Fortunately, the State can't give the owners this land without a constitutional amendment, but unfortunately the sleazy dilettantes who are currently in charge of the State are more than happy to help in any way that they can. Also at issue is the vast quantities of water needed for making snow, which the owners feel should be pumped out of Schoharie Creek for no charge and without public scrutiny. Last, the complex issue of restructuring the electric industry, which has been virtually ignored by the media. Niagra-Mohawk will no longer make power, it will only distribute it. Supposedly, private power producers will compete with each other and lower prices, but perhaps the addition of a middleman distributor will raise prices.
Electric production is very hard on the air, land and water.
There has been almost no public input on these decisions, most of these far-reaching policies are being decided in secret. The main force behind the Citizen's Environmental Coalition has devoted her life to environmental issues, working behind the scenes. She talked about one of her main concerns, toxic waste. According to Ms. Rabe, the NYS Superfund for Toxic Dumps is about to go bankrupt, possibly next year. The number of lingering dumps across the state has been grossly underestimated and even more are exempt from State mandates by legal technicalities.