal. Any rhetoric about the plant being safer for the climate is industry propaganda that does not take into account the science.
Our neighbors, friends, and family in Pennsylvania will see the
continued disruption of their ability and right to have a healthy environment to live in as well as the ongoing poisoning of their communities, farms, and children due to an increase in demand for dirty fracked gas from the Marcellus Shale formation.
Prices for gas are not stable. This means that even if the repowering is
approved, the longtime nancial viability of the plant is not guaranteed but based on the unpredictable uctuations of the gas market.
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Fracked Gas still produces nitrogen oxides when burned, contributing to
smog, acid rain and the associated environmental and health hazards.
Gas power plants pose serious safety risks and similar plants have
exploded, killing workers and injuring nearby residents.
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A Just Transition o of Fossil Fuels

Now is the time to transition o of dirty fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry is responsible for extreme environmental degradation, catastrophic climate change, and increased cancers, disease, illness, and threat from dangerous industrial sites to both wildlife and people. The fossil fuel industry and fossil fuel consumption is perpetuating genocide against the indigenous peoples of this world. Fossil fuels are running out, the industry is now using more and more dangerous and expensive forms of extraction including fracking and tar sands extraction. We have dug ourselves into a deep hole where we are dependent on the very corporations which poison our communities and causing irreparable damage to the climate. Luckily, there are alternatives to fossil fuels, and now is the time for a just transition, which means local, renewable energy and fair-paying, safe, permanent jobs. We demand that viable alternatives to fossil fuels like Wind, Sun, Hydro-Storage and Energy Eciency are explored and that Lansing is not forced to choose between community health and funding for basic social services. The Finger Lakes Action Network believes the social and environmental costs of alternative options must be examined before any action is taken and oers the following alternatives not to endorse any specic plan but in order to further conversation by showing the broad swath of options that have not been considered so far:
Sun
Even in cloudy Tompkins County, sun is a powerful source of energy. NYSERDA recently released nancial incentives for large solar arrays. Due to the power plants pre-existing grid connection, such a solar array at the former Plant site would be a wise move for Lansing and Tompkins county. Furthermore, smaller distributed solar is being installed in hundreds of houses across Tompkins County every year, providing clean, distributed renewable energy.
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Wind
Already, Tompkins County has seen support for wind energy, with the Black Oak Wind Farm, a 12.6 mega-wa community owned, locally managed wind farm in Eneld, New York expected to be operational in early 2014. Such projects could be explored in Lansing and elsewhere in Tompkins County providing safe jobs and a long-term source of renewable energy .
Pumped Hydro-Storage
Local Engineer Milton Taam has proposed the innovative idea of converting the Cayuga Power Plant to a Pumped Hydro-Storage Plant.8 This would entail building a 1/2 sq. mi, 20 deep reservoir 700 feet above Power Plant to store 4000 mwh of energy. The former Cayuga coal plant would host the generator and pump turbines.. The facility would buy electricity, particularly o-peak renewably generated electricity, when demand and price is low to pump water to the reservoir and release water to generate electricity when demand and price is high. The facility would be capable of 300 mw, 12 hours of daily electricity production, equal to the peak output of the current coal-red generators. The proposal would allow for Cayuga Operating Company to transition to a next generation power facility using its current assets of location and grid connection while bene ing from broad community support. Pumped hydro storage is the only proven, low-cost technology for utility-scale storage of electrical energy, a crucial part of balancing the electrical load of intermi ent renewables.
Energy Eciency
Ecient use of our current energy sources has always been an important step towards a transition o fossil fuels. In our daily lives and on an institution level, there are many opportunities for using less fossil fuels to achieve the same results. In Tompkins County, NYSERDA has nancial incentives to make your home more insulated against the cold and the heat. These energy eciency upgrades create a bounty of green jobs and
8
h ps://docs.google.com/document/d/1waeTUkdyBSUlFnb-qZgvFEgbFtx2XgxJChMGtXHnd0E/edit
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businesses like Snug Planet are able to give many workers safe jobs and a living wage. Even landlls can be a source of eciency: methane is harvested from the Freshkill landll on Staten Island. While more ecient use of fossil fuels will not solve our addiction to fossil fuels, they can be a useful rst step towards environmental justice and to reduce the power of extraction corporations that endanger our lives and communities.
Transmission Upgrades
Both the Sierra Club and NYSEG have recommended to the Department of Public Service that instead of repowering the plant, simple upgrades are made to the electrical grid such as upgrading and adding new transmission lines. This would allow Tompkins County to continue to be able to consistently meet its energy demand with a much lower cost and make it easier to add renewables (like Wind and Sun) to the grid.
Power Down
The energy required to maintain the massive infrastructure and high levels of production, consumption, and waste in the United States is simply unsustainable. The problems were increasingly facing arent just about what energy source is used, but how its used, and how much. Mass-scale industrial facilities (the type necessary in order to fuel current levels of consumption) will always pose threats to communities, workers, and the environment. The U.S. American mentality of hyper-consumption has to change. To build strong, resilient local communities, we need to support small-scale, sustainable infrastructure. This means powering down--simply using less, and using what we do have in dierent ways. The planet was never meant to support the levels of consumption many people in the United States have come to consider normal. If we want to ensure the survival of future generations, that paradigm needs to shi .
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Who will be aected?

Switching the Cayuga Power Plant from toxic coal to toxic fracked gas means all customers in this area who receive their energy from CPP (about 95% of people in Ithaca proper) will be forced to pay for the increase in expenses through unfair rate hikes in a time when so many are already struggling. Lower income folks will be disproportionately aected by nonconsensual rate hikes. Due to histories of economic and social injustice his also means that indigenous people and people of color will also disproportionately aected. Land owners along the 18-mile pipeline from Freeville will have their land seized via eminent domain to put in an invasive and dangerous piece of industrial infrastructure. 2013 marks the 400th year anniversary of the Two Row Wampum belt, the rst treaty between the indigenous peoples of this continent and European colonists. The Haudenosaunee, comprised of Six Nations: the Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora, Mohawk, Oneida, and Onondaga, are the indigenous peoples whose land we now live on. The Haudenosaunee have increasingly emphasized that ecological stewardship is a fundamental prerequisite for honoring this treaty. Allowing the continued and increased industrial presence as the combustion of coal and fracked gas blatantly violates the Two Row Wampum treaty.
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What Next?
There are many ways to oppose this repowering project and advocate for a just transition for Lansing o of fossil fuels. You can submit your comments to the Department of Public Services until July 27th, 2013. Search google for case number 12-E-0577. If you are a legislator, you can pass resolutions opposing the repowering, submit comments to the Department of Public Services or try and work with Upstate New York Power Producers to investigate viable alternatives. Whatever happens, Finger Lakes Action Network will remain resolutely opposed to the repowering. This means that if the project is approved, there will be sustained civil disobedience and direct action by citizens who cannot in their good conscience let this project move forward.
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About the Finger Lakes Action Network

The Finger Lakes Action Network is an open collective of community members organizing to defend the Finger Lakes region and its inhabitants from extractive industry, corporate power, and state/military repression. We strive to promote and support local solidarity networks and resistance to all forms of institutionalized oppression and systematic violence. Find us on Facebook! h ps://www.facebook.com/FingerLakesActionNetwork
Our Anti-Oppression Framework

While working together we will strive to cultivate an anti-oppressive and antihierarchical framework. We understand that oppressive behavior is normalized and internalized by our broader society. We acknowledge that the institutional, economic, political, social, and cultural dynamics of hierarchy, power, and privilege that dene mainstream society also permeate social and environmental justice organizing. Combating these behaviors is an ongoing and dicult process. Anti-oppression and our work as grassroots organizers are very much intertwined. We strive to change oppressive power dynamics within our society and are commi ed to being accountable towards each other against any sexist, racist, classist, ableist, patriarchal, etc. behavior. We recognize the importance of integrating an anti-oppression into this organizing space so that we may move away from systems of hierarchy and oppression which only serve to divide and weaken us as environmental and social justice organizers. We work towards a horizontal structure of organization and incorporate anti-oppression so we may empower each other, strengthen our community and move together towards the collective liberation of all peoples and the earth for a world free from domination.
Contact
To get involved in local resistance to extractive industries email nocoalnofrack@riseup.net
Media inquiries should be directed to our email at nofrackingactionmedia@gmail.com or to to one of our spokespeople:
Sam Law- 607-229-3403
Kat Stevens - 607-591-0607
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The Cayuga Power Plant: A Case For Its Permanent Retirement and A Just Transition For Lansing

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EDUCATION & OUTREACH MATERIALS