On March 5, 2018, Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC filed a Declaration of Intention with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the proposed Vandling Drift Reclamation Pump Storage Project, FERC Docket No:  DI18-3-000.  The project would be located near the City of Vandling, in Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  The Notice of Declaration of Intention and Soliciting Comments, Protests and Motions to Intervene was posted on March 29, 2018.  The Delaware Riverkeeper Network submitted a Motion to Intervene so we can be active participants in the public process.

Merchant Hydro has described the project in its FERC filing as follows:

"The proposed closed-loop Vandling Drift Reclamation Pump Storage Project would consist of:  (1) a new upper reservoir with a surface area of 300 acres and a storage capacity of 4,500 acre-feet at a surface elevation of approximately 2,000 feet above mean sea level (msl) created through construction of a new roller-compacted concrete or rock-fill dam; (2) a new lower reservoir with a surface area of 140 acres and a storage capacity of 5,526 acre-feet at a surface elevation of 1,475 feet msl; (3) four new 4,425-foot-long, 16-foot-diameter penstocks connecting the upper and lower reservoirs; (4) a new 250-foot-long, 150-foot-wide, 50-foot-high powerhouse containing one or two turbine-generator units with a total rated capacity of 200 megawatts; (5) a new transmission line connecting the powerhouse to a nearby electric grid interconnection pint with options to evaluate multiple grid interconnection locations; and (6) appurtenant facilities.  Merchant Hydro Developers LLC states that it will use only groundwater from an underground abandoned mine to initially charge and seasonally refill the upper reservoirs.  The applicant proposes to transport groundwater to its upper reservoirs using underground pumping equipment and intakes.  The applicant also states the project effectuates an interconnection line without crossing the Lackawanna River or any other body of water. "