The St. Lawrence River is too precious to be marred by poorly-conceived wind power projects, Governor David Paterson said Sunday.

The Governor fielded questions from a packed house at the Northside Improvement League as part of his budget tour of the state.

Asked by a Hammond resident about his views on wind power development, Paterson indicated he thinks the industry is moving too quickly.

"Particularly in that area, and because of its cultural and historic value, and particularly because it's a place people come to see, that we have to be a lot more careful about the siting of wind turbine facilities," Paterson said, generating a smattering of applause.

Paterson also promised to revisit his proposal imposing steep performance requirements on businesses included in Empire Zones.

Responding to a question by St. Lawrence County Legislator Sam Burns, the Governor agreed that he went too far in with his proposal to require businesses to produce $20 of benefit for every $1 invested by the state.

"We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in regions and couldn't find the first job that was created. So we've got to put a stop to that. However, we don't want to be so overzealous that we hurt the program if it's helping people right here in Jefferson County," Paterson said.

The Governor also fielded questions about cutting state spending, protecting the salaries of CSEA workers, his proposal to allow supermarket sales of wine, and other issues.

Paterson has a visit scheduled in Massena on Monday as his budget tour continues.