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Not in favor of CB lease extension
How important is the Federal Dam License to the 75,000 plus citizens of Grant County and the very existence of the PUD? Important enough to spend $50 million and years to present the application to FERC. The FERC license had a provision requiring public use and access to land that was under lease to private developers on Crescent Bar Island. On March 2, the PUD answered with a shoreline management plan that included the private leases on Crescent Bar Island. FERC replied to PUD by letter dated March 10, 2010 which was explicit, concise and clear as follows:
“The Commission does not condone residential development and occupancy of project lands, since such residential use is inconsistent with the Commission’s policy of maximizing public recreational development.”
Despite the FERC letter the PUD seems to be determined to give nonexistence legal rights to the lessee occupants. No one forced the lessees to buy into these leases and it does not take an attorney to advise that when the lease is up, the occupancy rights expire. The lessees have no vested rights to a renewal or extension of their lease!
The PUD is playing with fire in so far as the FERC license is concerned. There is nothing to stop the FERC from deciding that the PUD is more concerned with giving the Crescent Bar lessees legal right than following the FERC regulations and depriving the 75,000 citizens of Grant County of the recreational rights and that therefore the license should not be granted. It is time for the PUD to be thankful for the FERC license, respect the FERC regulations and consider the 75,000 citizens of Grant County over the approximate 400 lessees on public land that, by right, should be used for public access for recreation and wildlife. There should be no extenstion of these private leases and the PUD should move on!
