Voices of the Peninsula: Grant Lake hydro project needs better public input

  • By Hal Shepherd
  • Monday, November 10, 2014 4:06pm
  • Opinion

Homer Electric Association (HEA) staff and several hired consultants were in Moose Pass on Nov. 6 at a public meeting on environmental impact studies for the Grant Lake Hydro Electric Project. HEA went to great lengths to show that the Project will have virtually no impact on existing salmon habitat, and that once the facility goes on line, it will actually help fish. Indeed, the current version of the project, which no longer includes a dam, involves the use of outflow from Grant Lake that would be run through an underground tunnel to a penstock and power house located downstream on Grant Creek while storing peak flows from the creek to benefit habitat in tributaries.

Regardless of the win-win image of the Grant Lake Project HEA attempts to present, however, we may never know what sort of impacts it will have on water and salmon until it is too late because HEA has elected not to participate in the formal Integrated Licensing Process under Federal Energy Regulatory Act guidelines. While HEA consultants have discussed the studies with state and federal agencies through a series of meetings held in 2013 and 2014, this does not include the give-and-take between the licensee, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, other State, Federal and tribal government entities, conservation groups and other stakeholders of the formal process. Also, the ILP process requires the licensee to create a study plan that includes an intensive schedule of reports, meetings and multiple opportunities for stakeholder participation in the process (in the form of comments, challenges to the studies and appeals).

Indeed, the one and only chance for the public input on the Grant Lake studies, was a public meeting sponsored by HEA in Moose Pass near the Project location last week. Needless to say, HEA’s decision to ignore the formal study plan process did not go over well with most of the public participants at the meeting, in part because Moose Pass and Seward, which are outside of the HEA service area, will receive most of the potential environmental impacts and none of the energy benefits of the Project. Neither did it help that, regardless of the fact that if public comment is to be allowed at such events this is traditionally stated in the meeting notices, the Moose Pass participants were not informed that they could comment on the studies until after arriving at the meeting.

HEA attempts to downplay the almost non-existent public process related to the Grant Lake Project, by observing that the opportunity for the public input on the licensing decision starts in earnest with the draft licensing application which will be issued in early 2015. This conclusion, however, leaves out the fact that FERC, generally relies heavily on the results of the study plan when making licensing decisions. In this case, therefore, once FERC receives the study reports drafted, coordinated and controlled almost entirely by Project proponents, any licensing decision, along with the irreversible impacts on salmon and water would, likely, be a foregone conclusion.

More importantly, the proposed project is all that remains of what was once a proposal to build a network of multiple hydroelectric that would have industrialized the headwaters of the Kenai River watershed. This proposal was dropped only after a grass roots effort rose up in opposition to the hydropower network and its impacts to natural flows, the ecological and hydrological health of tributaries and cumulative impacts downstream. In the absence of public participation in the Grant Lake project, therefore, could the original project concept rear it’s ugly head once again?

Also, when HEA representatives are asked whether they plan to have a public meeting in Homer on the Project, the response is that they have been communicating to the public through meetings with the chamber of commerce, Rotary clubs and tables at public events. Could it be that HEA’s reluctance to obtain input on the project is because it has reserved the right to sell the energy to outside utilities and the project, ultimately may not even benefit HEA members?

Either way, needed are additional public meetings on the study plan so that the public can make an informed decision as to whether the project is appropriate and beneficial for the Kenai Watershed and HEA customers.

Hal Shepherd is director of the Center for Water Advocacy in Homer.

More in Opinion

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Finishing a session that will make a lasting impact

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Courtesy/Chris Arend
Opinion: Protect Alaska renewable energy projects

The recently passed House budget reconciliation bill puts important projects and jobs at risk.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Choosing our priorities wisely

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.