License Revisions

After FERC issues a license or exemption, many projects go through restructuring and need to amend their structure or operation, surrender their license or use project lands and waters in a "non-project related way;" All of these requests require further technical, environmental and engineering analysis.

For a project on the Kinderhook Creek in New York, an application had been made to surrender a license for the project that has not been in operation since 1993 because of excessive penstock leakage. Kinderhook, the oldest place-name in the state of New York and the birthplace of Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United Stares, is a Dutch village that was settled in the 18OOs, shortly after Henry Hudson journeyed up the river that now bears his name. Berger prepared an EA that analyzed four options: resuming operations; closing the powerhouse; removing the dam; and removing the dam, intake structure, penstock, powerhouse and other facilities. Berger examined several primary environmental issues including flows over the 60-foot waterfall at the project site, fish passage including migrating eels, flows in the bypass reach, reservoir fisheries and effects on historical structures in the project area.

For the Safe Harbor Hydroelectric Project on the Susquehanna River near historic Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Berger prepared an EA to address the environmental issues in Safe Harbor's request to amend its license to allow an increase in its forebay water level elevation. In additional assignments, the Berger Team has also assessed the environmental effects of non-project related marina developments on FERC licensed reservoirs, including four proposed marina developments on the Catawba Wateree system in North and South Carolina and a proposed marina development at the Sinclair Project in Georgia.