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| Metro Hydroelectric wanted to construct a hydro plant in Gorge Metro Park, reportedly near what is referred to as "Butterfly Rock." |
Save the Gorge
A hydroelectric company based in Fairlawn, Ohio, wanted to generate electricity in Gorge Metro Park by utilizing the old Ohio Edison dam on the Cuyahoga River. Scores of groups were opposed to the project, including the Ohio EPA, the City of Cuyahoga Falls, Friends of Metro Parks and Friends of the Crooked River.
June 14, 2009
Foes help sink Gorge hydro project
As reported in the Akron Beacon Journal: "A long and heated battle over adding hydroelectric facilities to a Cuyahoga River dam between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls appears over.
The Fairlawn company that wanted to generate electricity in the Gorge Metro Park is dropping its preliminary federal permit for the project.
Metro Hydroelectric Co. LLC released a two-page letter late Friday in which it said it is surrendering its permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and terminating the project.
That means that the $4 million project first proposed six years ago by the company is dead, said Irving Sugerman, the attorney representing Metro Parks, Serving Summit County.
The project would have produced enough electricity to power 2,000 homes but had come under heavy fire from municipalities, government agencies and environmental groups ...."
September 5, 2008
Park District Wins Ruling
As reported in the Akron Beacon Journal: "The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has backed Metro Parks, Serving Summit County in its dispute with a Fairlawn company that wants to build a hydroelectric project in Gorge Metro Park. The Cincinnati court today ruled that there is no federal jurisdiction in the access dispute between the park district and Metro Hydroelectric Co. LLC.
In 2006, the company sued Metro Parks in the 9th U.S. District Court in Akron after the park district refused to allow access to the Gorge site. Judge John Adams ruled that the company should have limited access to the park, located between Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, for preliminary tests. The park district then appealed that decision to the 6th Circuit Court, which overruled Adams and said the case should be returned to Akron for dismissal ...."
June 10, 2008
Ohio EPA files motion
The Ohio EPA has filed a motion of intervention in the ongoing effort to protect Gorge Metro Park, citing water quality standards. READ IT
May 10, 2008
Company applies for permit. Again.
After being denied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July 2007, Metro Hydro has applied for another preliminary permit to construct a hydroelectric plant in Gorge Metro Park.
July 11, 2007
FERC terminates testing permit
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied Metro Hydro's request to reconsider a previous decision, in which the company's permit to conduct tests in Gorge Metro Park was terminated.
Months earlier, the company was denied access to the park by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Metro Parks attorney Bob Gippin wrote: "We are very pleased that the Court of Appeals has agreed (with Metro Parks) .... This stay order does not finally decide the case, but we are now optimistic that the federal lawsuit will ultimately be dismissed."
Metro Hydro's proposal would lead to the construction of roads, destruction of old growth forests, loss of sensitive habitat for numerous rare and endangered species, poor water quality and the destruction of park views and aesthetics.
For more information, contact Friends of Metro Parks: 330-865-1027, info@friendsofmetroparks.org
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