Crown Hydro Update for Friday April 29 - NoCrownHydro.org #NoCrownHydro

Mill City Times launched this blog and a Facebook page covering the proposed crown Hydro project, which has once again surfaced over the almost unanimous opposition of elected officials representing Minneapolis as well as river lovers and local residents.

Nick Halter from The Journal broke the story on April 6 with this posting on Twitter -

Whoa! Crown Hydro makes offer to Mpls Park Board to build hydro electric dam at St. Anthony Falls. This is a long, contentious project

Seems the developer ambushed the Park Board with this.

Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman was the first from that body to come out strong against this ill-conceived project -

“It is simply outrageous that the Legislature would even attempt to override the decisions of local government, in this case the Park Board, and compel both the sale of public land and the planning approvals required for a private developer for their private development”

Thank you Council Member!

Coverage since the story broke:

http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&story=16712&page=65

http://www.mndaily.com/2011/04/14/leg-pushes-hydroelectric-plant

http://www.fmr.org/news/current/crown_hydro_project-2011-04

http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&story=16774&page=65

http://www.startribune.com/local/120660474.html

Twitter coverage since the story broke:

From @Nick Halter

The "bipartisan" Crown Hydro bill is losing its DFL support. Reps. Nelson, Persell, Koenen and Sens. Metzen and Stumpf no longer authors

Fight over St. Anthony Falls hydroelectric facility flows to the Legislature: http://tinyurl.com/3c6p2z8

Mpls Park Board discussing Crown Hydro proposal Wed. night: http://tinyurl.com/3w48dly

Here's the bill http://tinyurl.com/3w9canp. It has 26 authors, both GOP and DFL. None of them are Mpls legislators.

Crown Hydro wants to build hydroelectric facility at St. Anthony Falls. Park Board commissioners say facility will dry up historic falls

Rep. Beard introduces bill that would cut state aid to Mpls Park Board if the board doesn't give permits to Crown Hydro

Crown Hydro makes another offer to build hydroelectric facility at St. Anthony Falls, this time for much less: http://tinyurl.com/5safryc

Whoa! Crown Hydro makes offer to Mpls Park Board to build hydro electric dam at St. Anthony Falls. This is a long, contentious project

From @garyncarlson

Banaian fiscal note/legislative budget office-light bill laid over. Gov Ops moves to the Crown Hydro bill.

Beard offers amendment to Crown Hydro bill to eliminate references to specific cities & private entities to avoid constitutional problems.

Brian Rice tells committee that the more general Crown Hydro language applies to four Minneapolis hydro facilities.

Craig Johnson-LMC raises concerns on Crown Hydro amendment applying to four first class cities.

Beard says he is encouraged that the Park Board and Crown Hydro are discussing the project.

Scalze raises concerns about local control & possible future efforts by developers to seek similar legislative preemptions of local control.

Greene amendment to require local approval of Crowne Hydro project defeated 6-7.

Greene amendment to Crowne Hydro bill to remove all local control defeated 0-13.

Simon moves to table the Crowne Hydro bill to allow negotiations to continue. Motion fails 6-7.

Beard amendment to the Crowne Hydro bill adopted 7-6. Citizen testifies in opposition to the bill because it usurps local control.

Amended Crowne Hydro bill approved on a 7-6 vote and sent to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Join us on Facebook to voice your opposition, share your opinion, and post any links or information on this topic.  We've set up an easy web address to our Facebook page - http://NoCrownHydro.org and the blog address is http://millcitytimes.com/minneapolis-riverfront-news/ in case you want to share.

We'd love to hear from anyone who'd like to help organize opposition to this taking of parkland.

Crown Hydro Power Project Gains Traction #NoCrownHydro

From the Star Tribune:

A bill in the Legislature would leapfrog the Minneapolis Park Board's authority over the much-debated project.

Those with objections and concerns are back, too: neighborhood residents, environmentalists, the Minneapolis City Council, the National Park Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Historical Society, the state archaeologist, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Park Board, which owns the land and has rejected the idea repeatedly.

Read the full article...

Visit the No Crown Hydro Fan Page on Facebook and give us a "Like" to show your support!

Fight over St. Anthony Power Flows to the Legislature from @NHalterJournals #NoCrownHydro

From Nick Halter at The Journal on April 25:

The future of St. Anthony Falls — which is really a concrete spillway — is in the midst of a 12-year battle that has now reached the state Legislature and sparked a debate about authority of local land. 

Crown Hydro has been trying since the late 1990s to build a hydroelectric facility on the west bank of the river, just above the falls. By installing turbines 40 feet below Mill Ruins Park, the company says it can produce 3.2 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity to power 2,200 homes. 

But the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board owns that land, and, knowing it is the last defense against construction, has refused to lease the property to Crown Hydro. Park Board officials say they’re worried that the turbines will divert water from the falls, drying up the spillway and turning a historic icon into a wet slab of concrete.

Read the full article...

Visit the No Crown Hydro Fan Page on Facebook and give us a "Like" to show your support!

Crown Hydro at it Again — Legislature May Force Hydroelectric Plant on Minneapolis from @FriendsMissRiv #NoCrownHydro

From Irene Jones at FMR on April 20:

Crown Hydro is at it again.

The group proposing a hydroelectric facility in Mill Ruins Park is at the legislature again trying to make an end-run around the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Bills introduced this month in the House and Senate (House File 1440 and Senate File 1191) would effectively force the Park Board to sign a lease agreement with Crown Hydro to build their hydroelectric plant on public parkland. That is, assuming the proposed legislation is not unconstitutional, a concern raised by some legislators and advocates. 

Read the full article...

Visit the No Crown Hydro Fan Page on Facebook and give us a "Like" to show your support!

Legislature Pushes Hydroelectric Plant from @mndaily #NoCrownHydro

From John Hageman at mndaily on April 14:

A long-denied hydroelectric plant near St. Anthony Falls could finally become reality, and critics are up in arms.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has denied the construction of a hydroelectric plant in the area for years, fearing its impact on the historic falls. Crown Hydro, LLC has explored several avenues to convince the park board to allow construction, and so far none has been fruitful.

But a bill authored by Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee, and a group of 25 bipartisan legislators directs the park board to authorize an agreement with the company. It also allows the board to collect a royalty of up to 4 percent of annual electrical production revenues.

Discussion of the bill at Wednesday night’s Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee hearing quickly turned to questions of state government’s role in local matters.

Read the full article...

Visit the No Crown Hydro Fan Page on Facebook and give us a "Like" to show your support!

Crown Hydro Makes Another Offer to Park Board from @NHalterJournals #NoCrownHydro

We're kicking off coverage of the Crown Hydro project.  Visit the No Crown Hydro Fan Page on Facebook and give us a "Like" to show your support!

From Nick Halter at The Journal on April 7:

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board commissioners were greeted at their meeting Wednesday with a surprise: An offer from Crown Hydro to develop a hydroelectric facility on park land next to St. Anthony Falls. 

The offer was not the first from Crown Hydro, but it was substantially less than its previous offer in 2007, which the Park Board voted against pursuing. 

But Crown Hydro may have some added bargaining power this time around. The company’s attorney, Tim Keane, told the Park Board that he is working with state legislators and the governor’s office on a bill that would sidestep the Park Board and allow Crown Hydro to build the dam. 

“It basically directs the Park Board to issue the authorization,” he said in an interview after the meeting.

Many Park Board commissioners are vehemently opposed to the 3.2 megawatt facility, saying it will reduce Upper St. Anthony Falls to a trickle.

Read the full article...

Community Clean Ups: Streets Lead to the River

From River Talk:

The project was to clean organic materials, leaves, grass clippings, etc. out of gutters along one of the streets that leads from campus to the river.  As the Freshwater Society explains in its "Community Clean-Up" Program, five bags of leaves and organic debris can contain as much as a pound of phosphorus, a nutrient that can feed 1,000 pounds of algae.  The algae, besides leading directly to eutrophication of local waterways,  contribute to the Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone."

Read the full article...

St. Anthony Falls Locks & Dams Open to All Traffic

From MPR:

The locks on the Mississippi River through the Twin Cities have been opened to all navigation traffic.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Twin Cities spokesman Mark Davidson said the water flow in the river has fallen from a peak of more than 40,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) earlier in April to just under 30,000.

Read the full article...

Eagles Continue to Thrive on the River

From Star Tribune:

It wasn't so long ago that seeing a bald eagle was a rare treat in the Twin Cities. Not anymore.

An annual survey this month counted about 200 of the majestic birds along the Mississippi River from Dayton to Hastings. The 72-mile stretch added six new nests this spring, for a total of 41. It's another step forward in the dramatic comeback of the bald eagle, which was on the federal endangered species list from 1967 to 2007.

Read the full article...

27-pound Bighead Caught in the St. Croix River

From the Star Tribune:

It's an ugly brute with a gaping mouth and eyes that hang low on its face. Someday soon, with two of its equally odious cousins, it could take over Minnesota's rivers and lakes, squeezing out native species. Unless somebody stops them.

That's why the arrival of a 27-pound bighead carp in the St. Croix River on Monday triggered alarm among Department of Natural Resources officials, who fear the invasive carp could damage Minnesota's aquatic ecosystems and threaten its treasured walleyes and sunnies.

Read the full article...