With ties to “bad actor” Joseph Percoco, Cuomo’s corrupt CPV plant threatens New York’s’ health and environment
NEW YORK, NY — Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon called on Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos to rescind all environmental permits issued to the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) power plant in Wawayanda, Orange County. In a letter sent Tuesday, Cynthia cites the fracked gas that will damage New Yorkers’ health and called out the plant’s deep ties to corruption in Gov. Cuomo’s administration.
Joseph Percoco, a top staffer and confidante of Governor Andrew Cuomo, was recently convicted of criminal violations related to the construction of this very power plant. Percoco serves as a vivid illustration of corruption in Cuomo’s Administration that puts special interests and his corporate donors over the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers.
On Monday, Cynthia called Cuomo’s approval of the CPV power plant an ethical and environmental disaster, adding that “Joseph Percoco, who Andrew Cuomo has described as his father’s third son, accepted thousands of dollars in bribes and has been convicted in a federal court of criminal violations associated with the construction of this power plant, including securing a ‘low show’ job for his wife.”
As governor, Cynthia pledges to halt all new use of fracked gas in New York State which threatens our environment and contributes to climate change. She would instead prioritize investments in energy efficiency and renewables that will create far more jobs and protect our environment for future generations.
In the letter, she states that Department of Environmental Conservation policies and procedures allow Commissioner Seggos to revoke permits if a permit holder is deemed a bad actor, and she urges immediate action to revoke the CPV permits.
Full letter below:
Dear Commissioner Seggos:
I strongly urge you to rescind all environmental permits issued by your agency to the CPV power plant in Wawayanda, Orange County.
This power plant will import fracked gas and pollute the air in the lower Hudson Valley and beyond, at the very time when we should be moving away from fossil fuels.
Joseph Percoco, a top staffer and confidante of Governor Andrew Cuomo, was recently convicted of criminal violations related to the construction of this very power plant. While Mr. Percoco is likely to serve jail time and serves as a vivid illustration of corruption in the Cuomo Administration, his criminal conviction does nothing to protect the lungs of residents of New York who may soon be breathing in high levels of air contaminants from this power plant. The pollution will damage their health, harm the natural environment and will contribute to climate change – one of the greatest environmental, health, and economic problems of our time.
Department of Environmental Conservation policies and procedures allow you to revoke permits if a permit holder is deemed a bad actor. The trial testimony and other credible information provide you with a legally defensible basis to revoke these permits.
I urge you to immediately revoke the CPV permits and put policies in place to ensure that this never happens again. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Nixon
Cc:Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus
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