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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Council considers end to prohibition in city parks Mushroom hunter rescued after rainy night in Merlin woods Get Up & Go: Dec. 2 Since You Asked: How low will it go? For now, just the 30s Emergency Services Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Woman admits role in ID theft, bank fraud ring Community blog: The Hug-Let's Hope it Happens in Furgeson Too. 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Real Estate News Dear Monty: Violation of HOA rules creates conflict Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Financial webinars offered for veterans and their families Home prices rise across Jackson County People In Business People in Business, Nov. 18 People in Business, Nov. 8 Transportation Allegiant Air will resume Medford-Phoenix service May 22 Medford airport passenger counts sky high in October Erickson reports third quarter profit Agriculture Southern Oregon wine industry had a robust 2013 Farmers file suit over GMO crop ban Lawsuit seeks to overturn Jackson County's GMO ban or net $4.2 million for farms Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Opinion Latest Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up Letters to the Editor, Dec. 2 Michael Gerson: Shrinking the global AIDS epidemic map Granlund cartoon: Charitable donations down Letters to the Editor, Dec. 1 Editorials Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up Our View: What's in a name? 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Guest Opinion: Fight for the rights of independent voters will continue Guest Opinion: 'Natural' not necessarily better for forest management Guest Opinion: County voters rebuffed judicial appointment process Fix health care reform, don't scrap it Lifestyle Latest stories Dr. Elaine Heffner: The emotions of the holidays Food for Thought: Sugar cookies offer holiday nostalgia Ride & Drive: The 2015 Toyota Camry Keeping Fit: Runners need to do more than run to stay in shape Jeff Vrabel: Unhappy accidents are hard to predict Food Food for Thought: Sugar cookies offer holiday nostalgia Kitchen Call: A change from turkey leftovers Community blog: In soup or salad, savor pumpkin with leeks Be a gravy-making star on Thanksgiving Food for Thought: Add new twists on Thanksgiving favorites Home and Garden Home Help: Luxurious upgrades don’t have to break the bank 9 ways to green your gift wrap Dear Monty: How to find a good real estate attorney Home Help: Quick tips for getting your home ready for the holidays Mortgage insurance: Your questions answered Health HealthStyle: Develop an attitude of gratitude Health Watch: Fuel up on carbs before workouts Health insurance enrollment help available Community blog: Appreciating Clouds: Year-Round Gratitude Community blog: A Little Toilet Talk Hiking Biking Faith Religion news: Pope aims to expedite sex abuse rulings Religion news: Seattle-based mega-church dissolves Religion Briefs 'Walk the talk' Religion briefs Milestones and Achievements Madi-Stiles A New Song Rogers-Horn New Arrivals ACCESS receives $50,000 donation from Wells Fargo Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Brunch at Loft Brasserie 2014 Providence Festival of Trees A grand illumination at the Commons Lighting up memories Jacksonville's Victorian Christmas Theater OCT's holiday show is a wonderful play New 'Alice' has some for kids ... and adults 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' opens at Oregon Cabaret Theatre 'Red Noses' a romp through slapstick and pathos SOU presents 'The Drunken City' Music Shae Johnson releases 'Can You Feel the Music' Jeff Kloetzel releases 'Long Time Coming' A new guitar slinger in town Peter Chianca: Top 40 songs even a dad could love The Farr Side: Different artists, common songs Community Events 2014 Providence Festival of Trees A grand illumination at the Commons Lighting up memories Jacksonville's Victorian Christmas New exhibits highlight Third Fridays Dining Brunch at Loft Brasserie The Bohemian Club Thanksgiving comes early at Taprock Word of Mouth: Brunch at Brothers' Restaurant Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Council considers end to prohibition in city parks ... Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up ... Medford leans toward three-quarter-day kindergarten ... Council considers end to prohibition in city parks ... Our View: Waiting for someone else to step up ... Medford leans toward three-quarter-day kindergarten ... ENVIRONMENT Applegate Dam hydroelectric project dead in water License granted in 2009 will be terminated By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News The federal government has pulled the plug on a utility company's more than decade-long effort to build a hydropower generation system at Applegate Dam, saying the company's work window has expired. The license holder, AG Hydro, failed to begin construction of the 10-megawatt generator at the southwestern Jackson County dam by the December 2013 deadline, despite receiving a two-year extension on its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license granted in 2009. The commission on Wednesday formally ordered the license terminated on Nov. 17. AG Hydro took over the project from its originating company, Symbiotics LLC, four years ago. AG Hydro and Symbiotics are subsidiaries of Toronto-based Riverbank Power Corp., which builds and operates hydroelectric facilities in North America and South America, records show. The company has 30 days to appeal the decision. AG Hydro's office in rural Jacksonville is closed and its telephone disconnected. Initial plans called for installing a steel liner in the dam's outlet tunnel, two large vertical gates along with various penstocks, turbines and generators, according to FERC. In the four years that the company had the construction contract, the only work done at the 242-foot-tall dam was placement of water-monitoring gauges and a solar panel to operate them, said David Tucker, assistant operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built and operates the dam. "Certainly nothing ever got installed out there, other than that small solar panel," Tucker said. The pulled license means no construction of 15 miles of buried 69-kilovolt transmission lines from the dam to Ruch, over which a bicycle path was planned. It also suspends, for now, plans to reintroduce wild steelhead to Applegate River tributaries upstream of the dam because the licensee was to fund it as part of the agreement. Reaction to the FERC decision was somewhat mixed in the Applegate Valley, where some residents and the utility clashed over planned construction of aerial transmission lines until Symbiotics agreed to bury them along Upper Applegate and Hamilton roads. "I guess I'm a little ambivalent," said Brian Della Santina, one of the landowners who opposed the aerial lines as potentially dangerous eyesores. Della Santina said he likes the use of "clean power" but will not miss the planned construction zones along Upper Applegate Road as outlined in the plans. "I guess we don't have to worry about that now," Della Santina said. After seven years of studies, Symbiotics planned to complete the estimated $19 million project in time to begin delivering up to 10 megawatts of electricity as early as 2013. A megawatt is roughly enough electricity to operate 1,000 homes or small businesses simultaneously. A similar facility at Lost Creek Dam generates up to 49 megawatts of power. Not only did the company not commence with construction on time, it failed to file required pre-construction plans for review, and at one time last year filed blueprints with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers written in Chinese without translation, according to the FERC order. The company also received a permit on March 31, 2011, from Jackson County for the transmission line work, and that permit expired June 20, 2012, said John Vial, the county's roads and parks manager. "They didn't do anything, and we haven't heard a word from them," Vial said. The project included money to reintroduce winter steelhead to about 35 miles of spawning tributaries upstream of Applegate Lake that were lost to native steelhead when the dam was built in 1980. The lost FERC license, and the money to trap adult steelhead at the dam's base and truck them over the structure for release in the reservoir, means that program is on hold but not dead, said Russ Stauff, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Rogue Watershed manager. "This removes the immediate opportunity for us," Stauff said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman. By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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