FPC Considers Con Ed License

The Federal Power Commission yesterday heard oral arguments for and against a Hudson River hydroelectric project that would flood 70 acres of the University's Black Rock Forest.

Testifying before the five-man commission were representatives of several groups opposed to the project; an FPC examiner who recommended last April that the project be approved; and the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, which is seeking a license from the commission.

An FPC spokesman said yesterday that no ruling on the request could be expected immediately. "It might be one month; it might be six months," he said.

Con Ed wants to create a reservoir about 40 miles north of New York City by building a series of dikes around a natural basin near the Hudson River. It plans to pump water from the river into the reservoir during periods of low electrical demand and then allow it to flow back into the river when demand is high. On its way down, the water would drive large electric generators.

1949 Gift

The University's 3700-acre forest, which the reservoir would partially submerge, was given to it in 1949 by Ernest G. Stillman '08. The land is used for research in silviculture and conservation.

Harvard's only public expression of opinion came in a letter by President Pusey, which appeared June 19 in the New York Times. Pusey attacked the project as "a radical proposal for altering the scenic beauty and the scientific value of a largely unspoiled section of the Hudson valley."

Opposition to the Con Ed project has come mainly from conservation groups, who claim that it would destroy the area's natural beauty.