Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                       RESOLUTION 10-H.F.No. 564 
 A resolution memorializing the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission; expressing the Legislature's 
opposition to the installation of additional 
hydropower generating facilities at the Falls of St. 
Anthony in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  
    WHEREAS, Father Louis Hennepin first sighted the Falls of 
St. Anthony in 1680 on his exploration of the territory that 
would later become known as the State of Minnesota; and 
    WHEREAS, the Falls of St. Anthony acted as the cornerstone 
of a community of pioneer settlers that later became known as 
the City of Minneapolis; and 
    WHEREAS, the Falls of St. Anthony was a vital part in the 
economic development of the City of Minneapolis and the State of 
Minnesota; and 
    WHEREAS, the Falls of St. Anthony were incorporated into 
the Great Seal of the State of Minnesota from the earliest 
beginnings of statehood; and 
    WHEREAS, the Falls of St. Anthony continues to be a part of 
the Great Seal of the State of Minnesota to depict the Falls of 
St. Anthony's importance in transportation and industry and is 
on the State's list of privately owned historic sights; and 
    WHEREAS, there has always been a history of multiple use of 
the Falls of St. Anthony including lumber milling, grain 
milling, hydropower production, recreational, scenic, and river 
transportation; and 
    WHEREAS, the Federal Government, the State of Minnesota, 
the Metropolitan Council, and the City of Minneapolis have made 
a major investment of public funds to reclaim the Mississippi 
Riverfront area surrounding the Falls of St. Anthony for 
recreational, scenic, and economic development purposes; and 
    WHEREAS, the potential private investment in area around 
the Falls of St. Anthony is expected to exceed $800,000,000 and 
the aesthetic value of the Falls of St. Anthony is integral to 
that development; and 
    WHEREAS, the redevelopment of the riverfront area will open 
the area to people who have been underserved by such amenities 
in the past; and 
    WHEREAS, the Corp of Engineers and Northern States Power 
Company have both investigated in recent years the possibility 
of installing additional hydropower facilities; and 
    WHEREAS, Northern States Power Company has demonstrated 
sensitivity to community concerns about the impact of such 
additional hydropower development by withdrawing its recent 
license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 
and 
    WHEREAS, additional power generating turbines could capture 
virtually all of the constant flow of the Mississippi River at 
the Falls of St. Anthony, for power generating purposes only; 
and 
    WHEREAS, additional power generating turbines would 
permanently alter the character of the Falls of St. Anthony and 
take permanently the historic, aesthetic, and recreational 
qualities of the Falls of St. Anthony out of the public domain; 
NOW, THEREFORE, 
    BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
that it urges the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny 
any application for additional hydropower generation which 
requires additional diversion of water at the Falls of St. 
Anthony in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 
    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
State of Minnesota is directed to prepare certified copies of 
this resolution and present them to the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission and to Minnesota's Senators and 
Representatives in Congress. 
    Filed June 2, 1987