Northeast Hydropower

NHI represents New York Rivers United (NYRU) and other conservation groups in relicensing proceedings for the hydropower system which Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation built in the 1800s, now owned by Brookfield Power.  This system controls the major rivers which flow from the Adirondacks Mountains, including the Hudson, Mohawk, Beaver, Hoosic, Raquette, and Salmon Rivers.  From 1992-2005, NYRU and NHI reached settlements as the basis for new licenses for these projects. As approved by FERC, the new licenses will substantially improve minimum flows, reduce loss of trout and other riverine fish through turbine entrainment, and enhance access for boating and hiking uses

 
Boundary Waters.  NHI also represented NYRU in the relicensing proceedings for New York Power Authority’s Niagara Falls and St. Lawrence-FDR Projects.  These are two of the largest hydropower projects in the world, regulating the in-flow of the upper Great Lakes into and out of Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean.  The resulting settlements for Niagara Falls and St. Lawrence, respectively, establish a $90 million fund for community development and a $30 million fund to enhance the fisheries of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, a greenway between Niagara Falls and Lake Ontario, and other substantial benefits. 

Contact: Richard Roos-Collins