Dam Meeting Packs NHS

Community hears from Consumers Energy about Croton, Hardy

The Newaygo High cafeteria began filling up early on Monday evening but it wasn’t food the folks who poured through the doors  were looking for.
It was information.
Consumers Energy had a full team on board in response to ongoing community concerns over the future of the dams at Croton and Hardy. It was the second of ten meetings held in communities where the future of the 13 dams owned and operated by CE was  being considered. By the time Rich Houtteman delivered a welcome and the perfunctory safety message to the crowd, seats were at a premium and it became standing room only for the latecomers.

In a powerpoint presentation Maggie Pallone  spoke to the economic impact Croton and Hardy have in the community particularly with regard to property values, but also from the jobs and revenues that come from the vast recreational spending that occurs in and near the reservoirs.
And she also spoke to the astronomical costs of maintaining the dams for the relatively small amount of generation they produce. 
To relicense the dams would be a $1.4 billion dollar price tag and this was just to relicense and did not include the cost of maintaining the facilities. Decommissioning the dams on the other hand would be approximately $630 million. For Hardy alone the difference between relicensing and decommissioning would be 248 million. For Croton, 11 million.
The company made it clear that they are unwilling to pass along  the costs to each of their statewide customers.

In wrapping up the presentation CE Communications Executive Director Josh  Burgett spoke to 3 alternatives for the company
1. Sell the dams. They have already announced they will be exploring this avenue and RFP’s will be sent out soon. This would be a lengthy process with the company vetting and possible buyers to ensure a seamless transition.
2. Explore decommissioning the dam along with river restoration.
3. Explore the possibility of an alternate structure of some type.

Members of the audience then had the opportunity to ask questions ranging from finding other funding sources to environmental concerns and the logistics involved in dam removal.

The message seemed  to be that if any type of structure whether the current dams or any other alternative is to remain the company was no longer going to go it alone. There would need to be resources beyond the coffers of CE. 

In  the next couple of days the powerpoint presentation delivered Monday will be available at:
https://www.consumersenergy.com/company/electricgeneration/renewables/hydroelectric/hydro-future

Answering questions from the community: L-R Adam Monroe (Exec Dir Hydro Ops), Marianne Walter (Sr Principal Engineer), Josh Burgett (Exec Dir Community Engagement)