PSEG: Still No Montauk Decision

One site is too close to the water level down on Industrial Road; a roomy six acres on Flamingo Road is close to drinking water wells and a senior citizen center; and the recycling center is the former Montauk Dump, and is logistically problematic.

With residents in an uproar though, Public Service Enterprise Group will have to find somewhere to put its substation. This week, officials vowed to address the matter anew. “We’ve made some major changes in our approach to siting a new and very much needed substation in the Montauk area,” David Gaier, PSEG’s director of communications, said this week. One of those sites being considered is still the Macchio property on Flamingo Road that has about 2700 petitioners objecting to it as of this writing.

“Residents have raised some valid points” about the Flamingo Road site, said John O’Connell, PSEG’s vice president of transmission and distribution. “We know they don’t want it there.” Building on the existing substation site, which sits on a parcel that juts out into Fort Pond on Industrial Road, was a preferred choice until a neighbor filed a lawsuit. That site will be revisited; the flooding could be addressed by raising the substation 12 feet. There is also another site north of the recycling center which has yet to be revealed: residents quizzed this week favor that one, sight unseen, almost by default.

PSEG officials said they will announce a date shortly for a community meeting that will reveal the latest twists and turns. Gaier stressed the project is still a go, though.

“I do want to emphasize that the need is real because the load on the South Fork and the East End is growing significantly year over year. Our intention is to provide safe and reliable service to the entire island with as little impact on rates as possible,” said Gaier.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com