Olympic National
Park: Proposed hydroelectric project
raises eyebrows --April Fools' joke?
2001-08-03
by BRIAN GAWLEY
Peninsula Daily News
Amusement to exasperation to outright opposition -- that's been the
reaction to a man who says he's applied for a federal license to build a
hydroelectric plant in Olympic National Park.
It's like an April Fools joke, said Tim McNulty of Sequim, an
official in Olympic Park Associates, a support group for the park.
``It is the most preposterous idea I've ever heard of,'' said
McNulty.
``I'm surprised anyone took it seriously enough to apply to a federal
agency.
``It is laughable. The project demonstrates a total misunderstanding
of the nature of national parks.''
John Worthington, a 1981 Port Angeles High School graduate, says he
has started a long Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing
process for water use and water storage for hydroelectricity on Hoh Lake
in the Seven Lakes Basin, below Bogachiel Peak in the park.
According to Worthington, the project would use wind power to pump
water to upper elevations of Bogachiel Peak on the Hoh River's North
Fork.
A meeting to gather public comment on the project is scheduled for
noon, Aug. 9 at the Hoh River Tribal Center, 2464 Lower Hoh Road, Forks,
according to Worthington.
If the project were built, Clallam County PUD would be one of the
customers for the power it produced.
However, General Manager Mike McInnes questioned whether the project
would get that far, given the considerable obstacles it faces.
``It is imaginative in its concept but the challenges are
substantial,'' McInnes said.
Who is John Worthington?
* He graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1981.
* He left the area 20 years ago to work in Seattle, first in the
restaurant business, now as truck driver.
* He has no experience in designing or building a hydroelectric
plant, but he envisions his proposal for Olympic National Park as an
economic plus for the North Olympic Peninsula.
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