The Bowersock Mills & Power Co.

Hitting Rock Bottom

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:00:47 +0000

Bowersock shows off construction site for new power plant

On Friday, December 2, 2011, Bowersock Mills & Power Company co-owner Sarah Hill-Nelson talked with the Lawrence Journal World about progress being made on the construction of the hydroelectric power plant on the north side of the Kansas River. Hill-Nelson, a co-owner of the Lawrence-based Bowersock Mills & Power Co., was so pleased with finding rock bottom that she hosted an event for city officials Friday to celebrate the fact. Construction crews have finished digging an approximately 50-foot-deep hole for the company’s new hydroelectric power plant on the north bank of the Kansas River.

“It feels good to finally be going up,” Hill-Nelson said.

About a dozen city officials from various departments, along with Commissioner Mike Dever, toured the construction site at the north end of Kansas River bridges in downtown Lawrenc e.

Reading the Entire Story and Watch the Video at LJWorld.com

North Powerhouse Construction

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:06:21 +0000

Construction on the North Powerhouse is moving forward. We received our final permits on June 1, 2011 and gave the green light to Kissick Construction to initiate work. To date all has gone pretty well, with some minor ups and downs that our project manager Nathan informs me are pretty typical of construction projects. We were very fortunate through the summer with good weather and associated river flows which allowed for good work windows.

The community has been really supportive, and we hear from many people who are enjoying watching the progress!

Some key information about the construction as of mid-September, 2011.

The construction area is much larger than the actual powerhouse will be. The sheet pile/coffer dam that you see surrounding the project is temporary and is used only for temporary protection of the site. This coffer dam will be removed when the project is complete and ready for operation.

Gate Structure.

Most of the work that has been done to date is required to maintain site safety and stability. The only permanent part of the structure that is in place is the large, rectangular structure immediately north of the existing Bowersock Dam. That is called the “gate structure,” and will serve as the connection between the existing dam and the new powerhouse.

Once the gate structure is complete, excavation will begin on the actual powerhouse site. The excavation is planned to go to 763 feet Mean Sea Level. For perspective, the top of the dam is at 808 feet Mean Sea Level.

The tower crane is in place to assist in the construction of the powerhouse. We have had some questions about the crane. The crane and foundation was designed by licensed, professional engineers. It’s placement was inspected and approved by a 3rd party. The top of the crane is mobile as a safety feature, so that the crane does not get broadside to the wind and act like a sail.

We continue to appreciate the community support for the project. Please contact Bowersock with any questions regarding the project. 785-843-1385.

Groundbreaking

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:20:34 +0000

The Bowersock Mills & Power Company will be hosting a Groundbreaking for the North Powerhouse Project at 2:30 PM on Monday, May 16th. We plan a short event on the north shore of the river on the project site, followed by refreshments at the South Powerhouse. Tours of the South Powerhouse will be available. We hope the event will provide BMPC an opportunity to express our appreciation for the contributions that so many people in the community have made to the project. We woudl not have made it this far without the full support of our town. Thank you. Community members interested in attending the event should leave a message at the South Powerhouse so we can make sure there are enough cookies to go around! 785-843-1385.

North Powerhouse Public Meeting

titusdco — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:36:41 +0000

Notice of Public Meeting

Re: The Bowersock Mills and Power Company Proposed Expansion

The Bowersock Mills and Power Company
P.O. Box 66
Massachusetts Street at the Kansas River Bridge
Lawrence, Kansas 66044

The Bowersock Mills and Power Company (BMPC or Bowersock) is the small hydroelectric power plant on the Kansas River in Lawrence, Kansas, which operates on the Bowersock Dam just below the Lawrence City Hall. Bowersock, known to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the exemptee for the Kansas River Project No. 2644, has developed plans for a possible expansion of its production through the construction of an additional powerhouse at the north end of the dam (BMPC North), with an estimated capacity of 5 MW. You have received this communication because you have been identified as a stakeholder that could potentially have interest in this proposed project, either through your employment, as a property owner, a member of a non-governmental organization, or as an interested citizen.

To undertake this effort, Bowersock must seek a new major license for both the exempted south side powerhouse and the proposed north side powerhouse from the FERC. As a result, if the major license is issued, BMPC South will relinquish its status as an exempted project and begin operation in tandem with BMPC North as a single FERC licensed project. In order to initiate the FERC licensure procedure, Bowersock has filed an application for a Preliminary Permit with FERC, Docket Number P-13526.

As per the advice of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bowersock plans to pursue licensing through the Traditional Licensing Process. Over the last two years, Bowersock has held discussions/informational meetings with federal, state, and local agencies and regional and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Sierra Club, Friends of the Kaw, and neighborhood associations that could be considered stakeholders in this FERC License process. To date, responses to the proposed project have been positive, which is most likely a reflection of the limited changes the new project would impose on the Kansas River Ecosystem and surrounding areas.

Bowersock has scheduled a Pre-Filing Public Meeting for August 13th, 2009 at 5:30 pm at the City of Lawrence Train Depot located at 402 North 2nd Street, Lawrence, Kansas , to which relevant Federal, State, and local agencies, NGOs, and the public are invited. The purpose of this Pre-Filing Public Meeting is to provide the public and relevant agencies with a comprehensive review of the project as well as the opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the proposed project. The meeting will provide an opportunity for a site visit, as well as a thorough description of the proposed project, including the FERC regulatory process, time schedule for licensing, design and construction, and potential impacts to the area. Bowersock staff and the Project engineers will be on hand at the meeting to answer any questions and discuss potential impacts to the region. Representatives from FERC are invited to the meeting, and their attendance will be a reflection of internal FERC schedules. Copies of the Bowersock Preliminary License Application and Draft copies of the Bowersock Pre Application Document, as well as the FERC License Application will be available for review.

Following the meeting, Bowersock will request letters from relevant agencies and other stakeholders asking that they confirm their support of the Project and approve the use of the Traditional Licensing Process as well as the waiver of the FERC required Stage 1 pre-filing consultation process and the Stage 2 field studies through a formal letter. These waivers are being requested to expedite the timeframe for the FERC Licensing process. Based on discussions with FERC as well as key regional stakeholders including the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Bowersock has chosen to request the Traditional Process and a waiver of Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the pre-filing consultation process because it will result in an expedited licensing process in an environmentally friendly manner.

For further information regarding the FERC Licensing Process please see the FERC website at www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/gen-info/licensing.asp

Please find attached an agenda for the meeting which includes time and location information. If you have any questions regarding the proposed meeting, please contact Sarah Hill-Nelson at shn@bowersockpower.com or 785-766-0884. If you will be unable to attend the meeting and desire to provide written comments please send to the undersigned at the Bowersock address. Please notify BMPC of your attendance no later than August 12th via an email to staff@bowersockpower.com so that we may estimate the numbers of attendees in advance. We appreciate the community’s participation in this process and look forward to the possibility of increasing the generation of clean, renewable energy for the State of Kansas.

Sincerely,
Stephen Hill, Owner/Operator
Sarah Hill-Nelson, Owner/Operator

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Boards Up

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:52:41 +0000

We have our boards up for the first time since January, 2009. This is great for BMPC and we hope the KU Boaters as well. Thanks to Rich, Mark, and Andy for all their hard work in making it happen!

Summer 2010 Update

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:35:31 +0000

We are still moving on the project and feel optimistic. There are almost innumerable pieces to be put together here including three key items which are the regulatory approvals, a power purchase agreement, and financing. Last week we had our special use permit for the City of Lawrence approved which was a great step. In that meeting we spoke and expressed our appreciation for the community’s support as a whole. Our work with the City has gone very smoothly, which is saying a lot because we have worked with pretty much every Department on at least one aspect of the project. Individual and group support for the project in Lawrence and the State has also been strong and welcome. There are moments when I personally have felt daunted by the project but we have a good team with broad expertise. Everyone has pulled their weight and things have continued to come together so we are still on the path today. If everything were butter-smooth over the next several months we could potentially initiate actual construction before the end of 2010. A thank you to all the people who have been a part of the project to date and I’ll work to provide more consistent updates.

Long Time

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:10:29 +0000

It’s been too long since I updated this. There is so much going on it is tough to keep all the balls in the air, but we have moved forward on a lot of fronts since I last wrote. This week the City completed land geotech, and next week we are scheduled for barge-based geotech upstream of the dam. The results of the geotech will guide the dam repair which is scheduled to begin in November. Long time coming and we are grateful for the forward progress. Regarding the North Plant, there are no deal-killers as of yet. Getting a stable dam is a critical piece of that. We feel very good about how things have gone with the City and are optimistic about the potential to triple energy production on the Bowersock Dam. According to the Secretary of the DOE, there is 70 gigawatts of potential hydro that can be developed at existing dams that are already in use for hydro, flood control, or water supply. This means a lot of additional energy with limited environmental impact. 70 GW is 70 nuclear plants or 100 coal-fired power plants. BMPC is just a small part of the picture but as David Orr says, there is no silver bullet, only silver buckshot.

Moving Forward

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 02:40:44 +0000

As of early March, it looks like we have forward motion on repairs to the dam. We are particularly relieved because City Commissioners agreed that building a coffer dam is critical to the next stage of repairs to the dam. Without a coffer dam, there is no way we could ensure that the repairs could be done. We have been waiting for a window of low water to do repairs for the last two years. Without a coffer dam, we could be waiting indefinitely. Equally important, the construction of a coffer dam will allow the repairs to be done efficiently and effectively, something we believe would have been extremely difficult if not impossible under the previous plan of conducting the repairs without a coffer dam. Certainly it made a difference that we were able to get a bid on a coffer dam that was substantially lower than what Black and Veatch had predicted. Black and Veatch had given a number in a FERC conference call of one million dollars… which we thought seemed pretty darn high. Fortunately, we were able to find another firm that would do the coffer dam for @ $350,000 – a significant savings to what Black and Veatch had proposed. Whew!!! The City is currently taking a look at this alternative proposal. We are hopeful we’ll be able to make this happen. Not only will a coffer dam ensure that the repairs can get done and that they will be done more efficiently and effectively, but drying out the dam through the use of a coffer dam will allow us to get a good look at the upstream side of the dam – something that hasn’t happened since 1978. Certainly we could find just about anything when we expose that upstream face, but Bowersock feels strongly that it is better to understand what we are dealing with than to catastrophize about potential problems about which we know very little. We are hopeful that the Bowersock Dam will be one of the many timber crib structures in the United States that have lasted well over 100 years and are predicted to last at least another 100. There are engineering firms that are not comfortable with old structures because they can’t certify them, but there are others that have significant experience in restoring old structures, saving communities millions of dollars in the process.

Boards and Millpond

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:38:54 +0000

As many people saw in the Journal World, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has required Bowersock to keep its millpond at damtop. We can go into this at greater length later, but this will make things very difficult for Bowersock, and over the long term for the City and the University of Kansas Boathouse. In essence FERC had to do this because there was a report on file that suggested the dam could be in imminent danger of failing. Since they are responsible for “dam safety,” they had to take action and require Bowersock to put less pressure on the dam by keeping the levels as low as possible. We hope to remedy this by expediting our dam repair project. We are working hard with the City of Lawrence to make this happen. Later I’ll give a full explanation of why the City of Lawrence is responsible for maintenance of the dam, but in short, the dam backs up water for the City’s water supply. So once we received the order from FERC, we went out on the dam last Monday and again today to try to get the boards down. Monday we had ice, weather, and equipment issues. Usually we don’t get out on the dam when the water is this high. Today Rich and I went out on the dam to try to drop 15 doors. We were making some changes to how we wanted to use the cable way and all of the sudden the river came up about a foot. This was probably due to an ice jam breaking upstream. (It is warm today!) When the supports started cracking behind the doors we hustled off the dam pretty quickly. The water levels are projected to go down another 1,000 cfs over the weekend so we’ll give it another shot on Monday. Here are some photos of us beginning the process of getting the doors down before the water came up. It’s not worth it to get anyone hurt and given that those doors weigh around 700 lbs. we need to be really cautious in this undertaking.

This was just before the water came up.

Rich and Sarah get ready to drop the doors.

Looks like a good hand…

Sarah Hill-Nelson — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:31:29 +0000

It looks like we may have a good hand here. Touch wood… Currently we have low water below 2,000 cfs predicted for early next week. The Corps has been very responsive and communicative as we have worked for this window which has been extremely helpful. Barring any major precipitation we have scheduled a visit from the FERC Chicago Office to come down and inspect the dam which is planned for 8:00 AM on Tuesday morning. Wouldn’t you know we would get low water right in the midst of the inaugural speech. Never mind that, we are grateful for the opportunity to get out on the dam. We are rounding up our crew to get out there and it looks like we may even have some warmer weather early next week.

A note on the history on the site, Dad has said there are quite a few errors which we are going to correct asap. It just requires a window of time to sit down and do it. The website was originally put together with a grant from the Kansas Corporation Commission. Pinnacle Technology put most of it together for us and they did a very good job with the information they had available. We’ll continue to try to put more time into the website to make sure all the history is accurate and that we keep it up to date. We are glad to see that we even have people that read it from time to time! Feel free to send in comments about Bowersock if you have some history about which we might not be aware!