NYRI to Sue NY Over Eminent Domain Law

The company that wants to build a high-voltage transmission line from central New York to the New York City suburbs said Thursday it will ask a federal court to throw out a state law that would restrict its use of eminent domain to secure land for the project. Albany-based New York Regional Interconnect Inc. says the proposed 200-mile, $1.6 billion line from the Utica area to the lower Hudson Valley would deliver electricity to an area where power demand is expected to outstrip supply in a few years. In October, Gov. George Pataki created a major obstacle to the project by signing a law restricting NYRI's use of eminent domain. Without the ability to force property sales, the company would have little chance of securing all the necessary land to complete the line, project manager Bill May said. In a suit to be filed in federal court in Albany Thursday, NYRI contends the law discriminates against the company and violates its rights under the U.S. Constitution. NYRI also argues that the new law infringes its rights to equal protection and due process. "The law seeks to individually punish NYRI for a project intended for a public need," May said....