Newly-elected New Cumberland Mayor Will White will get to see a project that was 30 years in the making become a reality during his second term of office. White reported that last week he attended a meeting of Mayors, officials from Current Hydro and FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in Toronto. The purpose of the meeting was to become up to date on the hydroelectric project slated to begin construction next year and make sure there was no opposition to the plant. And, to let everyone know the plant is a “go.”
That was reinforced Friday, when officials from Current Hydro came into the New Cumberland City Building to purchase a building permit for the $120 million project. The City realized $625,000.00 from the building permit, according to White.
According to Current Hydro, the project is an ambitious initiative on the Ohio River at the existing New Cumberland Lock & Dam. The purpose of the project is to utilize existing infrastructure to generate carbon free electricity for the community in an environmentally sustainable manner that will enhance the local economy and community well-being. The 19.9 MW facility will generate on average 132,000 MWh of carbon free energy annually, enough to power over 12,000 homes.
The New Cumberland Hydroelectric Project will provide numerous economic benefits to the Hancock County community across the full life of the project through job creation, local business support and tax revenue according to promotional materials released by Current Hydro.
White said the Current Hydro officials at the meeting told him the construction of the plant will generate about 200 jobs over a two-year period. Those jobs will be spaced out as varied skills are needed, but White said they will be a boon to the community during that time period.
When the plant is operable the job gain will be in the neighborhood of ten well-paid employees. Since the hydro plant lies within the corporate limits of New Cumberland, the City will be able to levy a tax on it
Aside from the jobs, the City would not have been able to levy any tax or fee on the plant as things stood in the early 1990’s. The plant was located outside New Cumberland City limits. Hearing that a hydro plant was a possibility, then mayor, the late Jack Harris came up with a plan to annex the area. He approached Tamara Pettit, who was then a 1st District Delegate to sponsor legislation making annexing the area possible through a minor boundary change.
“There were two parts to making sure New Cumberland benefited from the hydro plant,” said Pettit, “First, and most important was the fact that the lock & dam wasn’t within New Cumberland City limits. We had to get that changed.”
”In the early nineties, I sponsored a bill which allowed for a community to annex additional land by “minor boundary change.” That meant if only a small amount of property owners were involved and were OK with it, we could annex with their signed permission,” she explained.
“We got that passed and then New Cumberland’s attorney and Harris, went to work contacting the property owners in the land we were annexing. That was challenging in some instances because several family members might have inherited the property and were difficult to track down. Once Harris had agreement, the land became part of New Cumberland,” said Pettit.
The City also had a challenge in that it didn’t want to discourage the plant by levying a B&O tax that might discourage the developers, but they needed to obtain revenue from the plant.
“We looked at what New Martinsville had done when their plant was built and became convinced that a negotiated agreement of an annual fee was the way to go,” said Pettit.
“In 1994, I sponsored a hydroelectric bill which allowed an agreement in lieu of a B&O Tax and that agreement had to be in place prior to operation of the hydroplant,” said Pettit. “ It was not without controversy, but I got it passed.”
The first hydro developers were not able to make the plant a reality. Whether it was inability to obtain the needed financing, a hold on FERC licenses or simply both, Pettit isn’t sure, but she does know that in those days coal was king and hydro plants were not a priority.
Thirty years later, Mayor White is excited for the potential the plant offers the city. The hydro plant creates a fertile field for fish that may promote recreational fishing in the community also clearing the way for tourist to visit.
Mascaro Construction is listed as the contractor and the documents can be downloaded by going to FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) or visiting the Current Hydro site.
