Durbin, Kirk Express Support of Quincy Appeal
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) supporting the City of Quincy’s appeal of the Commission’s decision to dismiss the a permit application for the hydroelectric power plant at Lock and Dam 21.
“We are writing to express our strong support for the City of Quincy’s (Illinois) proposed hydroprower project and to urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to grant their request for an expedited rehearing,” wrote Durbin and Kirk. “The City of Quincy intends to retain control of their project, in fact both Mississippi Hydropower and Great River are fully owned and controlled by the City of Quincy, and were formed, with encouragement from FERC, in order for the City to be able to access capital through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”
Last month, the FERC notified the City of Quincy that the license application and the preliminary permit application for the proposed hydroelectric power plant at Lock and Dam 21 had been dismissed. According to the FERC, the city, the hydropower corporation and Great River Hydropower LLC are barred from filing a preliminary permit or development applications for one year.
In a February 23 letter to the FERC, Durbin and Kirk argued that the permit application for hydropower plant was unfairly dismissed without discussion or notification. They urged the FERC to carefully review any appeal by the City of Quincy as to the facts surrounding the decision to dismiss the permit application.
[Text of the letter below]
March 24, 2011
The Honorable Jon Wellinghoff
Chairman
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20426
Dear Chairman Wellinghoff:
We are writing to express our strong support for the City of Quincy’s (Illinois) proposed hydroprower project and to urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to grant their request for an expedited rehearing.
On March 18th, the City of Quincy filed a Request for Expedited Rehearing relating to projects number 13637-001 and 13637-000. We support the city’s request and urge FERC to review their application as quickly as possible. In December 2006, the City received its first preliminary permit to study the feasibility of pursuing a hydropower project at Lock and Dam Number 21 on the Mississippi River. The preliminary permit expired on November 30, 2009. Shortly afterwards on December 2, 2009, the City filed a preliminary permit application for the project.
It is our understanding that on February 17, 2011, FERC determined that the City violated the municipal preference rule of the Federal Power Act. This preference was created to ensure that municipalities retain control of power projects. The City of Quincy intends to retain control of their project, in fact both Mississippi Hydropower and Great River are fully owned and controlled by the City of Quincy, and were formed, with encouragement from FERC, in order for the City to be able to access capital through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
We respectfully request your full and careful reconsideration of the City of Quincy’s request for an expedited rehearing of their hydropower permits, so that they can quickly resume this important energy project.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin Mark S. Kirk
United States Senator United States Senator
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