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Land Management
- "Is Integrys Energy Group a good steward of the land it owns?"
- Yes, we are.
- "Does Integrys Energy Group seek the best land use for the greatest good?"
- Yes, we do.
Background
Traditionally, electric utilities have owned a significant amount of land. Power plants, substations, hydroelectric dams and other facilities needed to generate and transmit electricity make up a portion of the land holdings. Utility-owned acreage also lies in the rights-of-way and buffer areas surrounding electric facilities, and in the undeveloped, often wooded, lands surrounding reservoirs and hydroelectric dams. To build these facilities, utilities must obtain federal, state and local permits covering many land use and environmental issues. Near electric facilities, vegetation must be managed to avoid interruptions of service to customers.
The Integrys Viewpoint
Integrys Energy Group protects the land in our care because we have a responsibility to do so. But more than that, we are also community citizens, parents, outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers. We value a healthy environment as much as our customers and neighbors do.
We believe:
- We have a responsibility to others and to ourselves to be responsible stewards of the land in our care. Operating an electric utility comes with unique responsibilities. Our facilities and routes can be close to, or even run through, customers' yards, community areas, parks and forests. In exchange for the privilege of using these areas, we have a responsibility to care for the land in the most environmentally sound manner possible. This includes responsible land management during construction, during operation, and even after a facility is no longer used or in service.
- We have a responsibility to our shareholders to focus on our core energy business. As a company of individuals who are connected to the communities we serve, we love the great outdoors. As a company fiscally responsible to its customers, employees and shareholders, we cannot justify keeping land holdings that are no longer needed for energy operations. When we no longer need land for energy operations, we must seek new owners who will also be responsible stewards of the land.
Our Actions
Integrys Energy Group has a long history of environmental stewardship.
We are:
- Using best practices in land management. The lands surrounding our facilities are used by and viewed by the public. We employ environmental professionals and consult with resource agencies to ensure we're caring for the land in the best possible manner, using best practices for land management. This includes a comprehensive forest management program, as well as aesthetic management practices along reservoir shorelines, in recreational areas and surrounding public roads. One goal of our land management program is to maintain healthy forest areas while ensuring protected species, and archaeological and historical sites, are preserved. The program also maintains public recreational facilities, such as boat landings, day-use trails and campgrounds. The result is an integrated program that addresses as many potential uses as possible.
- Protecting wildlife and native species. Protecting endangered species, like the bald eagle, Karner blue butterfly and dwarf lake iris, is a key part of our land management program. We work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Department of Natural Resources to minimize effects on these species, and others, and maximize their protection. Each year, the hatching of peregrine falcon chicks is a special time for us at two of our power plant sites. We provide nesting boxes for the peregrines at our facilities, and our operating employees monitor the birds, making sure everything goes as it should until the chicks leave the nest.
- Making pristine, natural areas available for everyone to enjoy. Natural areas we own support wildlife, fish and vegetation that we believe should be enjoyed by all. We have opened these areas to the public for fishing, hunting, boating, picnicking, camping, hiking and wildlife viewing. In many cases, we provide access to facilities such as parking areas, boat launches and picnic areas. Handicap-accessible facilities are also provided.
- Remediating former gas plant sites. In years past, some of our companies manufactured gas using a process called "gasification." It involved heating coal to produce a gas that could be used in street and home lighting, as well as cooking. When the manufactured gas plants were closed, given the knowledge of the time, there was no reason to be concerned about residue at these locations. Today, we are going back to those sites to address any coal tar or other chemicals that may remain in the soil, sediments or groundwater. Many of the sites are returned to public use as parks or for commercial development.
- Seeking responsible, environmentally focused owners for lands we wish to sell. When we determine a parcel of land is no longer needed for our core operations, we first contact an environmentally focused organization, such as the Department of Natural Resources or other conservation groups, to see if they wish to purchase the land for public use. In 2002, for example, Wisconsin Public Service arranged a partial sale/partial donation of 9,349 acres of land to the state of Wisconsin to become the Tommy G. Thompson State Park and the Peshtigo River State Forest. If neither the government nor any conservation group expresses interest in land we wish to sell, we work with local communities to parcel the land for sale. The community receives economic benefit, and our agreements ensure a continuing legacy of environmentally friendly land use.
- Contributing to green spaces owned by others. Environmental projects are a focus of many of our corporate contributions. One such effort is the Lincoln Park Zoo South Pond Environmental Project, sponsored by Peoples Gas. Our contributions to this project will help build an outdoor environmental education center, or outdoor classroom, for the Lincoln Park Zoo. Teachers and students from across the city of Chicago will be able to participate in hands-on environmental education projects on and around the pond. The facility, named the Peoples Energy Environmental Education Center will open to the public in 2010.