May 24, 2007
Mirant Sells Swinging Bridge Dam and Other Dams
By Victor Whitman
Thompson - Mirant's troubled chapter as owner of the Swinging Bridge dam and two others in Sullivan County is over.
The company, which successfully sued towns and school districts to lower its taxes and scrambled to rid itself of the dams, even as it spent millions to fix structural problems at the Swinging Bridge dam, has unloaded its properties.
Alliance Energy bought that dam, the Rio and Mongaup dams, their hydroelectric plants and two natural gas-fired electric generators, for $5.1 million from Mirant, completing the bankruptcy sale on May 9. That move has been expected for months.
Alliance says it plans to open an office in Monticello and continue to generate electricity at the dams.
It expects to complete repairs on the Swinging Bridge dam and open the reservoir to the public in July.
Lots of questions remain.
School districts and towns believe that Alliance will try to reduce the $26.6 million assessment on the three Sullivan dams in order to lower its taxes.
"My understanding is that they are going to probably be better owners than Mirant was," county Treasurer Ira Cohen said. "The issue that we have to be concerned about is whether they want to further challenge the tax assessment."