Communities have requested clarification on matters of safety, access and recreational opportunities surrounding hydroelectic facility sites

The city of Berlin and the town of Gorham have jointly filed for intervenor status in the re-licensing of the eight hydroelectric facilities on the Androscoggin River between Berlin and Shelburne.

Six of the facilities are owned by Great Lakes Hydro America, and the remaining two are owned by Patriot Hydro (formerly Central Rivers Power NH). The facilities combine over 42 megawatts.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on July 26 ruled the final applications were complete, setting up a 60-day period to submit comments or file to intervene. The comment period ended Monday, Sept. 25.

The communities report they are generally supportive of the final applications put forward by the two owners, but requested assurances and confirmation on matters of safety, access and recreational opportunities.

One key request by the communities is permanent deeded access to a 4.8-mile gap in the state Presidential Rail Trail that runs from Whitefield. The state’s ownership ends near the Black Trestle Bridge near Route 16 in Gorham. The trail crosses the Androscoggin River and continues north into Berlin on land owned by Great Lakes Hydro America. The motion states that recreational use of the section on GLHA land is provided by a license that is revocable at any time and asks that a permanent easement be granted either to the communities or the state to preserve public recreational access.

Berlin requests that Patriot be required to inspect and improve the fencing around the water impoundment at Community Field near the skate park and install LED lighting along the fence line to increase safety for children who use the facilities at the field.

Gorham is asking that Patriot restore recreational access near the Gorham Station’s powerhouse to allow hikers to access the Appalachian Trail using the Power House Road. That access was discontinued about 20 years ago, and hikers now have to continue down the Hogan Road onto the rail trail to connect with the AT. The motion states that a section of the rail trail allows off-road motorized vehicle access, creating at times an unpleasant and unsafe situation.

“We believe it is in the public interest that restoring the original route will improve the existing recreational resource,” the motion stated.

The town is also asking that Patriot create a limited parking area for canoe and kayak access in the vicinity of its Gorham hydroelectric facility. The motion noted that Gorham was in the process of negotiating such a parking area with the prior owner before the sale of its hydroelectric facilities to Patriot last fall.

On the matter of safety, the two municipalities said their primary concern is that both companies have sufficient personnel in close proximity to their hydroelectric facilities when there is a storm water event. The motion noted that on April 1, 1998, a storm caused a dam near Umbagog Lake to overflow. The spill gates at Patriot’s Gorham dam were not lowered and four feet of water went down Main Street, blocking emergency services to large parts of Gorham.

The communities are asking operational personnel be stationed within a 10-mile radius of Berlin and Gorham during occasions when the U.S. Weather Service forecast predicts more than an BTS - Business Cards 2022 - March 18, 2022 - Top Reasons Owners Sellinch of rain in an hour. They also request regular monitoring of the snowpack near the Errol dam and at the headwaters of the Androscoggin River, so the eight hydroelectric facilities can be prepared for potential large discharges of water. They note such discharges could result in flooding in the Berlin-Gorham area because of the impoundment of water by the hydro-facilities.

The motion also requests the commission determine the boundaries of the various facilities. The communities said that information is critical for municipalities that own infrastructure within the boundaries. Gorham wants to purchase land from Patriot where it has sewer and storm water lines and a deeded right-of-water to the property it uses for snow storage, and asked that they be removed from the project boundary for Patriot.

Berlin and Gorham said defining boundary lines is also important for tax accessing purposes, citing as an example White Mountain Paper Company.

Great Lakes Hydro America’s Cascade plant supplies power to the mill, and the motion noted the property is intertwined, making it difficult to determine ownership for taxation purposes.

The six hydroelectric plants owned by Great Lakes Hydro America are the Upper Gorham and Cascade facilities in Gorham, the Shelburne facility, and Cross, Sawmill and Riverside hydroelectric plants in Berlin.

Also up for re-licensing are the Smith hydroelectric plant in Berlin and the Gorham plant owned now by Patriot.

Their current licenses expire in 2024 and the relicensing process has been underway since 2019.

In addition to the motion to intervene by Berlin and Gorham, FERC received comments from two federal agencies. The National Park Service backed Gorham’s request for restoring access to the Appalachian Trail near the Gorham hydroelectric power station. The U.S. Department of the Interior requested FERC include a statement that the hydroelectric owners can be required to construct and operate fish ladders.

Patriot and GLHA will now have until Nov. 8 to respond to the request to intervene and comments.

In their final reports, the two owners proposed no increased capacity or physical changes to their current facilities. They note the eight hydroelectric facilities provide a safe, clean, renewable source of power.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act, FERC is required to do an environmental assessment of the hydroelectric projects with consideration to environmental impacts as well as power generation.

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Under the National Environmental Policy Act, FERC is required to do an environmental assessment of the hydroelectric projects with consideration to environmental impacts as well as power generation.