GLUE Report for
10-19-2011
or
Washington Here We Come!
Most of you
have kept up with the developments at Lake of the Ozarks and the surprises FERC
sprung with respect to their Shoreline Management Plan. I’ve written quite a
bit on this subject on Grand Lake News Online so this will be the short and
direct version for this report. The important points are as follows:
1)
1)
Based on the Lake of the Ozarks plan, as finalized and modified by FERC,
the feds are wanting to be far more intrusive than we ever imagined. The
removal of 1400 homes which encroach onto Ameren’s project boundary was never
anticipated.
2)
2)
We’re finding there are a number of lakes nationwide facing similar
situations as our sister lake in Missouri. Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia has
led the charge in the fight against FERC. www.curb-ferc.aep.
3)
3)
They have, with the assistance of their legislative delegation, arranged
for a meeting in Washington next Monday with congressman and or their staff
representatives. It will be a come and go affair and afford John Q. Citizen to
express their concerns to our elected officials. Quite frankly, it’s hard for
me to understand the lack of attention this issue has received from our own
delegation and the state’s two major newspapers. If Inhofe had the same
concerns for the Lake User’s Bill of Rights that he does for the Pilot’s Bill
of Rights there would be Hell to pay.
4)
4)
A delegation of Grand Lakers, including Arrowhead’s Joe Harwood, Mike
Williams, the communications director for Shangri-La Resort, Casey Davis, a
private practice attorney formerly with GRDA and yours truly, will be attending
to represent Grand Lake.
5)
5)
Our mission will be simple; to request legislation to strip the
authority from FERC which allows them to dictate how the shoreline of Grand
Lake is utilized. This is not a federal lake and should be left to Oklahomans
to manage and operate.
6)
6)
Casey Davis is a hiring decision made by me for any legal avenues we
might need to explore and consider. While at GRDA, Casey was the one charged
with rewriting the SMP after Kleinschmidt and Associates were sent packing. He
was a primary interface for the authority before entering private practice, in
Miami, a few months back. His knowledge of FERC should prove beneficial.
7)
7)
There is smoother more politically correct and complete version which
can be read in its entirety at www.grandlakenewsonline.com.
8)
8)
We’ll schedule a public meeting after our return from Washington to
update GLUE members and all Grand Lakers about progress and options.
I’ll keep you posted… Cheers from Grays Hollow