Redevelopment of the Somerset Coal Plant as an lake port

A new international port could be coming to Niagara County

A spokesperson for the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority confirmed that a memorandum of understanding has been signed to develop an international port in Somerset.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/money/new- ... bfcb26ad97

Interesting - says would concentrate on shipments of auto assembly parts that now go from Hamilton to Buffalo.

Would then go by rail once hits Somerset.

Gee maybe jumped dismantling the rail line .?

A new international port could be coming to Niagara County

You are a little late for April Fools Day...

There is no natural harbor at Somerset, never has been. Just underground along the South Shore of Lake Ontario is a thick Iron belt that would make excavating a "port" there outrageously expensive. That layer of Iron in part determines where the south shore is. It is also what makes well water in many areas full of iron which plays havoc.

One could expand the natural harbor at Rochester for about 1/10 the cost of making a brand new harbor at Somerset.

And the lack of a major river/creek entering the lake at that point would mean that any man made harbor there will fill in continuously with silt/sand/rock every year when the lake level naturally goes up and down. Such a harbor would have to be dredged just about every spring to keep it open.

Sounds like somebody has more money to waste on a "study" than they have brains.

Well that headline was the one used on all the press releases- which certainly got everyone’s attention.


Does seem indeed a grandiose idea.

Kind of like the billion dollar Super Collider I think it was called that was to be built in Williamson , Wayne County back in the 80’s.

I see Somerset continues to generate other controversy in that the owner has 100’s of surrounding acreage that wants to have a developer build a solar farm where some want it on the same footprint as the former plant.
And I have no idea the status of the data center that was to be built.

My head spins .

I would hate to see all that farmland converted to a giant solar panel. But I'd rather see a giant solar panel then a new neighborhood. For years, I've watched many former farmlands get swallowed up by new neighborhoods. For 15 years I had a small plot of land next to me. I called it a mini nature preserve. The new owner caved to today's economics and sold a portion of it. They tore down the trees, bulldozed everything and a new home is taking place. Fortunately, the home is not big and doesn't obscure my view. But no more nature.

Hopefully the new build doesn’t encroach on your RR ROW.
Wait till they see the crossing signals when you come home at night- but again you are grandfathered in ?

I've been thinking about that as well. If I drive my truck in and out they will only see one signal lit. But if I'm driving my Focus, they'll see 3 and that's used 98% of the time. The signal is right on the property line. I'm hoping that because the signals go dark after a few minutes and remain dark most of the time, it won't bother them.

My biggest problem with the new home, is that I don't have the option on where to store my boat trailer while the boat is in the water. Usually, I back the trailer alongside the garage. But that puts nearly 4 feet of trailer on the other property. It wasn't a big deal because it was just sitting in an open field. The owner didn't care and the squirls loved it while eating the tree nuts. But now it's an unknown. So now the trailer is on the driveway with maybe 4 inches over the line. But this leaves me only 4 inches to get my truck out of the garage. I'm hoping the new people aren't excessively nit-picky.

I'm hoping for a good neighbor: https://w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/417/564 ... ilroad.jpg

Seems to be another case of NIMBY. Guess you will have to move farther out.

In hindsight, you should have bought that land yourself.

Somerset is far off the main roads, especially the Interstate network.

Fireman43 wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 7:51 pm Kind of like the billion dollar Super Collider I think it was called that was to be built in Williamson , Wayne County back in the 80’s.

They can keep the apple industry and the Mott's bottling plant.

BR&P wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2024 11:57 am In hindsight, you should have bought that land yourself.

In late 2007 when my brother passed away and as I was going through his paperwork, I found a slip of paper that showed he had an interest in purchasing that piece of property. I have no idea if he presented the idea to the owners at that time. I’m fairly certain they said no. As for me, I don’t have the income to take on a purchase like that especially under today’s economics. I wish I did.