Is Steiner Leaning On Storm King?

The one-step-forward, two-steps-back shuffle was in full swing among New York environmentalists this week. Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference moved its legal and publicity battles against a proposed power project ahead as planned, while Harvard appeared ready to push back with devastating force.

That force, according to environmental sources, could come in the form of a recommendation that the University sell Con Ed the land it needs to build a pumped storage power plant near Black Rock Forest, a tract of land bequeathed to Harvard by Ernest G. Stillman '08 upon his death in 1949.

Daniel Steiner '54, general counsel to the University, has been pondering the question for several months, and insists he has reached no final conclusion. But this week for the first time, commenting on reports for sources, he admitted, "I know which way my mind is going."

Despite a mid-summer announcement by Con Ed that it intends to begin construction by November, Steiner said he does not "feel we're under extreme pressure," and added, "I want to make the right decision."

Sources indicated that the decision would be made soon, however, and that it would not please environmental forces who have been fighting the proposed plant at Storm King Mountain for ten years.

The environmentalists, meanwhile, were taking other routes to block the project. Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, the utility's most vocal opponent for the past decade, filed suit in New York Federal District Court, asking that the utility and the Army Corps of Engineers be ordered to "show cause" why permits from the Corps should not be required before construction begins.

The suit further asked that the court enjoin Con Ed from beginning construction until the issue is decided. Con Ed had previously obtained permits from the Corps; but since they have expired, both Con Ed and the Corps have taken the new position that they are no longer necessary.

Scenic Hudson also attempted to reach the public this week, through a large advertisement in Wednesday's New York Times. In a possible attempt to counter earlier publicity sponsored by Con Ed, the environmentalists stressed possible damage construction of the Storm King project might have on the Catskill Aqueduct, which supplies about 40 per cent of New York City's water supply.

Headlined "When Con Ed starts dynamiting Storm King Mountain, keep your fingers crossed," the ad urged New Yorkers to protest the project to public officials and Con Edison.

Con Ed had previously published advertisements stressing the benefits of the proposed plant. They came under attack from environmentalists last month, and a complaint lodged against Con Ed is now pending before the National Advertising Review Board.