MONTAGUE — Environmental law was very different in 1968, when the FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. was licensed to operate on the Connecticut River. Now, as the 50-year license expires and the company works through a relicensing process, it is expected the conditions of the license will be updated to reflect modern understandings of environmental issues.
The relicensing is also a rare opportunity for new requirements to be written into the license, as some notable stakeholders are advocating.
FirstLight operates three power-generating facilities on the local stretch of the Connecticut River — two hydro-electric dams in Turners Falls, and a hydro-pump facility at Northfield Mountain.
FirstLight has noted these facilities are economically beneficial to the region, and that they will be valuable assets as Massachusetts works toward its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
However, the facilities have been criticized for their interactions with the river environment, as they follow guidelines written over 50 years ago. Specifically, environmental advocates say the machines have disrupted wildlife habitats, and have altered the flow of the river into unnatural patterns, confusing wildlife and causing excessive erosion of the riverbanks.
“None of these federal laws were in place (when the license was set),” said Andrea Donlon, who works at the Connecticut River Conservancy to advocate in regulatory proceedings. “Now, licensing strives to have a better balance of electricity generation versus natural resource impact.”
The relicensing process is expected to reach a turning point in December, when FirstLight has a deadline to submit its final application and arguments for its license. That application will be one of several pieces considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), along with input from stakeholder groups like the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Connecticut River Conservancy, among others.
Regulation isn’t only the purview of federal organizations; Massachusetts state government offices also have the authority to set conditions and mitigation requirements that must be adopted when FERC writes the license.
To that end, a group of local legislators have advocated for a “robust” package of terms and conditions. Their list — sent in a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides and MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg — includes improved passageways for fish at the Turners Falls dams, revision of the schedules for river flow changes to better mimic natural patterns, minimization and mitigation of riverbank erosion and increased investment in recreational resources.
The letter was signed by Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland; Rep. Dan Carey, D-Easthampton; Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton; Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst; Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer; Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield; and Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol.
“There is no question of the damage that these facilities have caused over the years, a fact recognized by your staff scientists in their numerous filings to the FERC docket,” the letter to Baker, Theoharides and Suuberg reads. “The Connecticut River is also listed in required federal reporting as being in violation of its state water quality standards as a result of these facilities’ operation.”
The legislators state they look forward to being kept apprised of the state’s progress in ensuring “this pending license strikes a far better deal for the river and the public than the current operating requirements have done for the last 50 years.”
FirstLight is not dismissive of their concerns.
“I understand where they’re coming from,” said Len Greene, FirstLight’s director of government affairs and communications. “The delegation certainly has a vested interest in trying to be a voice for its constituency.”
Greene said he couldn’t comment on details of how FirstLight may address those issues in its license application, but he noted: “We do address those in a positive manner that seeks to achieve the goals everyone is trying to accomplish right now.”
He did say, however, that a major modification of the Northfield Mountain facility requested by the delegation is, from FirstLight’s perspective, out of the question.
The request is to largely restructure the facility’s relationship to the Connecticut River. The Northfield Mountain facility generates power by drawing water from the Connecticut River up the mountain, then releasing it to run back down. Even though it requires energy to draw the water up, the purpose of the facility is to act like a battery that can generate energy during peak demand hours.
This is considered an “open-loop” operation, in that it draws from a flowing source of water. The delegation requested that Northfield Mountain be converted to a “closed-loop” system, which would instead draw from a reservoir, to potentially be totally independent from the river.
The legislators advocated for a closed-loop system on the basis that it would decouple the river from the mountain facility, which has arguably caused unnatural river flow patterns.
But FirstLight argues that it simply isn’t feasible. CEO Alicia Barton said that creating a reservoir would probably require flooding of some nearby land or excavating massive volumes of rock, making the project overly expensive and likely environmentally damaging.
“I understand that most members of the public don’t care about the cost,” Greene said. “But obviously we do.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.
Letter to Gov, EOEEA, DeP From Legislators Re FirstLight Relicensing by Zachary DeLuca on Scribd