By Alex Ginsberg
A bill that would mandate tougher security at the many power plants and energy facilities that dot western Queens passed both houses of the state Legislature June 19 in unanimous votes, marking the first passage of major anti-terror legislation since Sept. 11, 2001.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), authorizes the New York state director of public security to review safety precautions and procedures in place at power-generating plants, transmission lines and other energy-related facilities statewide.
“It is a long time coming, but the first step is usually the most important one,” Gianaris said. “I'm trying to put some structure behind efforts to protect some of your most sensitive infrastructure sites in New York.”
State Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), the bill's Senate sponsor, said in a statement “in today's climate of global terrorism, it's naive to think facilities charged with providing essential services aren't now or won't some day be targets.”
Gov. George Pataki was expected to sign the bill, Gianaris said.
The concept for the bill grew out of Gianaris' frustration with the 20th Avenue power plant site in Astoria. Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, local police made eight recommendations for security improvement there, but Con Edison – which owns the land, controls access and stores fuel there – chose to implement only one of them, according to Gianaris.
“We tried to get them to voluntarily do it, and then we got the legislation moving,” Gianaris said.
Under the measure, the state director of public security would have the power to request documents, including internal audits conducted by the power plants, and visit the sites in person if needed. The director would issue reports before the end of this year evaluating security in the more than 100 power plants in New York. The state Public Service Commission would then have the authority to order plants to comply with recommendations made in the reports.
Subsequent reports will follow every three years.
The votes constitute the first steps the Legislature has taken – aside from a package of emergency funding bills passed shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks – to protect New Yorkers in the 21 months since, Gianaris said. The assemblyman said progress was difficult in a legislature divided by partisan politics.
Gianaris, whose district contains several substations in addition to the three plants at 20th Avenue, sponsored a similar bill last year, but that effort failed in the face of power companies' concerns. One important amendment made to address those concerns ensures that the security information furnished to the state will not be made public.
“We don't want to identify for everyone where the potential vulnerabilities are,” Gianaris said.
The assemblyman's goal now is to push through a companion bill, which died during the current legislative session in the Government Operations Committee, that applies to chemical storage facilities. He also has plans to create similar legislation to protect bridges and landmarks.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
