Editor’s note: This article by Andrew Martin was first published in the Stowe Reporter on Aug. 12, 2016.
A state agency order that limits the amount of water that can flow through the Green River hydroelectric dam has Morrisville Water & Light considering draining the reservoir and removing the dam.
The state issued new conditions for the utility to operate its hydroelectric dam on the Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park and its two dams on the Lamoille River.
The new conditions cut back how much power is made at the three facilities. They currently produce roughly 10 million kilowatt-hours per year — enough to collectively power 1,000 houses.
Morrisville Water & Light officials believe the new conditions will reduce that total by about 33 percent. The utility would have to invest millions in the dams to make up for the lost production.
Craig Myotte, the general manager at Morrisville Water & Light, believes the new standards put the continued operation of his utility’s hydro facilities in jeopardy.
Myotte called the potential loss of these local renewable energy resources “a huge failure of the relicensing process and an economic loss for Morrisville’s customers.”
The state is imposing the conditions as part of the utility’s relicensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Morrisville Water & Light needs a new 30-year license and the state gets a say in the proceedings.
Utility officials knew it was probably going to happen, but the new restrictions are still disappointing.
Myotte feels the state ignored Lamoille County residents’ input submitted last winter during a public comment period.
The new restrictions on the Green River dam would limit the yearly winter drawdowns from the current 10 feet to only 18 inches. That restriction alone would cut the yearly power production by 350,000 kilowatt-hours, roughly a third of the yearly power produced there.
Utility officials say studies show operating the dam in that manner isn’t financially viable. They are now considering draining Green River Reservoir and removing the dam.
The restrictions also include higher minimum bypass flows — water flow that doesn’t produce power— at the two Morrisville dams, one near Cady’s Falls and one in the southern tip of the village.
The state wants the two dams to be operated closer to true “run-of-river” mode.
Morrisville Water & Light didn’t have bypass flow requirements under the old license and did propose higher ones as part of their application for the new license. But the requirements proposed by the state are much higher.
State officials have stressed that they are required by law to make the changes.
“The last time Morrisville Water & Light received licensure to operate was more than 30 years ago,” Deb Markowitz, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, said. During that time the basic criteria for healthy aquatic habitat has changed a great deal.
“Today’s certification reflects those major changes,” Markowitz said.
The Morrisville Water & Light Board of Trustees were to meet on Aug. 15 to discuss the new regulations and how to proceed. Myotte expects the board to green-light an appeal of the new regulations to the Vermont Environmental Board.
