Trapper Creek Council becomes involved in Susitna Dam process

The Trapper Creek Community Council voted on Thursday night 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. Trapper Creek Community Council approved the measure, becoming the second Community Council in the area to do so. The Talkeetna Community Council agreed to file a Motion to Intervene at their last meeting on December 6^th.

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 29th. 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 January 16th.