Skoufis to Orange County IDA: Be prepared to revoke agreement giving tax breaks to CPV power plant

The following is a copy of the letter Assemblyman James Skoufis sent to Robert T. Armistead, chairman of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency.

Dear Chairman Armistead:
I write to you regarding the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) approved for the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) power plant in the Town of Wawayanda.
As you know, a former senior vice president at CPV and a former high-ranking state government official have been indicted on charges that allege a conspiracy to defraud the residents of New York State through acts of corruption. These charges are alarming in both their scope and detail.
One such charge alleges the CPV official “gave bribes … to influence regulatory approvals and funding related to the development of a power plant in Orange County.…”
I continue to believe that every, single state permit received by CPV ought to be investigated for impropriety in light of the U.S. Attorney’s charges; I have requested New York’s Attorney General open an investigation to this end.
Additionally, I write to you today requesting the IDA Board prepare to revoke the PILOT if and when a court finds the relevant defendants guilty.
Tax incentives are offered to projects with a common-sense understanding that the proposed work will proceed honestly and in accordance with the law. The allegations raised by the U.S.
Attorney casts the integrity of the CPV power plant in severe doubt. Furthermore, the Millennium Pipeline, which seeks to deliver natural gas to the power plant, has not secured a number of time-sensitive permits that are needed for the power plant to become operational.
Continued delay will result in a violation of the CPV project’s timeline as proposed in the PILOT agreement.
New York State Assemblyman James Skoufis
D-Woodbury