TO: Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee Members
FROM: Peter VanAvery
DATE: January 15, 2004

The Regulating District's January 12 board meeting in Colonie attracted about 50 people. The highlights:

" The board approved the appointment of Richard H. Lefebvre of Canada Lake to succeed Willard Loveless as Executive Director. He is the former chairman of the Adirondack Park Agency.

" The board announced that it would sponsor an independent performance audit of the access permit system. This is a band-aid approach to the District's problems, and I will continue to push for a management consulting study of the entire District, conducted by the School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Meanwhile, a member of the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform has told me that we can expect a rate hike in 2005.

" Chief Engineer Robert Foltan reported that, as of January 7, the District had taken steps to lower the lake's level at a rate of approximately one foot every four days. Because this was not an emergency (at least as defined by the District), the Offer of Settlement required it to consult first with the parties involved regarding an exception to the operating rules that limit the release of water from the lake. This took the District a month. Meanwhile, our shorelines and docks continued to take a beating. In emergency situations, no consultation meeting is required.

" The District promised to use its web site more effectively in communicating with the public and immediately posted monthly hydrologic reports for 2003; these list daily water-level readings at seven gauges. In the future, the minutes of board meetings also will be available: www.hrbrrd.com.

" To improve communications, the board also will hold question-and-answer sessions at its meetings. This will come in addition to the public's right to make statements at these meetings.

" Secretary-Treasurer George Scaringe said that the board is not contemplating action on the Reapportionment Study, which had proposed that the District consider imposing an assessment on access permit holders based on value added to their property by the existence of the lake. Caution: Don't celebrate until we see this in writing.

" The BBAC announced plans to set up a 'Damage Registry' on its web site. We want to put a dollar figure on damage caused to docks and other structures by the lake's high water levels in 2003 and during the winter of 2003-2004.

" The next board meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, February 9, at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #1185, 109 S. Comrie Avenue, in Johnstown.

" As usual, newspaper coverage of the meeting will soon be posted on our web site:
www.nybbac.org.

In my statement at the meeting, I argued that the new Federal license that governs operation of the reservoir is flawed and needs to be changed. Although its water-level rules went into effect only a short time ago, on July 1, 2002, they already have adversely affected our quality of life on three different occasions:

" October 2002 ... when the level was drawn way down, ending the boating season prematurely for a number of lake users.

" May/June 2003 ... when high waters eroded the shoreline and made it difficult to launch boats and set out docks.

" October 2003 - ? ... when high water again poured over the banks, and docks were locked in ice for the first time in history.

Under the Offer of Settlement, the Regulating District is required to minimize energy losses to downstream hydroelectric stations. In a dry year, when the natural flow of the Hudson needs a lot of help to keep the hydro turbines spinning at top velocity, the lake is drained. In a wet year, when the natural flow of the Hudson is all that's needed, the lake's water is held back. If the lake rises over its banks, that's our tough luck.

Who's to blame? Everyone who signed the Offer of Settlement! Locally, they include the Boards of Supervisors of Fulton and Saratoga Counties, the Great Sacandaga Lake Association, and the GSL Fisheries Federation. In a letter published in three local newspapers, I urge people to ask these groups if they actually read the agreement before signing off on it and demand that they take action to fix it.

My letter triggered a finger-pointing session. The GSL Fisheries Federation says the Offer of Settlement is not the problem; it charges that the Regulating District is misinterpreting the rules. Not surprisingly, the District denies this and says it is sticking to the rules.

Don't forget that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which issued the license, also polices it. Last June, I complained to FERC about the high-water problem. The agency contacted the Regulating District and asked why water levels had exceeded the design curve by more than three feet. The District responded that it was in compliance "with the minimum and maximum flow restrictions outlined in the Offer of Settlement" and submitted its monthly operation report for January through September. And that was that.

I plan to write FERC about the present situation, but I doubt that it will find the District at fault. I'll also look into the procedure for changing an Offer of Settlement/license. At the January 12 meeting, the board didn't have a clue about how to do this .. and seemed disinclined to venture up the learning curve. Fortunately, the BBAC always is willing to do the heavy lifting. Meanwhile, complain to the groups responsible for damage to our property and to our quality of life. All their names, taken from the FERC license, appear in our January 1 newsletter.