Published: June 17, 2008 11:59 am      

Jennings Randolph power plant focus of meetings

ELK GARDEN, W.Va. - The power company that has been eyeing possible hydroelectric generation at Jennings Randolph Dam for two years now, will attend a 10 a.m. public meeting Tuesday conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at The Will O' The Wisp Hotel on U.S. Route 219 at Deep Creek Lake to consider the environmental impacts of such a project.

Fairlawn Hydroelectric Co. LLC, a limited liability company from Fairlawn, Ohio, is looking to build a 13.4 megawatt power plant that would generate 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually.

The project includes an intake structure to be built upstream of the dam, a 720-foot penstock or conduit, a powerhouse measuring 60 feet long, 40 feet wide and 25 feet high and a half-mile long transmission line of 34.5 kilovolts.

A similar public meeting was to be held Monday at 6 p.m. at the same location. Earlier Monday, Fairlawn conducted a tour at Jennings Randolph Dam about the proposed project.

"There has always been an interest to put private hydroelectric generation at the dam," said Bill Donnellan, head ranger at the Army Corps of Engineers project, on Monday. "The companies know that we will continue to make water quality and water supply our missions and that those come first, so they have to determine whether or not it will be profitable to generate electricity under those conditions."

Information about the meetings in Garrett County is found in the Federal Register of May 27. Though the meetings are meant to receive public input, the Times-News could find no evidence that any of the federal agencies involved or the power company had issued a press release about them. Considerable time, however, remains for the public to provide written comments.

Information about the project is available at www.ferc.gov. Search the elibrary for the project number, which is P-12715.

Comments about the environmental assessment will be accepted by FERC through July 17, either via the Web site or by mailing to Kimberly D. Bose, secretary, Federal Energy Regulation Commission, 888 First St., NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

Fairlawn notes in the Federal Register that it will study water quality, possible nitrogen entrainment in fish, wetlands, threatened or endangered species including the Indiana bat and turbine mortality of fish. The company said it will not study possible impacts on geology, recreation, land use, aesthetics, culture or socio-economics.

The FERC contact for this project is Michael Spencer at (202) 502-6093. The Fairlawn contact is Clifford Phillips at (330) 869-8451.

A FERC timetable listed in the Federal Register projects states that approval for construction could come as early at 2012.