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Ongoing Legal Challenges Threaten The Quiet Waters Of Green River Reservoir

A photo showing a view of a leaf underwater and trees above water
Elodie Reed
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VPR File
The state and the Morrisville Water and Light utility are in dispute over how the water level is managed at Hyde Park's Green River Reservoir, and the utility has threatened to remove the reservoir's dam, which would drain it.

Northern Vermont's Green River Reservoir is a haven for wildlife and quiet water enthusiasts. It's also under threat because of a long-running dispute over how the water level is managed.

The reservoir and state park in Lamoille County is one of Vermont’s most treasured public waters. Engines are not allowed, so the 653-acre reservoir is popular with paddlers and campers. Several pairs of loons make the reservoir home, and their calls add to the remote, wilderness feel of the place.

But the future of this quiet water is in the hands of a small electric utility that controls the reservoir with its dam on the Green River. The utility, Morrisville Water and Light, has threatened to drain the reservoir unless it can run the dam the way it wants.

"No motor boats, one point of access... Also, it's very rare to find a lake in Vermont that doesn't have houses all over it. This one doesn't. That's the special thing about it." — Jan Lewandowski, quiet water enthusiast

On an overcast, late fall day, Jim and Doreen Noyes headed out to enjoy their 59th canoe excursion this year on the Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park.

“It is our go-to place when we need the quiet, the relaxation and the serenity,” Jim said.

A loon in water
Credit Abagael Giles / VPR
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VPR
A loon on the Green River Reservoir which, despite being man-made, feels like a remote wilderness lake.

Jan Lewandowski of Stannard is another longtime visitor. He’s been paddling and camping here for more than 40 years. Lewandowski listed what makes the place unique:

"No motor boats, one point of access. In general it’s very quiet," he said. "Also, it’s very rare to find a lake in Vermont that doesn’t have houses all over it. This one doesn’t. That’s the special thing about it.”

The reservoir is indeed a special place. Even though it’s man-made, it feels like a remote, wilderness lake. Moose, loons and bear are frequently seen. A bald eagle soared into the air right in front of me when I drove in the other week.

The public clearly loves the place. Head Ranger Ross Bryant said the park saw a record 16,000 visitors this year.

“Next year, if you look at advance reservations, it’s pretty much going to be the same,” he said. “We are 57% reserved [for campsites] for the entire season next year.”

Yet the reservoir’s quiet waters don’t tell you anything about its contentious legal history – and the continuing threats it faces.

Quiet water with a wooded hill in the background
Credit Abagael Giles / VPR
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VPR
The Green River Reservoir is very popular for camping.

To understand what’s going on, you have to remember that a dam on the Green River created the reservoir in 1947. Although initially built for flood control, a generator was installed in 1984. Like most power dams, this one comes up for a new federal license every 30 or 40 years.

In Vermont and around the country, the dam relicensing process has provided a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reduce the damage dams inflict on rivers and the natural environment. In general, less water in the river means less space for fish to live and spawn.

Most power dams are licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). But the federal Clean Water Act also requires a new water quality certificate for the FERC license. So in this case, the Agency of Natural Resources has insisted on higher flows in the Green River in its water quality review.

With the reservoir, the state agency also wants to limit how much water can be removed in the winter. The utility wants a 10-foot drawdown, but the state says that leaves too much lakeshore habitat – including fish spawning and feeding areas – high, dry and frozen during a critical time.

"Unfortunately, the water quality certification conditions mandated by ANR, they put the dam, and the dam's future at risk." — Penny Jones, Morrisville Water and Light general manager

Penny Jones, the general manager for the Morrisville utility, said the state’s flow conditions for operating the dam and power generator are no longer financially feasible.

“Unfortunately, the water quality certification conditions mandated by ANR, they put the dam and the dam’s future at risk,” she said.

More from VPR: Utility Warns Of Impacts After Court Protects Water Quality Over Power Resources

Jones added that the power generated by the winter drawdown is a major boon for the utility's 4,000 ratepayers. That’s because the hometown energy is produced at times of peak demand – when electricity is very expensive. Without the drawdown, fewer kilowatt hours would be generated locally, and the utility would have to buy electricity on the wholesale market.

“It is not financially possible for Morrisville Water and Light, which is a not-for-profit utility, municipal utility, to operate the dam under the constraints of ANR’s mandate,” Jones said.

A dam with water pouring over
Credit Abagael Giles / VPR
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VPR
The dam along the Green River in Hyde Park.

And if it’s not financially possible to operate the dam, the utility has threatened to take it down, which would drain the reservoir.

“At this point in time, all options are still on the table,” Jones said.

The Morrisville utility fought the ANR's water quality conditions all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court, where it lost last November. Morrisville Water and Light lost again in August when a lower court issued a final ruling on the flow conditions.

But the legal battle is not yet over. The utility has now asked FERC to overturn the state’s water quality permit. A decision is expected by the end of the year.

“We’re hoping that if that waiver petition [to FERC] is successful, we will be able to continue to operate the Green River Reservoir dam as we have for years,” Jones said.

A sign reading danger water level subject to change without notice
Credit Abagael Giles / VPR
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VPR
Morrisville Water and Light oversees the dam that creates the Green River Reservoir, and it says if the state doesn't change its requirement to reduce the reservoir drawdown in the wintertime, the utility may have to remove the dam.

The utility's argument to FERC essentially boils down to a claim that the state waived its authority for the water quality review because it took too long to issue the permit required by the Clean Water Act.

The state says that argument is plain wrong because the utility itself is responsible for the delay.

“Morrisville actively engaged in discussion and information exchange with ANR regarding the [water quality certificate] application, including submitting new proposals and twice voluntarily withdrawing its applications,” the state said in its response.

Meanwhile, Morrisville Water and Light has hired a Montpelier public relations and lobbying firm to make its case.

"There is no quick exit, no 'easy' button, regardless of the decision that gets made, and I think it is important that we continue to dialog about paths forward." — Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore

For the people who love the place, the lobbying and the legal wrangling have gone on long enough. Sally Laughlin heads the nonprofit Friends of the Green River Reservoir.

A woman stands on the shore of a reservoir
Credit John Dillon / VPR
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VPR
Sally Laughlin is president of Friends of the Green River Reservoir. She first explored the place in the 1970s while conducting the state's first loon survey.

“Friends of Green River wants to work with everybody involved in this to come up with a permanent solution, whichever way that [FERC] case goes,” Laughlin said. “We just need to have a permanent solution so that there’s no possibility that the reservoir would be drained sometime in the distant future. It’s just such a treasure for the state.”

Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said she’d like to settle the issue also. But any substantive negotiations will probably not happen, she added, until the utility exhausts its legal challenges.

Morrisville Water and Light wants the state to consider the economic benefits of the dam in its water quality certificate. But Moore said the federal Clean Water Act is clear that only environmental issues – not the utility’s finances – can be considered.

“And so far, we haven’t really gotten to the point where we can agree that’s a guiding principle, and so it makes moving beyond that point in the conversation really hard,” she said.

As for the utility’s threat to take out the dam and drain the reservoir? Moore said that would be expensive for ratepayers and also requires federal and state review.

“There is no quick exit, no 'easy' button, regardless of the decision that gets made," she said. "And I think it is important that we continue to dialog about paths forward."

Two people paddle in a canoe
Credit Abagael Giles / VPR
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VPR
The Green River Reservoir is beloved by many people seeking its quiet waters and wildlife.

Back at the reservoir, Doreen and Jim Noyes say they’re optimistic about the future of the place.

“Well, we’re very concerned," Jim said. "But we’re also very certain that things will turn out OK, and the reservoir will be here for a long, long time."

Doreen added: “We would be lost without it.”

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or get in touch with reporter John Dillon @VPRDillon

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John worked for VPR in 2001-2021 as reporter and News Director. Previously, John was a staff writer for the Sunday Times Argus and the Sunday Rutland Herald, responsible for breaking stories and in-depth features on local issues. He has also served as Communications Director for the Vermont Health Care Authority and Bureau Chief for UPI in Montpelier.
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