Crown Hydro
The following article by Cristof Traudes, which recaps a January 4, 2010 Park Board agenda item, appeared in the Southwest Journal:
HYDRO RESOLUTION BUMPED AT FIRST MEETING OF NEW BOARD
Less than an hour into its very first meeting, the new Park Board got into a lively debate over a decades-old issue: whether to support a hydro power project along the Mississippi River.
CROWN HYDRO RESOLUTION FAILS TO PASS
For six years, Crown Hydro and its lobbyists and P.R. people have been attempting to convince the Park Board and the public that its proposed hydro-power project on parkland adjacent to the historic St. Anthony Falls had merit and was without risk.
The following article by Cristof Traudes appeared in the December 7, 2009 issue of the Downtown Journal:
LITTLE SUPPORT FOR HYDROPOWER AT FALLS
When the new Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is seated next month, one of the first tasks it will have is to decide whether to further research construction of a hydroelectric power plant at St. Anthony Falls — and whether it would be feasible as a publicly owned municipal utility.
The following article by Kathryn Holahan and Cristof Traudes appeared in the November 30, 2009 issue of the Southwest Journal:
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF HYDROPOWER PLANT INTRIGUES SOME, WORRIES MANY, STUDY FINDS
HEADS UP FOR NOVEMBER 18, 2009, PARK BOARD MEETING
The regular MPRB meeting will be held at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at Park Board Headquarters, 2117 W. River Road. For the meeting agenda and other information, go to the Park Board's website www.minneapolisparks.org
CROWN HYDRO IS ON THE AGENDA AGAIN
Feasibility of public ownership of Crown Hydro's power plant project is the subject of a staff report by Don Siggelkow and Judd Rietkerk to be presented at the Park Board meeting on August 5, 2009, at Elliot Park Recreation Center, 1000 E. 14th Street. Because the meeting is offsite, it will not be televised.
The following speech in opposition to Crown Hydro's proposed hydropower project on park land was given at the June 17, 2009 Park Board meeting during Open Time.
June 17, 2009
Commissioners:
First I would like to thank you for your previous decisions not to spend any further time or resources on the Crown Hydro project. Now, Crown is back with a renewed request for environmental review of its proposal. Nothing material has changed, and I urge you reject this project once and for all.
Crown Hydro's one-hour presentation at the April 15, 2009, Park Board meeting was underwhelming. There was nothing new presented. What is new is that we are hearing that Crown Hydro has hired another lobbyist to influence the commissioners who have been opposed to the Crown Hydro project.
This article was from the March online issue of the Friends of the Mississippi newsletter.
SAINT ANTHONY FALLS HISTORIC DISTRICT IN MINNEAPOLIS
By Irene Jones
Crown Hydro failed to obtain legislative support for the senate bill which would have forced the MPRB to turn over parkland for the controversial hydro plant.
In an agreement filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Oct 30, 1998, Crown agreed that it would not at any time attempt to use eminent domain to obtain property owned by the Minneapolis Park Board.
In October, 2004 Crown reneged on that agreement and sought to use eminent domain to acquire parkland in Mill Ruin Park.
The highlight of the meeting was the vote on Crown Hydro. The motion to be voted on was, in a convoluted way, an approval of the controversial project.
UPDATED December 26, 2007, 11:14am
BY MARY O'REGAN
On Dec. 19, the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) voted not to proceed with plans to investigate the possibility of constructing Crown Hydro, a hydroelectric power plant designed to use energy from St. Anthony Falls.
Former Vice-president Walter Mondale wrote a letter in opposition to the proposed Crown Hydro project at St. Anthony Falls. Commissioner Carol Kummer, a project defender, dismissed Mondale as "a NIMBY" and "less than ... open-minded." Not to be outdone, Park Board President Jon Olson characterized Mondale's opinion as "so self-serving it's not even funny."
Here are a couple of highlights:
4:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION. There will be a one hour presentation on fund raising initiatives.
Crown Hydro, the risky and controversial project that would put the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board into the utility business, is slated to be back on the Park Board agenda at the December 19 meeting.
BACKGROUND
On Nov. 7, 2007 the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board planning committee considered what was billed as a "study/report item" on an "updated Crown Hydro proposal." But instead of the usual report from their own staff, park commissioners heard only from the developer of the proposed hydropower plant at St. Anthony Falls. The committee's ability to study the proposal was hindered by the fact that they had no information about it until the meeting was underway. Even so, Commissioner Carol Kummer, with support from President Jon Olson, moved to advance the project with an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC or "cack"). Other commissioners cried foul, since such actions don't usually take place on agenda items that are supposed to be for study and discussion, and because the public wasn't allowed to speak on the action. The commissioners finally did stray beyond "study/report" and took a vote to authorize a staff review of the new proposal that the developer, Crown Hydro, had only just handed them -- without taking any comment from the public. Indeed, when President Olson stated that "This project has had public input for quite a while," he should have said this project has NOT had public input for quite a while: the last time the park board allowed public comment on a Crown Hydro proposal was 2004.
Hydroelectric power plant planned for neighborhood back on hold
BY MARY O'REGAN published 10-29-07 in the Downtown Journal
On Aug. 15, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) voted to table a proposal from Crown Hydro to build a hydroelectric plant that would use power from the St. Anthony Falls.
An article from the September 3, 2007 edition of the Downtown Journal
Hydroelectric power plant planned for neighborhood back on hold By Mary O'Regan
On Aug. 15, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) voted to table a proposal from Crown Hydro to build a hydroelectric plant that would use power from the St. Anthony Falls.
The power plant would be located 42 feet underground, with an intake structure similar to the existing design on Downtown's riverfront near the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam.
Once inside the plant, the water would fall through a turbine, causing it to spin and send energy to a generator. After a few minutes, the water would be released back into the river through an outlet located just beyond the lock and dam. The process is silent, with no vibrations, but some Park Board commissioners are worried about the effect that the project could have on the Mississippi River and historic mill ruins.
By Arlene Fried read during Open Time on 3-21-07
It is my understanding that, if Crown Hydro is allowed to build and operate a hydro-power plant that will divert water from St. Anthony Falls, there will be only a thin sheet of water--or even NO water at all--going over the Falls.
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