Star Tribune: Minneapolis hydroelectric project extended anew
September 23, 2004: With stern warnings that it probably won't happen again, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted owners of a controversial hydroelectric project a 45-day extension to get their power plant along the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis going.
Owners of privately held Crown Hydro have until Oct. 26 to pursue one of the four options they've laid out to realize a project that's been 30-plus years in the making. But project leaders are exactly where they were last month as their previous deadline approached: They have no idea what they're going to do.
"Our plan is not to quit," Crown Hydro president Tom Griffin said. "Beyond that, I don't know."
Project leaders want to build an underground hydroelectric power plant along the Mississippi near St. Anthony Falls. The plant would generate enough electricity to serve 2,700 households.
The project leaders set their hearts on leasing the old Cataract Mill site, but in a narrow defeat, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted months ago to deny them the land.
Crown Hydro then asked the federal commission for a 90-day extension to allow for exploration of four options, including taking the Park Board land through eminent domain. When the Sept. 11 deadline passed and Crown Hydro leaders hadn't settled on a course, they applied for another extension -- their fourth.
A Sept. 17 letter from the commission to Crown Hydro leaders said a fifth extension would be granted only if the leaders can provide legal documentation of their ability to exercise eminent domain, which would entail taking the Cataract Mill site without Park Board approval, or evidence of negotiations with the Park Board. The commission could put a stop to the project if it feels satisfactory progress is not being made.
Park commissioners have said they don't foresee the board changing its stance on the project.
Chao Xiong