RUSH - Residents United to Save our Hometown

                                          Residents United to Save our Hometown

Dear Residents United member, 

Below are instructions for emailing our County and State legislators asking for their support to develop and implement sensible siting strategies for large-scale solar energy generation installation facilities in our state. Please join us in making our voices heard. Instructions for sending these messages are included below. 

Thank you for your continued support, 

Resident United to Save our Hometown 

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The Town of Rush is represented by the following legislators:  

Monroe County Legislature: Richard B. Milne (R), legislatormilne@gmail.com,  

(585) 753-1922  

Monroe County Executive: Adam Bello (D), countyexecutive@monroecounty.gov, (585) 753-1000  

NYS Senate: Samra Brouk (D), brouk@nysenate.gov, (585) 223-1800 

NYS Assembly: Marjorie L Byrnes (R), byrnes@nyassembly.gov, (585) 226-2022 

Step 1: Here are the email addresses for the members of our legislative committees. Please copy the links and paste them into the “TO:” box in a new email message. You can do one massive mailing or one for each of the six Committees

NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee

LupardoD@nyassembly.gov; BarnwellB@nyassembly.gov  ; blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov; buttenschonm@nyassembly.gov ; DilanE@nyassembly.gov; epsteinh@nyassembly.gov; friendc@nyassembly.gov ; FitzpatrickM@nyassembly.gov; GuntheA@nyassembly.gov; HawleyS@nyassembly.gov; jonesb@nyassembly.gov; kellesa@nyassembly.gov ; millerb@nyassembly.gov; septimoa@nyassembly.gov ; RiveraJ@nyassembly.gov; RosentL@nyassembly.gov; SantabarbaraA@nyassembly.gov; StirpeA@nyassembly.gov; williamsja@nyassembly.gov; woernerc@nyassembly.gov; taguec@nysassembly.gov; zinermans@nysasembly.gov

NYS Assembly Energy Committee

CusickM@nyassembly.gov; barronc@nyassembly.gov; blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov;andersonk@nyassembly ; DilanE@nyassembly.gov; EngleS@nyassembly.gov; HunterP@nyassembly.gov; CarrollR@nyassembly.gov ; SantabarbaraA@nyassembly.gov;conradw@nyassembly.gov; smithd@nyassembly.gov; sterns@nyassembly.gov; walczykm@nyassembly.gov; mamdaniz@nysassembly.gov; riverajd@nyassembly.gov

NYS Assembly Ways & Means Committee

WeinstH@nyassembly.gov; AubryJ@nyassembly.gov; benedettom@nyassembly.gov; blankenbushk@nyassembly.gov; brabeneck@nyassembly.gov; braunsteine@nyassembly.gov; CahillK@nyassembly.gov; ColtonW@nyassembly.gov; CookV@nyassembly.gov;ashbyj@nyassembly.gov; CusickM@nyassembly.gov; DinowiJ@nyassembly.gov; FitzpatrickM@nyassembly.gov;bronsonh@nyassembly.gov; GlickD@nyassembly.gov; HawleyS@nyassembly.gov; joynerl@nyassembly.gov;ByrneK@nyassembly.gov;DilanE@nyassembly.gov; McDonaldJ@nyassembly.gov;hyndmana@nyassembly.gov; MontesanoM@nyassembly.gov; NolanC@nyassembly.gov; norrism@nyassembly.gov; MagnarW@nyassembly.gov; palmesanop@nyassembly.gov; PerryN@nyassembly.gov; PretloJ@nyassembly.gov; rae@nyassembly.gov; ramosp@nyassembly.gov; Rrodriguez@nyassembly.gov; RozicN@nyassembly.gov; palmesanop@nyassembly.gov; SeawrightR@nyassembly.gov; WeprinD@nyassembly.gov

NYS Senate Agriculture Committee

biaggi@nysenate.gov;hinchey@nysenate.gov ; helming@nysenate.gov; jordan@nysenate.gov; may@nysenate.gov; metzger@nysenate.gov; borrello@nysenate.gov; ortt@nysenate.gov; brisport@nysenate.gov; comrie@nysenate.gov; ramos@nysenate.gov 

NYS Senate Energy & Telecommunications Committee

gaughran@nysenate.gov; hinchey@nysenate.gov; harckham@nysenate.gov; kavanagh@nysenate.gov; kennedy@nysenate.gov; pboyle@nysenate.gov; omara@nysenate.gov; parker@nysenate.gov; ritchie@nysenate.gov; 

NYS Senate Finance Committee

omara@nysenate.gov; bbenjamin@nysenate.gov; breslin@nysenate.gov; comrie@nysenate.gov; gallivan@nysenate.gov; hoylman@nysenate.gov; kennedy@nysenate.gov; borrello@nysenate.gov;  senatorjbailey@nysenate.gov;  tedisco@nysenate.gov; griffo@nysenate.gov; liu@nysenate.gov; salazar@nyssenaate.gov; parker@nysenate.gov; Serino@nysenate.gov; ritchie@nysenate.gov; grivera@nysenate.gov; harckham@nysenate.gov; savino@nysenate.gov; skoufis@nysenate.gov; stavisky@nysenate.gov; thomas@nysenate.gov

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Step 2: Here is suggested wording for an email message to the legislators. Please copy and paste this, or your own version of this message, in the Body portion of your email message.

Dear NYS Legislator,

While the State has put up billions of dollars to develop renewable energy in the State, it has not put into place a sane strategy for siting these facilities. As a result, solar developers, committed to maximizing profits, are naturally driven to the simplest solution, i.e., to use cleared farmland as their first choice in siting a facility. There are no guidelines, significan incentives or disincentives to guide developers toward brownfields, former landfills, and otherwise industrially zoned and/or non-productive properties.
 

The entire siting process needs to be revised to require prioritization, especially for industrial-scale and tier 3 solar installations, to first consider brownfields, former landfills, manufacturing plant rooftops, and otherwise industrially zoned and nonproductive property for these installations BEFORE turning to cleared farmland. This needs to become part of the strategy for siting such facilities.
 

NYS has other initiatives to preserve farmland, yet is in conflict with those initiatives when industrial-scale and tier 3 solar projects are allowed to target agricultural land for these projects, ostensibly because it is easier to develop.
 

In the Governor’s recent annual budget addresses,  he proposed a complete overhaul to NY’s siting of renewable energy projects that would put siting responsibility in the hands of the State, rather than profit-seeking developers. Unfortunately, the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), also referred to as 94-c, speeds up the siting process at the expense of citizen input and the structured environmental review called SEQRA.  Additionally, NYSERDA has been given the authority to codify any agreed-to PILOT agreements, removing the last vestige of home rule power and responsibility from our towns.  This is clearly unacceptable.
 

Please help us inform legislators on responsible committees in the Senate and Assembly that ORES/94-c is unacceptable.   A longer-term view is necessary. Let’s not sacrifice our farmland and home rule power and responsibilities.

Respectfully submitted,

[Your name]

[Your address]

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Step 3: Add a subject line, we suggest “Request for your help” or “A sane approach to siting large-scale solar facilities” or whatever you think is best.

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Step 4: Add your name and address at the bottom.

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Step 5. Hit “SEND”

Thank you!!