PPL Corporation has reached a cooperative agreement with local residents, community groups, state and federal resource agencies and private interest groups that will ensure a

balance among the many uses of Lake Wallenpaupack for the next 40 years.

The settlement agreement is part of the relicensing process for the Wallenpaupack hydroelectric project near Hawley, Pa.

PPL's license to operate the Wallenpaupack hydroelectric generating project expires this year. As part of the settlement agreement, PPL is asking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to renew its operating license through 2044.

In return, PPL has agreed to enhance the trout fishery along a six-mile section of the Lackawaxen River downstream of the project at an expected operating cost of about $8 million. The company also will fund more than $2.5 million in various environmental and water monitoring studies to be conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. National Park Service and the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District.

In addition, PPL will make shoreline fishing improvements at various sites to allow access by people with disabilities, fund a total of $440,000 of recreational fishing and boating enhancements through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and provide $150,000 for habitat restoration projects in the Upper Delaware River Basin.

The company also will restrict generation during trout season, initiate whitewater boating releases, construct a trail from the Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center to the wetlands area below the dam and develop related educational programs, as well as provide support to the Lake Wallenpaupack Recreation Council and to Palmyra Township's beach facilities.

FERC is expected to act on the application in September.

NewsClip: Lake Wallenpaupack Agreement Benefits Community, Environment

7/16/2004