Petersburg Pilot

FERC allows Angoon to study

Ruth Lake hydro feasibility

Lisa Phu

November 12, 2009.

Last Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a preliminary permit to the City of Angoon to study the feasibility of a hydroelectric project at Ruth Lake, which is located on the mainland near Petersburg.

Petersburg Municipal Light and Power, the City and Borough of Wrangell, and Cascade Creek, LLC were the other entities competing for the permit. All applications to FERC, including Angoon’s, were filed online at the same time on February 3, according to FERC. On August 12, FERC conducted a random drawing of the applications claiming municipal preference – Angoon, Petersburg, and Wrangell – to establish priority in the event that FERC deemed none of the applications as better than the others. At that time, Angoon was drawn first, followed by Petersburg, and then Wrangell.

Despite objections from various entities regarding the tie-breaker process, potential hidden hybrids, as well as other concerns, FERC’s random drawing held up. According to the FERC order that issued the preliminary permit, “Since none of the applicants has presented a plan based on detailed studies, there is no basis for concluding that any one applicant’s plan would be superior to the plans of the others… Where equally adapted plans are presented by municipal applicants, the [FERC] issues the permit to the applicant with the earliest application acceptance date.”

By getting the preliminary permit, Angoon now preserves the right to have first priority in applying for a license to develop Ruth Lake. This is Angoon’s second preliminary permit. Their first was issued for Scenery Creek.

Petersburg mayor Al Dwyer says he was disappointed by the outcome. “I thought Petersburg was the most logical choice because we’re not tied into a private developer. We’re strictly a municipality,” he said.

What Dwyer is referring to is Angoon’s involvement with private company Cascade Creek, LLC. Petersburg was one of the entities that alleged to FERC that both Angoon’s and Wrangell’s applications constituted hidden hybrids, in which Cascade Creek, LLC is the undisclosed non-municipal interest. FERC did not investigate the allegation.

Albert Howard, mayor of Angoon, confirms that Angoon is still working with Cascade Creek. “The community of Angoon has been in such a bad way for so long that we were looking for opportunities. And [those at Cascade Creek, LLC] were the only ones that seemed to have an idea where we should go,” he said. “The whole thing was to benefit the community. That’s what I was put in place for and that’s what I intend to keep doing. And if we can do this right, I’m going to make sure everyone in Southeast benefits from this.”

Angoon currently pays around $.54/kw hour and the cost of diesel is expected to go up. For Mayor Howard, getting affordable energy for Angoon has always been his top priority, but he sees energy costs as being a regional issue for all of Southeast. “This is a regional problem; it’s not just our problem,” Mayor Howard said. “If we do this right and everybody is happy with the outcome, everyone is going to benefit. There is no reason to oppose these projects other than for personal reasons.”

But there are individuals who are unclear as to how developing Ruth Lake would aid Angoon. Senator Bert Stedman is one of them. He doesn’t think Angoon is a good fit for developing either Scenery Creek or Ruth Lake. “Angoon has Thayer Lake and that produces around 4 or 5 megawatts and Angoon needs about 1, so I’d like to work with Angoon to move Thayer Lake forward so they can get off their diesels and onto hydro. Clearly, Thomas Bay [where Scenery Creek and Ruth Lake are located] is too far, too big, and too complex,” the senator said during a recent visit to Wrangell. Stedman favors the joint development of Ruth Lake by Petersburg and Wrangell. “We’ll see over the next few months if Angoon really wants to slow down portions of the intertie or spend time building Thayer Lake. I hope at the end of the day they concentrate on Thayer and we can concentrate on moving forward with the scoping on Ruth Lake.”

When asked about Thayer Lake, Mayor Howard said, “That project solely belongs to our Native Corporation. It has nothing to do with the city. All we can do is seek support for it.”

Kootznoowoo, Inc. is the Native Corporation of Angoon, and they’ve been working towards developing Thayer Lake for several years to replace the city’s use of diesel generators. Since the proposed project falls in wilderness land, a Final Environmental Impact Statement was completed by the Forest Service February this year, and a Record of Decision was released in the spring. Kootznoowoo, Inc. can move forward with building the hydroelectric facility at Thayer Lake as long as they abide by certain terms and conditions laid out by the Forest Service, like burying the transmission line. Kootznoowoo, Inc. and other Angoon entities are actively seeking funding for the project.

According to Mayor Dwyer, the City of Petersburg has a resolution backing the development of Thayer Lake. “Of course they haven’t touched that, but here they are going to develop the Thomas Bay area. It kind of boggles my mind why that’s happening,” Dwyer said. Whether or not Petersburg plans on working with Angoon is currently unknown said Dwyer. “I don’t know. We haven’t had the chance to discuss it with all the players, like the superintendent of Power and Light, the city manager, and the other councilors.”

Wrangell Energy Committee member Paul Southland said he’s just excited FERC finally made a decision. “Now we know who has it, the next question, of course, is how it’s going to be developed and whether we’ll be able to do it cooperatively. Wrangell has already indicated an interest in cooperating with Angoon,” Southland said.

Mayor Howard said Angoon’s intention is to hopefully work with both Wrangell and Petersburg. “We’ve worked pretty closely with Wrangell and we have a good relationship with them. We’ve been in contact with them off and on,” he said. “The door’s always been open for Petersburg but they’re taking a different approach. At some point I’m hoping they’ll sit down and talk with us, and that way we make sure the project benefits them and it’s built the way they want it. The intention isn’t to come into their backyard and destroy everything. We just want to build a project.”