N.Y. Group Criticizes Harvard Report Permitting Land Sale to Con Edison

A New York environmental group yesterday criticized Harvard for not moving to block the sale of land on a Harvard owned forest for construction of a power storage facility.

The Seenic Hudson Preservation Committee (SHPC) charged Harvard with "ignoring its responsibility as landowner."

The University approved a special committee's recommendation this week that Harvard take no active steps to prevent the sale of 240 acres of Black Rock Forest at Storm King Mountain. N.Y., to Consolidated Edison.

The SHPC called the committee's recommendation "naive" because it leaves local citizens to fight Con Ed alone on the proposed facility's environmental dangers.

Con Ed plans to build a reservoir on the land and fill it with water from the Hudson River. It power failures and heavy electrical usage cause power shortages. Con Ed will let the water run back into the Hudson through a dam to generate hydroelectric power from the flow.

The committee report cites the danger of possible seepage of reservoir water through the dam. The seepage could weaken the dam enough so that it would burst. the report said. releasing 20 million tons of water directly above nearby Cornwall. N.Y.

The report said. however. that the citizens of Cornwall should assume responsibility for preventing such seepage.

Richard Wilson. professor of physics and a member of the committee, said that the proposed land sale would net about $1 million for Harvard. He said that the 3700 acre forest is not now being used for any research.

Wilson said that Harvard will set some "nasty restrictions" on the building and usage of the power facility. He said that Con Fd will have to agree to abide by these restrictions before it buys the land.

However. Wilson said. the "local citizens should take a move extreme position" in dealing with Con Ed if they was the facility to be completely safe.