Today, the city Council will vote on going forward with an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a preliminary power plan permit for Falls Lake Dam. If the FERC issues the permit the city would begin to study and evaluate development of such a dam as a City of Raleigh project.
If FERC issues the City a preliminary permit, the City will have up to three years to complete the necessary follow-up work to move such a project forward to final FERC approval. The City would determine the hydroelectric energy power plant operating schedule/regime and would do so only within the current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Operational Plan for water releases from Falls Lake Dam, so that there would be no adverse effect on water quality in the Lake or downstream from the dam in the Neuse River, nor would the water supply pool capacity be adversely affected.
The city is applying for this in reaction to a similar application by a private entity.
Update: Council Approves this application going forward.
Welcome to New Raleigh. We welcome your participation in the ongoing discussion. Before posting we ask that you read our Comment Policy and we invite you to register with our site. If you want to keep up with the news on our blog, subscribe to the RSS feed or get emailed every time we post.