Political Quotes

“Thank you, Congressman Lujan. And I'd like to thank Chairman Whitfield for his leadership on this important issue and for bringing this bill to the floor so quickly this year. I rise as the proud sponsor of the Collinsville Renewable Energy Promotion Act. This bill, as the chairman so aptly described, would provide FERC limited authority to license the Town of Canton, in my district, to operate two small and dormant dams for hydroelectric power. The Upper and Lower Collinsville dams on the Farmington River were first built in the 18th and 19th centuries to power an ax manufacturer. While this business closed in the 1960s, the dams have remained and are a lasting symbol of the Farmington Valley's very proud manufacturing history. And just as our communities have been reinvented over the years, we now have the opportunity to reinvent a dormant dam into a dam producing local, clean energy. If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, under the authority of this bill, permits both dams to generate hydropower, the dams could produce nearly 2 megawatts of power, enough to power more than 1,500 homes, which I'll note, parenthetically, with 3 feet of snow in the last week, were much in demand, that additional power. Licenses for this purpose had previously been issued, and this bill would allow the reinstatement of the inactive FERC licenses. Now, as with any dam on any river, there are legitimate concerns about the river and the ecosystem's health.…”