Council to file Motion to Intervene in Susitna Watana Dam project

The Talkeetna Community Council voted to file a motion to intervene in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s permitting process for the proposed Susitna-Watana Dam. The Motion to Intervene is a step that allows interested parties to become participants in the permitting process. Once filed, they will have the right to request rehearing of Commission orders and seek relief of final agency action sin the U. S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. The motion to intervene will also require the Alaska Energy Authority to provide the Council with regular progress updates.

The Susitna-Watana Dam project is in the pre-application phase, and the Alaska Energy Authority is expected to file the Preliminary Application Document on December 29^th. Once the Preliminary Application Document is filed, the process for collecting studies and developing plans for the dam enters a phase of rapid deadlines. Any interested parties must file motions to intervene prior to the December 29^th Preliminary Application Document filing.

After October’s advisory vote on the Susitna-Watana Dam showed the community was in opposition to the Dam, the Council agreed that filing a motion to intervene would be an appropriate step to register the interests of the residents of Talkeetna.