TRR photo by Krista Gromalski Patrice Rouet secured son Davy's lifejacket as the two prepared for their nine-mile journey down the Lackawaxen River as volunteers for the flow survey portion of PPL's hydroelectric station relicensing process. (Click for larger image)

PPL seeks renewal of Wallenpaupack license

By KRISTA GROMALSKI

LACKAWAXEN TOWNSHIP - The old rule that water and electricity don't mix was broken last weekend as volunteers in canoes, kayaks and rafts hit the Lackawaxen River to assist the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PPL) with their $1.5-to-$2 million relicensing project for their hydroelectric station at Lake Wallenpaupack.

The initial license, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), was valid for 50 years and will expire in 2004. The license PPL seeks could last from 30 to 50 years, according to Gary Petrewski, PPL's project manager for relicensing. "The project will be paid for by PPL stock holders," he said.

The group of more than 30 dedicated boaters was part of the survey portion of the Instream Flow comparison study on the river, which stems from the lake.

The volunteers spent a few hours last Friday and Saturday mornings floating a nine-mile section of the Lackawaxen from Threshman River Rides and Watercraft Access Facility to the Zane Grey Access, according to Bruce DiGennaro, senior planner for Kleinschmidt Associates, the private environmental and engineering consulting firm hired by PPL to conduct a number of the relicensing studies.

The flow study, said DiGennaro, will assess how different water levels might influence boating with regard to "both the navigability of the river and also the recreational experience."

The surveys will continue on Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16.

"The thing that interested me was to show support for getting better access to the river," said volunteer canoeist Tim Garrizen. "It's a gorgeous river for paddling but public access has been a problem in the past few years."

Kleinschmidt hopes to put the same group of people on the river at each flow to compare across different levels, said DiGennaro.

"We are controlling the flows, so we have a known quantity of water," he said. "When they get off the river we ask them to fill out the survey."

PPL's relicensing process began two years ago, according to Tim Oakes of Kleinschmidt. "It is an alternative process where you try to involve everybody with a stake in the river, identify the issues that people have concerns about and then try to understand those issues better and come up with a new operating regime for the plant that everybody likes."

The completed application for relicensing is due to FERC by 2002, Petrewski said. Other studies in the process include lake levels, boating noise levels and angling.

Lander's River Trips provided rafts for volunteers.