Contact Information:

Archives and Special Collections
Cannavino Library
Marist College
3399 North Road
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Phone: 845-575-5217
Fax: 845-575-3150
Email: john.ansley@marist.edu
URL: http://library.marist.edu/archives/HRVCommision_Aid.html

Processed by:

Nicholas Gildard

Date Completed:

March 21, 2002

Encoded by:

Phil McDowell

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Hudson River Valley Commission Documents: Records relating to the Storm King Case, 1966-1967

Creator:

Scenic Hudson, Inc.

Extent:

2 linear feet

Date Span:

1966 - 1967

Repository:

Marist College Archives and Special Collections

Related Collections:

Hudson River Environmental Society Collection
On the River Documentary
Scenic Hudson Decision
The Seymour Collection
The Saunders Collection

Abstract:

The Hudson River Valley Commission was a New York State Agency, established by the Legislature in 1966, to coordinate planning along the Hudson River and to encourage the balanced development of the Valley’s land and resources.

The HRVC collection consists of testimony, exhibits, legal briefs, opinions & orders, publicity materials, and stenographer’s reports concerning the Storm King decision.

Administrative Information

Access:

No restrictions.

Usage Restrictions:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Scenic Hudson’s copyright interest in these records has been donated to the United States Government.

Provenance:

Scenic Hudson, Inc presented the records to the Marist College Library in 1982.

Online Catalog Terms

Environmental auditing--United States. Environmental law--United States.
Environmental policy--United States.
Environmental protection.
Scenic Hudson, Inc.

Historical Note

In September 1962, the Consolidated Edison Company announced plans to build a pumped storage facility, the largest of its kind in the world, at Storm King Mountain near Cornwall, New York. The initial application for license to construct the plant was filed with the Federal Power Commission in January 1963. Some three years later the Hudson River Valley Commission was formed by Governor Rockefeller and his staff to regulate development along the Hudson River. Widespread public concern over the social and economic impact of urban sprawl, the deterioration of scenic beauty and natural resources along the Hudson and the economic stagnation of many riverfront communities led to the creation of HRVC. The Commission was directed by law to review proposed projects within its jurisdiction “which would destroy or substantially impair significant historic or recreational resources or bring about a major change in the appearance or use of the water in the Hudson River or the surrounding land.” (From the pamphlet “What is the Hudson River Valley Commission” 105 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591, Series 4, Box 7, Folder 315 in the Seymour Collection, Archives and Special Collections, James A. Cannavino Library, Marist College) Consolidated Edison’s proposed pumped storage facility at storm King Mountain was one such project. The Hudson River Valley Commission itself did not have veto powers or the power of condemnation, however it did have the responsibility to expose a potentially damaging project to public scrutiny at an early stage.

The Storm King case lasted for 17 years, and with input from the Hudson River Valley Commission a decision was finally reached. In a negotiated settlement in December 1980, Consolidated Edison agreed to drop the plan for the Storm King facility.

The lengthy and controversial case set important precedents in environmental law and is generally credited with spawning the modern environmental movement.

Collection Overview

The Hudson River Valley Commission Collection consists of Testimony, Exhibits, Legal Briefs, Opinions & Orders, Publicity Materials, and Stenographers Reports concerning the Storm King Decision.

Lists of Series:
1. Testimony
2. Legal Briefs
3. Studies, Publicity Materials, and Stenographers Reports

Series Descriptions:

1. Testimony
Testimony of Joseph A. Jessel, Forrest R. Hauck, Morris H. Bannister, and others concerning the proposed pumped storage facility at Storm King Mountain, Cornwall, New York.

Size: .3 Linear Feet

Arrangement: roughly chronological

Containers: 1

Folders: 1-5

2. Legal Briefs
Briefs on Behalf of the Consolidated Edison Co. and Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference concerning the proposed pumped storage facility at Storm King Mountain, Cornwall, New York.

Size: .3 linear feet

Arrangement: roughly chronological

Containers: 2

Folders: 6-17

3. Studies, Publicity Materials, and Stenographer’s Reports
A study concerning the Impact of Nuclear Power Plants on the Hudson River, Printed Matter concerning Electric Power in the Northeast and the Storm King Proposal, and Official Stenographic Transcripts of the case before the Federal Power Commission. (For additional Stenographic Transcripts please see the Scenic Hudson Collection, Series 6, Boxes 48-62)

Size: 1.5 linear feet

Arrangement: Stenographer’s Transcripts organized by volume number.

Containers: 3-7

Folders: 18-39

Series 1 – HRVC Material Re: Storm King, Legal Testimony

Box 1 - Legal Testimony

Folder 1	Testimony - Joseph J.A. Jessel
Folder 2	Exhibits Accompanying Testimony of Staff Witness Joseph J.A. Jessel
Folder 3	Testimony - Gerald R. Wilson, Jack M. Shepley, John M. Vallance, Joseph J. DiNunno, Joseph J. Solters, Ralph K. Longaker, Forrest R. Hauck
Folder 4	Testimony - Morris H. Bannister, Thomas C. Duncan, and William H. Kinnard Jr.
Folder 5	Testimony - Harold A. Peterson and M.L. Waring

Series 2 – HRVC Material Re: Strom King, Legal Briefs

Box 2 - Legal Briefs

Folder 6	Opinion # 452-B on the Cornwall Project Overhead Transmission Line Route, 10/11/65
Folder 7	Brief of Applicant Con E/d after further Hearings on Remand
Folder 8	Commission Staff Brief, 8/14/67
Folder 9	Commission Staff Reply Brief, 9/5/67
Folder 10	Opinion & Order Issuing License & Reopening & Remanding Proceedings, 3/9/65
Folder 11	Opinion on Remanded Issues Regarding Location of Primary Lines & Design of Fish Protective Facilities & Amending License, 10/4/65
Folder 12	Con Ed - Presiding Examiner's initial decision in Remanding Proceedings, 8/6/68
Folder 13	Brief on Behalf of SHPC, 10/28/68
Folder 14	Presiding Examiner's Initial Decision, 8/6/68
Folder 15	Presiding Examiner's Initial Decision in Remanded Proceedings...Application for License, 8/6/68
Folder 16	Presiding Examiner's Initial Decision...on an Application for a License, 12/23/69
Folder 17	Reply Brief on Behalf of SHPC Intervenor

Series 3 - Studies, Publicity Materials, and Stenographer’s Reports

Box 3 - Studies, Publicity Materials, and Stenographers Reports

Folder 18	Presiding Examiner’s Initial Decision…on Application for License, 8/6/66
Folder 19	Electric Power in the Northeast, 1970-1980-1990
Folder 20	Recreation Proposal – Cornwall Pumped Storage Project
Folder 21	Study of the Impact of Nuclear Power Plants on the Hudson River
Folder 22	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 32A, Part 2 of 3
Folder 23	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 32B Part 3 of 3
Folder 24	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 33, Part 1 of 2

Box 4 - HRVC Stenographer’s Transcripts – 34, 34A, 36, 38, 39

Folder 25	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 34, Part 1 of 2
Folder 26	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 34A, Part 2 of 2
Folder 27	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 36
Folder 28	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 38
Folder 29	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 39

Box 5 - HRVC Stenographer’s Transcripts – 41-43 & 45-47

Folder 30	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 41 (Portion)
Folder 31	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 41
Folder 32	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 42
Folder 33	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 43
Folder 34	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 45
Folder 35	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 46
Folder 36	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 47

Box 6 - HRVC Stenographer’s Transcripts – Vol. 49, 51-56

Folder 37	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 49
Folder 38	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 51
Folder 39	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 52
Folder 40	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 53
Folder 41	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 54
Folder 42	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 55
Folder 43	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 56

Box 7 - HRVC Stenographer’s Transcripts – 57-61

Folder 44	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 57
Folder 45	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 58
Folder 46	Stenographer’s Report –Vol. 59
Folder 47	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 60
Folder 48	Stenographer’s Report – Vol. 61

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last updated on May 11, 2006