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Saturday,ÊD ecemberÊ17,Ê2016
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www.SunCommunityNews.com
In SPORTS | pg. 26
Clutch from the free throw line Elks award top foul shooters
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In opinion | pg. 6
Consider Standing Rock A guest viewpoint
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In TICONDEROGA | pg. 2
Nursing home sale approved
Heritage Commons sold to downstate group
Hydro plan for mine moves forward
Moriah’s old iron mines could be used for hydroelectric generation By Lohr McKinstry
lohr@suncommunitynews.com
MORIAH – A federal hearing on a hydroelectric project proposed for Moriah’s old iron mines drew 50 people recently. Of the nine people who spoke, most either supported the $260 million project or wanted to make sure it wouldn’t shake or flood their nearby homes.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission fisheries biologist Chris Millard is the coordinator for the permit process. “We look at these applications from all angles,” he said. “These project scoping meetings are critical to the mission of the agency (FERC).” The Mineville Energy Storage Project would generate power by drawing water from upper to lower mines through generating turbines during high-demand periods, then pumping it back up with the same turbines acting as pumps when demand is low. Millard said the process began in 2005, and
his agency received the application in 2015 from Albany Engineering Corp. “It took about 10 years to develop,” Millard said. “Anything and everything is on the table (for the hearing) in terms of input.” The permit timetable is that the deadline for comments is April 2017, then a draft environmental impact study will be issued in October 2017, with comments taken in November, then a final environmental assessment and permit by March 2018. Albany Engineering President James Besaw Sr. explained how the project would work.
“Pumped storage is a type of hydro,” he said. “We take water from an upper reservoir; it goes down through a turbine and generates electricity.” The turbine also acts as a pump, moving the water back later, he said. The mines that would be used are Old Bed and Harmony, Besaw said, about 2,500 feet underground and the length of nine football fields. Besaw said the project would create five to 15 permanent jobs, and 100 to 200 construction jobs during its two year build process. >> See MINES | pg. 23
Sun Editorial Board sits with Access, BeWild
Our editorial board met with the two main stakeholder groups involved in the Boreas Ponds debate: Access the Adirondacks and BeWildNY
Schroon Lake pre-K through third grade students wave during their performance in the SLCS annual holiday concert Dec. 12 in a packed school auditorium. See more pictures, page 20. Photo by John Gereau
The state purchased the Boreas Ponds and MacIntyre Tracts from the Nature Conservancy in May. Widely considered to be the final in a series of large-scale land acquisitions, the former timberlands in Newcomb and North Hudson are awaiting classification Bill Farber by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), which is accepting public comment until Dec. 30. The APA has offered four official proposals on how the Boreas Ponds Tract, which has generated the most discussion, can be classified. That classification will determine how Willie Janeway >> See BOREAS | pg. 12