NORTHFIELD — To protest FirstLight Hydro Generating Co.’s relicensing negotiations, members of the Connecticut River Defenders advocacy group stalled one of two tour buses that were entering the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station on Tuesday morning.

The buses were taking attendees of the National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) Northeast Regional Meeting to tour the Northfield facility. The Springfield conference enables people involved in the Northeastern hydropower industry to share knowledge, network and tour facilities.

The conference-goers were confronted by a group of about 20 protesters who attempted to stop the buses from entering. One bus was able to quickly drive past the group by making a sharp turn, while the other bus was stopped for about 20 minutes.

After the protesters spoke with representatives from FirstLight, an on-duty officer and the off-duty police chief agreed to let the bus move. They continued protesting across the street from Northfield Mountain’s entrance. No arrests were made.

The protesters gathered to draw attention to FirstLight’s 50-year relicensing negotiations. The decade-long process involving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) outlines operations for FirstLight’s hydro-pump facility at Northfield Mountain and two hydroelectric dams in Turners Falls. These facilities have been criticized by environmental advocacy groups for their impact on fish, the Connecticut River and surrounding environment.

FirstLight’s last 50-year licenses to operate the Turners Falls and Northfield facilities expired on April 30, 2018.

“With settlements reached on Recreation and Flows and Fish Passage, we continue to work on remaining issues in an effort to reach as comprehensive a resolution as possible,” FirstLight Communications Manager Claire Belanger wrote in a statement.

Most recently, FirstLight submitted a recreation agreement highlighted by a series of new installations, including new public park spaces with viewing locations and picnic areas, campsites with paddle access, bike trails on Northfield Mountain and river access points. The company also pledges to place conservation restrictions on more than 761 acres of land that it owns along the Connecticut River, as well as conduct a comprehensive review of recreation projects every 10 years to evaluate use and demand.

The company also submitted a Flows and Fish Passage Agreement Settlement. In a statement, FirstLight said the commitments made in this agreement include investments in environmental protection that will reduce future revenue by more than $350 million over the course of a new, 50-year license that is adjusted for inflation.

Groups across the Pioneer Valley, including the Connecticut River Defenders, have protested FirstLight’s relicensing. Tuesday’s gathering included two participants who dressed as fish, as well as a “FirstLight smoothie” — a blender containing a whole fish and green tapioca (representing fish eggs).

“The Connecticut River Defenders say ‘no’ to a license renewal for FirstLight from FERC,” said protester Fergus Marshall of Chicopee.

The advocacy group argues that FirstLight’s turbines in Northfield kill millions of fish every second. They hope to have the plant shut down.

“The rights of nature are being violated daily by this private profit operation that is banking money from consumers and destroying the birthright of all living things,” commented Lake Pleasant resident Terisa Turner.

The Connecticut River Defenders have referred to the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station as a “river-killing, fossil fuel-guzzling” facility. In response, Belanger wrote that “FirstLight’s conventional hydro facilities do not utilize fossil fuels.”

“FirstLight’s pumped-hydro facilities pump using the power mix available on the grid. ... Generally, we pump when demand is lowest, and prices are lowest, which is typically when the grid has the highest concentration of clean resources,” Belanger wrote. “In addition, the grid mix grows cleaner year after year as more renewables come online, meaning the power mix we utilize to pump will grow cleaner as we approach Massachusetts’ requirement of net zero by 2050.”

Next standout

The Connecticut River Defenders will host another standout at the Turners Falls-Gill Bridge on Friday, July 28, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

“We all must stand firmly and publicly in opposition to [FirstLight’s] relicensing,” said Greenfield resident Dorothea Melnicoff, a member of the Connecticut River Defenders.

Reach Bella Levavi at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.

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