Intervenor status is a rare privilege. As approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it allows people, towns or groups to take part directly in federal licensing proceedings.
Readers with long memories have heard this term before.
It seems like only yesterday (but it was 2015) that Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. applied to FERC for its Northeast Energy Direct project, which would have cut across eight Franklin County towns with a natural gas pipeline and compressor station. All eight towns plus their elected legislators applied for intervenor status. TGP objected, saying that the towns were not “substantially and specifically affected by the proceeding.” FERC concurred and only Montague won intervenor status. The reasoning FERC gave was that only Montague had natural gas customers, as if having one’s town torn up was not reason enough. As it turned out, the pipeline project got shelved, but the lesson was learned: Intervenor status is hard won and valuable.
Fast forward to 2019 and FirstLight Hydro Generating Co., with three power-generating facilities on the Connecticut River, is closing in on a multi-year-long process of renewing its license with FERC.
Thanks to the assistance of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, itself an intervenor, three towns have won intervenor status: Northfield, Montague and Gill – over the objections of FirstLight, which trotted out the by-now-familiar argument that the towns and local groups do not have a real concern in the proceedings. This time, FERC disagreed, and granted the intervention requests, arguing that the towns and groups do have an interest in FirstLight’s proposed restructuring because of its potential impact on the Connecticut River. Those impacts include riverbank erosion, protecting the spawning site of endangered shortnosed sturgeon, protecting fish from being sucked up by the Northfield Mountain Pump Storage Station and the effects of year-round pumping, among other issues.
On July 24, the Greenfield Recorder reported that federal regulators are allowing FirstLight to restructure itself into multiple smaller companies, a process that President John Shue described as “purely a corporate paper transaction” to suit different business models. Advocacy groups, however, tend to see the locations as being interconnected. “Their operations affect each other, and therefore their profits would be linked to each other,” said Andrea Donlon, a steward for the Connecticut River Conservancy, also an intervenor. If federal regulators recognize the two locations as two separate, smaller businesses, would each one then be liable only for its own portion of the river? If so, and if one location were more profitable than the other, would the less profitable be less liable for river health?
As intervenors, the towns of Northfield, Gill and Montague have the legal standing to appeal this decision, but so far have not made any move to do so. Northfield Selectboard Chairman Alex Meisner said that the town is watching the situation, but does not yet have any reason to be concerned. The Gill Selectboard was wary of the restructuring, but unsure of whether legal action would be worth the cost. Montague Selectboard Chairman Rich Kuklewicz said, “Their (FirstLight’s) explanation seems somewhat plausible.”
Intervenors have the right to require legal depositions to seek documents, testimony and other undisclosed evidence from FirstLight. Intervenors can attend meetings. Intervenors have the right to argue their case before the regulatory panel.
Back in early 2016, then-Northfield Selectwoman Julia Blyth explained the importance of being an intervenor this way: “This gets our foot in the door if we want to take legal action. It puts out a strong message that we care and we’re paying attention.” When only Montague got intervenor status in the gas pipeline project, other towns offered to help Montague pay its attorney fees.
So now three towns — Northfield and Gill and Montague — are among the 11 entities granted the coveted intervenor status in the license renewal of FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. Let’s take a cue from the past and show that we’re paying attention: Hire a lawyer. Maybe join forces and hire one lawyer. But let’s make the most of this opportunity.