Ransom Twp. outlines concerns about proposed power plant – Scranton Times-Tribune

RANSOM TWP. — Officials will share their concerns with federal and state regulators about a proposed hydroelectric power facility that could affect the township.

In letters to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Supervisor Chairman David Bird outlines issues with Renewable Energy Aggregators’ plans to build two large reservoirs and a treatment/power plant facility on a 1,300-acre area in the township and Old Forge in Lackawanna County and Duryea in Luzerne County. The township supervisors agreed Monday to send both letters.

The correspondence expresses worries about the project’s impact on groundwater, township roads, infrastructure, the environment and wildlife. The letters also highlight officials’ concern that the project will be used to power a data center. They ask both agencies to inform the township of any permitting activity, scoping meetings, site visits and study plan developments.

The letter to the state DEP asks the agency to consider the concerns in connection with the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, Requirements, which holds data center developers accountable to strict standards. Gov. Josh Shapiro tightened the requirements with an executive order he signed in August. The letter asks the agency to determine if the project and any proposed or contemplated large-scale data center development in the surrounding region are “related, interconnected, or otherwise dependent upon one another for purposes of Commonwealth environmental, infrastructure, permitting, and cumulative-impact review.”

Officials also ask the agency to determine whether any data center development in the Old Forge and Ransom Twp. area has been disclosed to, discussed with or submitted to the state DEP; determine whether any such data center development is anticipated to rely upon, or is otherwise related to, the Old Forge Pumped Storage Project; identify any permits or approvals associated with such data center development or related energy infrastructure and coordinate the state’s review of related projects.

The developer, based in Pittston and Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, wants to build a lower reservoir along the Lackawanna River on the Old Forge/Duryea border and an upper reservoir in Ransom Twp. at an elevation of around 1,500 feet, connected by underground pipes.

In addition, Mudiita Land Venture LLC purchased land that would contain the Old Forge Pumped Storage Project’s upper reservoir, which water would be pumped into before flowing down the mountain into an underground powerhouse around Duryea and Old Forge.

Solicitor William Rinaldi said at the meeting Renewable Energy Aggregators sent a copy of its plans to the township and other municipalities affected by the project.

“They want FERC to prioritize health and safety of the residents,” he said.

The letters are the latest movement in growing opposition to the project, with residents worrying about its potential impact on the environment, the rural landscape and neighborhoods.

Resident Cheryl Macheska, who is part of the Lower Lackawanna Valley Citizens Alliance, which aims to protect communities from large-scale development, expressed concern during Monday’s supervisors meeting about the potential waste that could come from the site if the plans are approved.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” she said. “We all know water flows downhill.”

Old Forge resident Jessica Dennis collected signatures following Monday’s meeting for a petition asking FERC to consider the impacts the project has on residents of the affected municipalities.

“All these communities have the potential to be affected,” Dennis said. “We don’t want to see the unnecessary and irresponsible demolition of our beautiful countryside.”

She said she worries the project will worsen water issues for borough residents and that local firefighters won’t be able to properly respond to a fire at a power plant or data center.

“We don’t wanna see all this deforestation uphill … and the loss of all the ability of the trees to absorb water,” Dennis, who moved to the borough’s Austin Heights neighborhood last year, said.

Old Forge resident James Cianci, the alliance’s chair, commended Ransom Twp. officials for sending the letters, saying they echo many of their concerns about the project. He hopes Old Forge and Duryea officials take similar steps with addressing the project.

“It does a really good job of outlining exactly what they expect of the FERC and of the applicant,” Cianci said. “Not only does it address the concerns, but in many ways it asks for the appropriate … legwork to be done by the FERC and the applicant.”