By Howard Goldstein
Previously, highly vocal opponents of the electric transformer had presented a united front and claimed that residents throughout Wantagh and Seaford were unanimous in their opposition to it.
Their efforts quickly halted Maine-based Neptune's plans last fall, when Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) backed away from the proposal. Their support is needed to move the plan ahead, because the transformer would be built on county land.
As reasons that the county shouldn't allow the transformer, opponents of the project cite health risks, fire and chemical hazards, and an alleged verbal agreement between Wantagh civic leaders and Nassau County to never again build at Cedar Creek after a sewage-treatment plant was constructed there during the 1960s.
Proponents of the plan, however, say they don't believe the transformer would be hazardous and that the electricity it would bring to Long Island would help solve the area's pressing energy problems, while pumping much-needed tax dollars into Wantagh and Nassau County, as well as lease payments for Nassau.
The undersea cable would eliminate the need for more than 13 44-megawatt power plants on the Island. In recent years, the Long Island Power Authority has had to build a number of such plants to keep up with demand for electricity. The plants are called clean-burning, but they emit a certain amount of pollution. Beaming electricity to the area via the cable would be pollution-free, at least for the Island.
The Neptune proposal would provide 600 megawatts of electricity to the Long Island Power Authority, enough to light 600,000 homes. The cable would tap power produced in the mid-Atlantic states and disseminate it through the LIPA power grid.
Political power play
Sources say, though, that local politics have scuttled the project thus far.
Nassau County Legis. Lisanne Altmann (D-Great Neck) is a LIPA employee and must therefore recuse herself from any energy-related vote. That means the Legislature's 10 Democratic votes would be reduced to nine in any vote over the Neptune project, so Democratic legislators wouldn't stand much of a chance of getting a cable proposal passed. Sources say that the Legislature's nine Republicans have already lined up against the proposal.
Sources also say that Democrats in particular fear Vicky Rosenberg, chairwoman of the Joint Council of South Shore Civic Associations, who has promised a "political firestorm" if the cable plan sees the light of day.
Nassau County Democratic and Republican elected leaders have denied any political motivations in their decision-making over the cable plan. They're simply honoring the wishes of Wantagh residents, they say.
Convincing the neighbors
To convince community leaders that the cable transformer would be safe and a potential energy boon, Neptune offered to fly civic activists to Belfast, Northern Ireland to tour the most modern of its transformers.
Rick Falta, Seaford Chamber of Commerce treasurer, who recently returned from the Belfast site, mostly praised it. "Long Island really needs power, and I think this could be the answer," he said of the cable plan. "This would be infinitely better than more polluting power plants, would lower electric bills and power the Island."
Of the Ireland site, he said, "The station was a bit larger than I had anticipated, but it was incredibly efficient, and I met with Belfast Mayor Bobby McGee and several local activists who had opposed the plan for 10 years. Now both the mayor and these activists admit that the converter station has caused no problems and is a valuable asset."
Bruce Piel, a long-time Wantagh parks advocate, said he was initially concerned about the undersea cable interfering with boats in South Shore waters and the Neptune company trying to close down the Cedar Creek Park aerodrome, a landing strip for model-plane enthusiasts.
"I met with Neptune's Paul Rich, and he allayed these concerns," said Piel. "The property in question is on a car impoundment lot and will not interfere with parks.
"We can find no reason for the project not to continue," he said. "There is no practical or aesthetic reason to kill it."
Seaford resident Lawrence Banberger called the Herald to voice support for the project, saying, "The benefits far outweigh the concerns. It seems the opposition is always better mobilized, but they should not shoot this out of the water."
On the other hand, Melissa Cestro, Seaford Civic Association chairwoman for the environment, believes the station would be a potential risk next to the toxic sewage plant and would lower property values.
She also said, "We were all lied to about the [Cedar Creek] sewage plant, and we've had enough of the county forcing its agenda on us. Neptune has said that the taxes will benefit the schools, but anyone worried about safety isn't going to sell their kids out for a few more bucks."
Rosenberg, who is also president of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners Association, and Christine Marzigliano, chairwoman of the Cedar Creek Health Risk Assessment Committee, base their opposition to the transformer mostly on past agreements over the sewage plant. The county, they both insisted, agreed not to build at Cedar Creek.
Rosenberg said, "The government reneged so many times before and put public safety last. If we don't hold them to this promise, how can we believe any promises they make about this plan?"
Neutrality common
The Herald spoke with several civic leaders in the Wantagh-Seaford area who expressed off-the-record support for the cable plan. Some favored the project outright, while others wanted to continue talks with Neptune before making a final decision. On the record, however, most declared neutrality on the part of the organizations they represent.
These individuals did so often to separate their feelings as private citizens of Wantagh from those they might express in their posts as community leaders, when their groups had not yet announced official positions regarding the cable.
Some sources, representing various civic, political or energy groups, have complained that much of the political backpedaling and local neutrality over the cable results from loyalty to long-time community activists who oppose the project, as well as political fear of the Joint Council -- an umbrella group that represents hundreds, if not thousands, of residents. They say a true debate has never been held over the issue.
Additionally, Neptune officials insist that its most vocal detractors, the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners Association, Cedar Creek Health Risk Assessment Committee and the Joint Council of South Shore Civic Associations, do not necessarily represent the entire community.
Leaders of these groups say they have been at the forefront of every major community project, at least in recent years, and that Neptune's strategy is to divide and conquer by undercutting the established civic associations with promises to targeted, often inactive, groups.
Rich, of Neptune, said his company has been open and honest with residents. "Continuing to meet with interested groups is standard procedure," he said. "We just want to allow as many people in the community as possible to hear more than the opposition."
The Wantagh Fire Department is investigating the proposed transformer, but so far department officials have said they don't see any unusual hazards that it might pose.
Neptune has offered to buy the land on which the transformer would sit from the county for $10 million.
County Legislators Denenberg and Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) have challenged Neptune to honor public opinion and the verbal agreement made during the 1960s against new development at Cedar Creek. Gonsalves noted "significant questions posed by community members about safety and the environment."
Denenberg said that a meeting he called over the transformer last fall, at which residents voiced vehement opposition to the project, was enough to demonstrate community resistance to it, and he questioned Neptune's motives in not seeking another venue for the transformer. "This is a good idea, but if the community wants to hold to the verbal agreement, it must be honored, and there is no reason not to pursue this elsewhere," he said.
Rich said that erecting the transformer in another location would be cost-prohibitive.
