House Passes Griffith Hydroelectric Dam Bill   Washington, DC (June 13, 2017) - June 13, 2017 – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 446, sponsored by Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), which extends the start date of construction on a project to be located at the Army Corps of Engineers' Gathright Dam on the Jackson River in Alleghany County, Va. Congressman Griffith said, “Although a license was granted to build this dam, construction has not yet started. It is important to facilitate infrastructure projects in Southwest Virginia, and this bill extends the license so construction is permitted to start. As the project sponsors continue to work with the Army Corp of Engineers developing this project, this extra time will grant greater certainly so the process can continue.â€� Background: · H.R. 446 would authorize FERC to extend the construction start date for no more than three consecutive two-year periods – and to reinstate the license for the Gathright project if it is terminated before this legislation is enacted. · According to the company constructing the hydroelectric project, Jordan Hydroelectric, the proposed Gathright project will have a capacity of 3.7 MW and an estimated annual generation of 18 million kilowatt-hours, which would be enough to supply 1,800 homes with electricity annually. · Further according to Jordan Hydroelectric, construction at the site should take about 2 years and would employ 20 to 35 workers during construction. Though the plant will be highly automated, the project would employ 2 or 3 workers permanently on operating staff.

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