News Release

                           For Immediate Release

Contact:  Jim Cooper, Key Accounts & Marketing Mgr., Traverse City Light & Power

               Phone: (231) 932-4560 or E-mail: jcooper@tclp.org

Contact:  Phil Callighan, Sr. Account Executive, Knorr Marketing

   Phone: (231) 947-9707, ext. 207; Mobile: (231) 342-7590

               or E-mail: philc@knorrmarketing.com

Surrender of Licenses for Dams Approved by FERC

30 Days to File Schedule for Decommissioning Boardman River Dams

(Traverse City, Michigan) — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the surrender of the licenses held by Traverse City Light & Power (L&P) for generating hydroelectric power on the Brown Bridge, Boardman and Sabin Dams. FERC requested L&P to file a plan and schedule for decommissioning the generating equipment at the dams within 30 days. FERC also instructed L&P to take any remedial actions necessary for the project dams to meet MDEQ-DSO (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality—Dam Safety Officer) dam safety requirements within 30 days.

            Within 30 days of decommissioning the dams, L&P will then file a final report, with photographs, to demonstrate that the projects’ facilities have been decommissioned according to the approved plan.        

            “Thanks to the signing of a settlement agreement by members of the Boardman River Dams Committee, the application for surrender of these licenses went smoothly,” said Linda Johnson, chairman of the Traverse City Light and Power Board. “That committee will also take a lead role in moving forward and helping us achieve the steps requested by FERC.”

            L&P filed to surrender the licenses of the dams because it was no longer economically feasible to operate the dams, especially with a requirement by FERC to install emergency spillways at the Brown Bridge dam. L&P filed to remove the hydroelectric generating equipment and transfer the properties to the owners (Grand Traverse County and the City of Traverse City), while leaving the dams in place. The owners will determine whether the dams will remain in place or will be removed.

The Boardman River Dams Committee (www.theboardman.org) was formed to facilitate public participation in making decisions about the fate of the dams.

Traverse City Light & Power (www.tclp.org) is a community-owned, community- focused municipal utility that offers energy at low rates in the region to over 10,000 customers in Traverse City, and parts of Blair, East Bay, Elmwood, Garfield, Peninsula and Paradise townships. 

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