The line, 2 years old but used only temporarily and on an emergency basis
until Friday, was energized at 12:25 p.m., according to New York Gov.
George Pataki.

The action came after utility and regulatory officials in the two states,
pressured to do something by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
worked out a deal late Thursday to resolve differences.

The concession from Connecticut negotiators apparently ends three years
of controversy and legal battles that led to political tensions between
Connecticut and New York officials.

The Long Island Power Authority, meanwhile, which desperately wants the
power from the new transmission line, agreed to pick up half the cost of repairing
an old, damaged transmission line between Norwalk and Northport, N.Y. Total
cost of that project is about $95 million, according to Arthur J. Rocque Jr.,
Connecticut's environmental protection commissioner.

Also, the Cross-Sound Cable Co., which owns the line; Connecticut Light & Power
Co.; and the Long Island utility each will contribute $2 million to a new Long Island
Sound restoration and conservation fund.

Rocque, one of the negotiators, said the agreement was as good as either state
could hope for, given the deep divisions on the issue.  "I think on balance it was
a good deal," he said.  Although the cable is 2 years old, the state has never
authorized its use because seven sections in New Haven Harbor were not laid as
deeply as required in strict permit provisions intended to safeguard the environment
and navigation.

Rocque said that under the agreement, the company will still be required to meet
all permit provisions, except for the 750-foot section. In six locations, the company
will either clear obstructions or reroute the cable to get it to the specified depths.
Rocque said that in the remaining location, which would require extensive blasting,
the cable already is sunk deep enough that no ship that is allowed into the harbor
could strike it. Even so, he said, the company will be required to encase the cable
section so that it can cause no problems.

Pataki, who was critical of Connecticut officials last year for refusing to allow use of
the line, hailed the agreement Friday, calling it "a victory for the people of Long Island
and the millions of customers in both New York and Connecticut that will benefit
from its operation."

But Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a persistent critic of the project
whose office was not involved in the compromise, said he still had concerns over aspects
of the deal, including the concession on the cable depth and the agreement's impact on
future enforcement of environmental and consumer protection laws.

"There are a number of concerns about the potential ambiguities and enforcement authority
of this agreement which we are seeking to resolve," he said Friday.  Rocque said the
provision for the Long Island utility to help finance repairs to the Norwalk line was significant
for the health of Long Island Sound because the antiquated line has been leaking insulating
oil for decades and the repair project will eliminate that problem.

The Cross-Sound Cable has been used only on an emergency basis, and even then it has
been the subject of controversy.  During the Northeast blackout last August, U.S. Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham ordered the unused cable put into service. It continued in
service until last month, when Abraham, prodded by Blumenthal, conceded there no longer
was an emergency.

A benefit of those months of service, Rocque said, is that environmental monitoring required
of the cable owners during that period indicated the line was not causing environmental damage.
Rocque said the new $6 million Long Island Sound fund would be administered by an existing
management committee that includes officials from both states who are familiar with the
Sound's most pressing problems.

It will be used to protect open space, restore habitat and finance research and pollution-control
measures.

Cross-Sound Cable power nixed;  Judge says state moratorium constitutional
By KEN DIXON (CT POST April 15, 2003)

HARTFORD - A state Superior Court judge rejected a request by the Cross-Sound Cable Co. to turn on the juice along its long-stalled high-voltage power line to Long Island.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Sen. George L. Gunther, R-Stratford, hailed the decision Monday as appropriate, because the company failed to bury the 330-megawatt cable to the required depth under New Haven Harbor.

The head of Long Island Sound programming for the state Department of Environmental Protection said he had not seen a copy of the court decision, but it appeared to support state regulations.  The company responded Monday that it is "disappointed" and reviewing its options.

Judge Lynda B. Munro ruled that Cross-Sound Cable, a subsidiary of TransEnergie US, failed to prove that a statewide moratorium on new transmission lines was unconstitutional.  Munro, in the decision released through Blumenthal's office, said that the burden on interstate commerce from the continued inactivity of the power line
does not outweigh the environmental benefits.

"Maintaining a healthy seabed provides clean water, and healthy fisheries and shellfish beds, which in turn provide a safe food source and environment, and a viable job market for the welfare of the state's citizens," Munro wrote in a 43-page ruling.  When it laid the 24-mile-long cable last year, the company failed to reach the mandated depth of 48-feet below mean low water in the harbor channel because of submerged rock and other obstacles along hundreds of feet of New Haven Harbor.

Opponents of the cable claimed that failure forced the project into the realm of the legislative moratorium on new power lines that was approved by the General Assembly last year and signed into law by Gov. John G. Rowland.  "The court rightly rejected Cross Sound's effort to evade its clear legal obligations under the permits and its attempt to end-run state oversight and the legislative moratorium," Blumenthal said.

"Cross Sound unconditionally promised last summer in court that it would meet its permit obligations before operating the cable," Blumenthal said. "Since then, Cross Sound has consistently sought special treatment defying law and common sense, with no regard for the potential damage to Connecticut's environment and economy."

The ruling effectively blocks the project from obtaining a new excavation permit until the expiration of the moratorium in June. But then, the shellfish-spawning season begins and underwater excavation is prohibited until the fall. Under a bill that recently passed the General Assembly's Environment Committee, the moratorium would be extended another year.

Gunther, the chief legislative opponent of the power line, said Monday he supports the extended moratorium, but the whole approval process for the Cross-Sound project is suspicious, because it was plain to see on any map of the harbor, that the 48-foot depth could not be reached.  "Everybody knew damn right well that they couldn't fulfill that obligation," Gunther said. "You can't abuse the environment of the state of Connecticut."

Charles Evans, director of Long Island Sound Programs for the DEP, said he hadn't received a copy of the opinion yet, but he was pleased that it backed up the department, which has stood fast in barring the cable from energizing before the proper depth is reached.  "It does seem we have been interpreting the law correctly," Evans said in a phone interview.  Rita Bowlby, vice president of TransEnergie, said that the company, which is involved in a joint venture with Hydro-Quebec and the United Illuminating Co., is reviewing its legal options.

"The decision that was rendered by the court is disappointing, however we believe that the Cross-Sound Cable is safely buried, does not pose adverse environment impacts and does provide a benefit to Connecticut and the region," Bowlby said.  She said the cable, even if energized at its current depth, would have no adverse environmental
impact or be a threat to navigation.

                    Cross-Sound cable OK'd
                     By KEN DIXON

                     HARTFORD -- Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Arthur J.
                     Rocque Jr. gave the green light Thursday for a controversial electric cable project to
                     cross Long Island Sound from New Haven to Brookhaven, N.Y.

                     He said the 330-megawatt line would have "little environmental impact" and would be
                     "small potatoes" to the ecosystem of New Haven Harbor.

                     Environmental activists, including Sen. George L. Gunther, R-Stratford, immediately
                     criticized the announcement, charging that Rocque was potentially sacrificing
                     Connecticut's environment for New York's flow of electricity.

                     Gunther said he hopes to persuade Gov. John G. Rowland to short-circuit the
                     proposal.

                     Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
                     grants final approval, as expected within the next few days, he would challenge the
                     project in court.

                     Blumenthal said the state's Siting Council should never have approved the buried line,
                     which was essentially the same proposal as was rejected by the council in 2001.

                     An executive with Trans-Energy US said the company is glad to be able to move
                     ahead on the 24-mile project, which it expects to begin early next month.

                     Rocque said he would not delay the project with an additional public hearing because
                     there was adequate testimony given during a previous 13-day hearing before the
                     Siting Council.

                     "In the overall scheme of marine excavation projects, this is small potatoes," Rocque
                     said. He stressed that plans to dredge out accumulated silt in the harbor channel will
                     have more of an adverse effect on adjacent shellfish beds than the underwater cable.

                     "This project should go forward with this permit," Rocque said, adding that hearings
                     would delay the project by several months to a year. Rocque said that he would
                     support a proposed moratorium on underwater cables to evaluate and plan for future
                     Sound crossings.

                     Minutes after Rocque's news conference, Gunther charged that the DEP's entire
                     review and approval process was flawed and was based on a tentative endorsement
                     that was released even before the Siting Council approved the cable line in January.

                     He called for legal action to stop the project and said he intends to lobby Rowland
                     over the next few days to intervene with the Army Corps of Engineers before it issues
                     what is expected to be final approval.

                     "At this stage the governor, under federal law, has a right to request the project be
                     withdrawn," Gunther said.

                     Dan Lorimier, spokesman for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, called
                     Rocque's decision "distressing" for both its environmental considerations and the
                     potentially adverse effects on future development of the harbor.

                     Lorimier warned of the potential for a ship's anchor to hook the cable.

                     "We know so little about what these cables do to the environment," Lorimier said.

                     Blumenthal said the Siting Council should have rejected the proposal again this year.
                     "Its route is slightly different and its name has been changed, but the project is
                     virtually identical with the one the Siting Council turned down last year," he said,
                     adding that the cable plan is "anti-environment and anti-consumer."

                     "We will go to court if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves this," Blumenthal
                     said. "History shows that cables crossing the Sound do serious and enduring
                     damage to the aquatic life and ecosystems of this fragile and finite precious resource.
                     A hearing would involve little cost or time, but could prevent lasting harm."

                     Rita Bowlby, vice president of TransEnergy, said the company, its Cross Island Cable
                     subsidiary and United Capitol Investments partner are pleased with Rocque's decision
                     and eager to begin the project.

                     "We've already started some site clearing and foundation work at the site," she said.
                     "We need to get the Army Corps permits. They had told us that after the DEP, they
                     would need a couple of days and then issue our decision."

                     Bowlby said the ship that would stretch the cable is expected to arrive in mid-April
                     and the cable-laying work would take about two weeks. Then the cable trench would
                     be dug with a so-called water jet plow and the line buried.

                     Ken Dixon, who covers the Capitol, can be reached at (860) 549-4670.