REGION – In March and April the Connecticut River Conservancy hosted two virtual Hydropower Coffee Hour events to discuss and answer questions about the five Connecticut River hydropower facilities that applied for renewed operating licenses in December. CRC is continuing this series for the next several months, until the public comment period opens in late summer. The five facilities include the Turners Falls Dam and Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage in Massachusetts, and the Wilder, Bellows Falls, and Vernon Dams in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Once they are issued, the licenses for these facilities will be in place for the next 30-50 years and impact more than 175 miles of the Connecticut River. It is critical that we all be prepared to speak up in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to influence these operating licenses. Join CRC at these upcoming Hydropower Coffee Hours to learn more:
- May 12, 9:30 a.m., River Recreation
- June 8, 9:30 a.m., Migratory Fish
- July 14, 9:30 a.m., Economics & the Markets
Additional details and links to register can be found at www.ctriver.org/events. CRC staff and additional experts will be on hand to answer questions and share how the public can get involved in the hydro relicensing process to speak up for rivers. These events are devoted to question & answer. Each event has a unique topic to guide the conversation, but any questions related to the relicensing are welcome.
These Hydropower Coffee Hour events are a follow-up to two informational presentations held by CRC in January that can be viewed online at www.ctriver.org/livestream or on CRC’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/connecticutriver. We encourage attendees to view these presentations for additional background about the relicensing and related concerns.