The public will have a very important opportunity to state their objections to the relicensing of the Northfield Mountain pumped storage facility by participating in the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s public information session on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. at the Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A in Turners Falls. MassDEP officials will make presentations and answer questions from the public.

The public’s attendance at this event is critical! Our river needs a mass of people to show up to let them know that we hold them accountable to make a factual and honest determination about whether FirstLight is in violation of the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, as it is. They will decide whether to grant a water quality certificate to First Light for 50 more years of operation.

We know that the Northfield Mountain pumped storage facility is a false solution to climate change. It uses electricity generated by dirty energy to pump river water to a reservoir, which forces the river to flow upstream, killing river life, eroding the shores and destroying the ecosystem during this climate and biodiversity emergency.

Recently, rare and endangered sturgeon have been rescued as they were found struggling and suffering in the vicinity of the Turners Falls dam on the Connecticut River. It is our job to put a stop to this inhumane and unnatural false solution. Join us to make our voices heard at this event.

Info on MassDEP’s website can be found at mass.gov/info-details/401-wqc-for-the-firstlight-hydroelectric-re-licensing-project.

Miriam Kurland

Williamsburg