Dam project moves ahead

MAT-SU — The state agency planning a massive hydroelectric project on the Susitna River has taken an early, but vital, step toward getting a federal license.

The Alaska Energy Authority on Oct. 27 filed a preliminary permit application for the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The project would be located within the Mat-Su Borough in a remote area about 50 miles northeast of Talkeetna. It consists of a 700-foot dam and reservoir up to two miles wide and 39 miles long. Costing at least $4.5 billion and perhaps much more, the project is expected to take more than 10 years to plan, permit and build.

State lawmakers have authorized spending nearly $66 million to advance the project.

The preliminary permit, which lasts three years if granted, would give AEA priority when it comes to applying for a federal hydro license.

“It just kind of announces, ‘Hey, we’re here and we intend on moving forward,’” said Emily Ford, the authority’s public outreach liaison.

FERC staffers are reviewing the AEA application now, said Tamara Young-Allen, a FERC spokesperson in Washington, D.C. The agency will issue a notice to the public to make sure there isn’t some other developer that wants a preliminary permit, too, Young-Allen said. The notice will also ask if there are “prohibitions for development in a particular area,” s he said.

Public interest is high. Voters in October told the Talkeetna Community Council they oppose dam construction by a vote of 109 to 19, according to a report from KTNA. Residents in Talkeetna and Trapper Creek said they fear the environmental effect of the dam, and also the risk of earthquake.

The Susitna’s salmon runs fuel some of the state’s most popular sport fisheries, such as those on the Deshka and River. Critics say water flow and habitat changes wrought by the dam will hurt salmon runs.

Supporters say the project will provide a stable, affordable source of electricity for the Railbelt, as well as rural communities. The authority estimates the project could supply half of the Railbelt’s current energy needs for more than 100 years and that construction would provide jobs.

The public will gets its first look at the current state of the Susitna-Watana project on Dec. 29 when the authority expects to submit a much heftier filing called a pre-application document, Ford said.

Along with studies on salmon, researchers will examine how loads of sediment from the upper river could fill up the reservoir, reducing the life of the project, according to documents available at the authority’s website. Studies will also examine the impact of the reservoir on moose and other wildlife.

The state spent several years and $145 million in the late 1970s and early 1980s on a Susitna hydroelectric project before scrapping it in 1986 due to financing difficulties and the low cost of natural gas-fired electricity.

Today, natural gas supplies are scarce, though a Texas-based petroleum company last week announced what it calls the biggest Cook Inlet gas discovery in 25 years. A natural gas pipeline from the North Slope could also boost local energy supplies.

Ford said a large-scale hydro project is the only way to meet a 2010 state directive to supply half the Railbelt’s electrical needs through renewable energy by 2025.

The AEA held a series of town hall meetings on the project this year. The authority meets regularly with “stakeholders” in the process such as resource agencies.

Mat-Su borough government is listed as an “interested party” in the process rather than a stakeholder, Ford said.

The authority will hold a public meeting Nov. 14 in Cantwell. The public can also attend technical work group meetings scheduled for the week of Dec. 5.

For more information, visit susitna-watanahydro.org/.