Storm King Mountain is the northern end of a magnificent fjord-like valley in the Hudson Highlands. After strong opposition to the project arose, Con Ed agreed to put the power plant as well as the nearby transmission lines underground.
But Con Ed had rejected the chief alternative to the Storm King project-using gas turbines to cope with peak electrical demand.
The Storm King battle has produced a landmark in conservation law: In 1965 a federal court allowed a conservation organization to intervene on behalf of the public for the firsttime. The court also ordered the Federal Power Commission to reconsider the case, giving greater weight to environmental factors.
In all this hassle, Harvard has remained surprisingly aloof despite the threat of losing its own land. In 1964 President Pusey wrote a letter to the New York Times stating that Harvard wishes "to ally ourselves with the Times and the individuals and organizations who are protesting the plans of Consolidated Edison."
But Harvard was not represented at either the FPC or court hearings, and none of the $500,000 that conservationists have spent in opposing Con Ed was contributed by Harvard.
Conservationists have not approached Harvard asking for financial support. Yet the chief explanation for Harvard's inaction seems to be a fear of getting mired in New York State polities. (The land is formally run by a legal front organization called the Harvard Black Rock Forest Corporation, to avoid such entanglements.)
Local observers also fear that Harvard would like to sell the land for a tidy sum that could be used handily in Cambridge. Condemnation would allow Harvard to sell out without jeopardizing its rights to the land under the will of Ernest G Stillinan who donated the land in 1949.
To date, Harvard and Con Ed have not discussed the sale and last week President Pusey reiterated his opposition to the Con Ed project.
Since the FPC examiner has already approved Con Ed's plan, though conservationists expect the FPC commissioners to grant the final license next Fall unless some powerful institution-hopefully Harvard steps into the battle.
The local Storm King ecology groups have been fighting the Con Ed project since it was announced in September 1962. Both their funds and congressional influence have been spread thin by the eight year battle.
No matter which way the FPC decides the case another court fight seems inevitable.
"But the climate has changed in the country." Hamilton said, noting the upsurge in environmental concern. "We will be fighting, against a more favorable backdrop."