Harvard could become a significant force in court battle which has dragged on for more than a decade between the Federal Power Commission and Consolidated Edison on one hand, and several environmentally concerned groups and the City of New York on the other.

It appears doubtful, however, that the University will take any action on the matter in the near future, and even more doubtful that, when the time comes, it will support the environmentalists.

The case currently is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. It is not known when--or whether--it will be heard.

The controversy involves Con Ed's desire to build a pumped power storage facility on the Hudson River at Storm King Mountain near Cornwall, N.Y. The project would involve the acquisition, probably by eminent domain, of about 230 acres of Black Rock Forest, a 3700-acre plot bequeathed to the University by Ernest G. Stillman '08 in 1949.

The original plans for the Storm King project were announced in September 1962, and Con Ed's official application for license made in early 1963. The plan involved blasting away part of the base of Storm King Mountain and the installation of eight giant turbines. A 40-foot-diameter tunnel would be carved through the mountain and beyond it for two miles to a high mountain valley.

Dams and dikes would form a basin which could contain eight billion gallons of water. During slack energy periods, electricity generated at other Con Ed plants would be used to pump water into the reservoir; during peak periods, this water would be released to generate electricity to meet the increased demand. Ironically, five kilowatts of energy produced elsewhere would be needed to obtain four kilowatts from the Storm King project.

The battle against the project began in 1963, when L.O. Rothschild, a New York attorney and conservationist, received his copy of Con Ed's 1962 annual report, containing an artist's rendering and description of the Storm King facility, Enraged, Rothschild wrote to The New York Times, and the Times, in an editorial, criticized the plan to "plunk down a couple of power in- stallations right in the heart of one of the most stunning natural regions in the eastern United States..."

In November 1963 Rothschild and five other people formed the Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, and gathered about 30 conservation organizations to aid its cause.

For ten years, appeals and positions from both sides have passed through various courts on the East Coast, with Con Ed providing testimony and the conservation groups providing countertestimony, and each side winning and losing court battles in alternating phases.

The most recent decision, handed down late last year by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, decided in Favor of the Federal Power Commission and Consolidated Edison. The petitioners--Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the City of New York, the Sierra Club and its Atlantic Chapter. Wilderness Society, the Izaak Walton League of America, National Audubon Society and the National Parks and Conservation Association--are seeking review of the case by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The battle, representatives of both sides admit, is far from over, and each side has strategies in the hole for whatever action the Supreme Court may take.

Detached

Throughout the ten years, Harvard has looked on the proceedings with a detached interest. The University was "approached less than a year ago and asked if they were still amenable to talk about the sale of the land," said James Hillary, a representative of Con Ed's land acquisition office. "They said they would be amenable to talk about it, but that was about all." Now, with the change in administration, the procedure must start over again, Hillary said.

"The general attitude has been 'keep out of it, 'because no matter what they do they'll be blamed for it," said Martin H. Zimmerman, director of the Harvard Forests.

But Scenic Hudson, in addition to the legal actions which remain up its sleeve, is hoping that the University will not give up the land without a fight.