Hydro-Electric Plant Proposed for Summit County Metropark
Aired July 21, 2005
Environmental groups and supporters of a Summit County Metropark say they're strongly opposed to a proposal to build a hydro-electric plant on the Cuyahoga River. The proposed plant would be constructed on an existing dam built in 1916 on the Cuyahoga between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. Opponents say the original hydro-electric plant, which was abandoned more than 50 years ago, never made much electricity. Nor would this new project. Preliminary permits filed by Advance Hydro Solutions of Akron call for less than 2.5 Megawatts of electricity a year, enough to power only about a thousand homes. ideastream's Karen Schaefer reports.
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In addition, Summit Parks Natural Resource director Mike Johnson says the project would wipe out four acres of old growth forest along the dam gorge. He says it would also spoil the natural beauty of the park and threaten a number of endangered species. Elaine Marsh, president of the Friends of the Crooked River, believes the new construction would dramatically increase pollution in the river and degrade water quality. She says billions of public dollars have been invested into cleaning up the Cuyahoga River, the poster child for the Clean Water Act. For that reason alone, Marsh believes, the project is not in the public interest.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has already filed comments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has sitting authority for the project. The EPA would rather see the dam removed, but officials say if the project is approved, no demolition could go forward for the life of the plant's license, generally a period of 50 years.
The first public hearings on environmental impacts from the Edison Gorge Dam project will be held Wednesday, July 27 in Cuyahoga Falls at the Sheraton Suites, 1989 Front St. in Cuyahoga Falls. A public tour of the proposed power plant project will be offered by Advanced Hydro Solutions July 26th at 1:30 p.m. at Gorge Metro Park, 1160 Front St. in Cuyahoga Falls.
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All Photos by Karen Schaefer
Mike Johnson, Chief of Natural Resources for the Summit County Metro Parks is flanked by Friends of the Parks president Christine Freitag (left) and Friends of the Crooked River president Elaine Marsh at a media conference at Gorge Metro Park in Cuyahoga Falls. All three strongly oppose the new proposal to build a hydro-electric power plant on Gorge Dam. Photo by Karen Schaefer
Edison Gorge Dam was built in 1916 to provide cooling for a coal-fired plant upstream and energy for a hydro-electric plant that was abandoned more than 50-years ago. The pipe and other structures on the far bank were constructed in 1998 as a demonstration project by a company that has since gone bankrupt. The proposal new plant would generate less than 2.5-Megawatts of power, enough to power only a thousand homes. Photo by Karen Schaefer
Both opponents of the project and the Ohio EPA would like to see the dam removed to improve water quality, as was accomplished recently by modifications to the Kent Dam. Currently, kayakers use the reaches of the river just below the dam, the best whitewater rapids on the Cuyahoga. Elaine Marsh believes removing the dam could result in a huge increase in whitewater tourism. Photo by Karen Schaefer
Historic photo of the falls in the gorge before the Edison Gorge Dam was built. Photo courtesy of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Archive
Historic photo of the falls in the gorge before the Edison Gorge Dam was built. Photo courtesy of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Archive
Historic photo of the falls in the gorge before the Edison Gorge Dam was built. Photo courtesy of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Archive
Historic photo of the falls in the gorge before the Edison Gorge Dam was built. Photo courtesy of Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Archive
