LOCATION: Cuffs Run – Chanceford Township, York County along the Susquehanna River

STATUS: Active

ISSUE IN BRIEF: In Feb. 2023, a Reading-based company called York Energy Storage submitted a preliminary permit application to build a pumped storage hydroelectric project along the Susquehanna River at Lake Clarke. This project would destroy the remote and wild undeveloped riverfront around Cuffs Run in York County. It would alter our landscape, which includes immense recreational opportunities, hundreds of acres of prime farmland, 600 acres of forests, and dozens of property owners to produce power in an area already monopolized by power production. We are concerned over impacts to the Susquehanna River and recreational access along with aesthetics to the surrounding landscape. We stand opposed and will be pursuing legal action to stop this project.

BACKGROUND:

In 2011, over a decade after citizen outcry halted a proposed hydroelectric facility on Cuffs Run, another company believed the scenic Cuffs Run natural area, located off the Mason Dixon Trail on the western shore of the Susquehanna, was ripe for the plucking. Like the public outcry 10 years earlier, spring 2011 proved that citizens remain opposed to a wasteful and inappropriate energy project in their backyards.

Among other impacts, the proposed facility would have put historic farmlands and homesteads, Native American archeological sites, and a Girl Scout camp underwater, not to mention the lack of economic benefits for local communities. Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper coordinated a vast letter-writing campaign, public opposition at township meetings, and submitted technical comments against this new hydroelectric project which led to scrapping the project! The company stated on the record that, in the face of such strong grassroots opposition, the project did not meet the appropriate consensus to continue.

In Feb. 2023, York Energy Storage submitted a preliminary permit application to FERC to build a pumped storage hydroelectric project along the Susquehanna River at Lake Clarke. In response, our organization joined Cuffs Run Alliance, Farm & Natural Lands Trust of York County, Lancaster Conservancy, and Susquehanna National Heritage Area in opposition to this proposed project.

Throughout the summer of 2023 we worked together to get the message out to the public. “There are many concerns we share regarding water usage, impacts to aquatic life and water quality,” Ted Evgeniadis, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper. “The proposed project is not one which is suitable for this area along the Lower Susquehanna River. The same project has been proposed before and has never been permitted. Nothing has changed, and this attempt to destroy our landscape for private profits should be thrown out once again.”

We launched an email campaign with our partner organizations that allowed the public to sign our letter or write their own comments. Our request resulted in 724 letters signed by the public expressing opposition to this proposed project, which we sent to York Energy Storage and then submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as they reviewed the preliminary permit application.

As a direct result of our advocacy, on Sept 6, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) REJECTED the application for a preliminary permit to construct a massive pumped hydro storage facility along the Susquehanna River at Cuffs Run.

But, on Nov. 9, 2023 York Energy Services submitted a new application for a preliminary permit for the Cuffs Run Pumped Hydro Storage Project.

On February 1, 2024 FERC accepted the preliminary permit application submitted by York Energy Services. The public now has until March 31, 2024 to submit comments or interventions regarding the proposed project.

In 2024, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association once again united with concerned citizens and local organizations to express strong opposition to the proposed project. The public is encouraged to take action by submitting comments and motions to intervene to FERC before the April 1, 2024 deadline. Another recommended action is to write to Governor Shapiro through the email campaign organized by LSRA.

On March 4, 2024, LSRA and our partner organizations hosted FERC Office of Public Participation for a Public Informational Meeting at the Chanceford Township Building. FERC OPP provided information about the permit process, how to submit comments and motions to intervene. Over 200 members of the public attended.

April 1, 2024, marked the last day for the public to submit comments to FERC. Over 1,100 comments from people from all walks of life opposing the project. Hikers, trail runners, cyclists, boaters, bird watchers, kayakers, and many other groups of individuals who cherish the recreational areas around Cuffs Run spoke up in opposition and voiced a myriad of concerns to the Commission. Most importantly, the families who would lose not just their homes, but their life’s work had the opportunity to ring the real alarm bells.

“Meanwhile, yesterday (April 1, 2024) the Safe Harbor and Holtwood Dam owners weighed in and provided additional reasons why the application should be denied,” Robin White, Attorney of Gibbel, Kraybill & Hess stated in a joint press release put out by LSRA and our partner organizations on April 2, 2024. READ FULL PRESS RELEASE

IN THE MEDIA: