This commentary is by Derek Hallquist, a cinematographer and producer who went to Lamoille Union High School in Hyde Park, and now works all over the world.
The Green River Reservoir state park is threatened. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has ordered the local utility, Morrisville Water & Light, to reduce generation by about 30%.
This means that the dam that holds the reservoir now operates at a loss. As a result, the electric utility has announced that it has no choice but to remove the dam, which will drain the reservoir.
The Agency of Natural Resources must reverse its decision to prevent the loss of Green River Reservoir state park.
The 653-acre reservoir includes about 19 miles of shoreline, one of the longest stretches of undeveloped shorelines in Vermont. Green River Reservoir became a state park in March 1999 when 5,503 acres were purchased from the Morrisville Water & Light Department.
This is not your typical Vermont state park — Green River Reservoir provides camping and paddling experiences in a remote setting. The state of Vermont has made a commitment that the park “will remain in its wild and undeveloped condition.” The park averages more than 10,000 visitors per year.
The reason the Agency of Natural Resources wants to reduce the flow is to restore some of the original plant life along the reservoir, as well as to improve the quality of the fishery downstream. The agency’s report contradicts itself, because it also states that the reservoir is currently healthy, including a healthy fish population.
It is difficult to understand the logic behind the Agency of Natural Resources decision. A dam on the Green River created the reservoir in 1947. Although initially built for flood control, a generator was installed in 1984. Like most power dams, this one comes up for a new federal license every 30 or 40 years.
Here we have a wildlife habitat that has been in place for over 70 years. The fishery is excellent. The natural beauty is enjoyed by thousands. It is the largest freshwater body in Vermont that is free of motorboats.
The Agency of Natural Resources decision will likely cause the dam to come down, destroying this gem. The hope is that it will improve the quality of habitat downstream — essentially exchanging one healthy habitat for some improvements downstream. Destroying one healthy warm-water fishery for hoped-for improvements in another cold-water fishery.
There are serious flaws to this logic. The Agency of Natural Resources did not consider the carbon-offset value of the hydroelectric generation. The northern Vermont grid has exceeded its limits in wind and solar capacity. Adding more wind and solar does not reduce the carbon footprint because the grid cannot handle anymore.
One of the solutions for this problem is to add lithium-based energy storage. Removing an existing hydroelectric facility means you now have to replace this with even more batteries to get the benefits of renewable energy on demand, which this preexisting hydroelectric generator provides.
Removing this resource to improve downstream cold-water fish habitat without considering the impact to climate change is a shortsighted decision. The Green River Reservoir hydroelectric facility has been producing about 1 million kilowatt-hours per year of carbon-free power prior to the restrictions imposed by the Agency of Natural Resources.
To produce the same amount of electricity using a natural gas-fired generator, it would create an additional 60,250 tons of carbon dioxide per year. That is equivalent to the amount of carbon emitted by 7,000 vehicles.
If we do not address climate change, there will be no cold water species in Vermont. With the Agency of Natural Resources decision, Vermont will eliminate an on-demand renewable energy resource and we will lose a wildlife habitat that has been in place for 70-plus years.
Let’s not find ourselves in a hotter climate two decades from now regretting this shortsighted decision. We may end up with no cold-water habitat, and no Green River Reservoir state park.
The best way to solve this is to reverse the decision by the Agency of Natural Resources that forces Morrisville Water & Light to reduce the flow of the dam.
- A petition is being circulated here to save the Green River Reservoir.
- Click here for photos and video of the Green River Reservoir.
