Environmental groups challenges permit for energy project on Susquehanna River

December 20, 2024

A coalition of environmental groups is asking a federal regulator to reconsider its decision to grant a permit to a controversial hydroelectric project that would use water from the Susquehanna River.

The Lancaster Conservancy, Susquehanna National Heritage Area, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, Farm & Natural Lands Trust of York County, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation filed a petition Thursday for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reverse its November order to grant a preliminary permit to York Energy Storage for its Cuffs Run pumped storage project.

The groups claim FERC made 11 errors in its decision, including that the commission refused to consider the impacts of the project on the natural environment and the people who would be displaced. The agency has 30 days to respond to the petition.

“This petition for rehearing is the next step in our firm commitment to fight this destructive project that would harm our Susquehanna Riverlands and our community,” said Fritz Schroeder, Lancaster Conservancy’s president and CEO.

READ: Federal regulator gives initial approval to contested hydroelectric project on Susquehanna River

The project proposes a $2.5 billion dam and power turbine facility. The hydroelectric project would draw water from the Susquehanna River to flood 580 acres in Chanceford Township, York County, just across the river from Manor Township in Lancaster County. The reservoir would act as a battery; water could be released to spin the turbines and create electricity when power is needed on the grid.

York Energy Storage has said the project is meant to boost energy reliability in the future as the electric grid relies more on intermittent renewable sources of electricity such as wind and solar.

FERC approved a preliminary permit for the Cuffs Run project on a unanimous vote.

The permit does not allow construction, but essentially holds a company’s spot in line for applying for a license to build and operate an energy project. A preliminary permit is good for up to four years, during which time the permittee studies the site and prepares to apply for a license.

READ: Environmental groups file legal protest against $2.5B hydroelectric project on Susquehanna River

The environmental groups say the proposed facility would displace more than 40 residents and destroy preserved farms. They say it would also be detrimental to forested lands that are critical to ensuring the health of the Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape and waterways.

The project would also affect recreation, impacting a section of the Mason-Dixon Trail in York County, the viewshed from the Enola Low Grade Trail in Lancaster County, and the lower section of the Susquehanna River Water Trail.

“This is a phenomenal natural area, and this facility is the wrong project, in the wrong place, at the wrong time,” said Paul Smail, vice president for litigation and general counsel at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The coalition noted the Cuffs Run project has been proposed multiple times since the 1990s and has been granted several preliminary permits, but has yet to be built.

Republican lawmakers that represent Lancaster County, including state House Rep. Bryan Cutler and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, have pledged to oppose the Cuffs Run project.