Onalaska Council  reviews comments on hyrdroelectic plant project
Polk County Enterprise - November 2007

ONALASKA – City Council members will review comments relating to the proposed Lake Livingston Hydroelectric Project that would generate 118 gigawatt-hours per year to be sold to a local utility during Tuesday’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. at Onalaska City Hall.

The proposed project includes a powerhouse with three turbine generating units with a total installed capacity of 24 megawatts, according to documents filed with an application by East Texas Electric Cooperative Inc. for an environmental impact statement from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2006. The project would be located on the Trinity and incorporate facilities at the Lake Livingston Dam operated by the Trinity River Authority.

A two mile-long 138-kilovolt transmission line would also be built as part of the project, the application says. The application process includes economic analysis, preliminary engineering plans and a study of the environmental impact over a 36-month period.

TRA and electric cooperative approved a memorandum of understanding in April 2007, according to the Coastal Water Authority, which could become involved in the project if the memorandum is approved by the City of Houston, a joint owner of Lake Livingston.

Other items set to be discussed by the Onalaska council Tuesday include:
Approval of the Onalaska Christmas Parade;
Review and approve the 2008 holiday schedule;
Announce plans for the Christmas in Our Town celebration set for 10 a.m. Nov. 24 at the Onalaska Volunteer Fire Department;
Announce details for the annual Christmas Decorating Contest for residential, commercial, outdoor, daylight and subdivision categories;
Announce details on behalf of the Lioness Club for applications for Toys For Tots and the food basket program;
Discuss details for the Thanksgiving Dinner to be served to the public at the Onalaska Fire Department from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Day; hear reports from the police department, fire department, building inspector and library as well as the police department’s annual racial profiling report.