ACSR May Weigh University's Role In Arkansas Environmental Dispute

The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility may study the necessity and environmental repercussions of a power plant proposed by the Arkansas Power and Light Company. AP&L is owned by a holding company in which Harvard is the single largest stockholder.

Steven B. Farber '63, assistant to President Bok, said yesterday that he had forwarded materials provided by the Arkansas Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN), an environmental group that opposes the construction of the power plant, to Hugh Calkins '45, chairman of the Corporation Sub-committee on Shareholder Responsibility.

Farber said Calkins will review the documents and determine whether the "complicated questions" raised by ACORN should be referred to the ACSR for its consideration.

The Bok administration established the ACSR last year to advise the Corporation subcommittee on how to vote in the proxy contests of corporations in which Harvard owns stock.

But Farber said yesterday that under Calkins's recommendation the ACSR has considered questions of shareholder responsibility not specifically related to proxy votes.

ACORN, which wrote to President Bok on Monday asking that the University aid the group in its battle against the proposed power plant, yesterday received formal endorsement from the New American Movement. Harvard Ecology Action and the South House Committee.

Other Support Sought

The South House Committee urged other House committees to support ACORN in its efforts by calling for the organization and financing of a committee of faculty and students to study whether there is a real need for the plant in Arkansas and to assess what the economic and environmental effects would be.

In its letter to President Bok on Monday, ACORN asked Harvard to establish such a committee and to use its influence as a stockholder in Middle South Utilities Inc., the holding company that owns AP&L, to persuade the utility to guarantee indemnities for farmers who are damaged by the plant's operation.

ACORN opposes the company's proposed 2800-megawatt coal-burning plant because it fears the facility will emit large amounts of sulfur dioxide, causing damage to crops, buildings, water supplies and health of nearby farmers.

The group also urged Harvard to intervene in hearings before the Arkansas Public Service Commission that will make the final decision on whether to allow the company to build the project. Hearings were originally slated to begin next week, but ACORN won a postponement of the public forum.

The student ACSR, in a unanimous vote earlier this week, had asked the University to exert pressure on Middle South, to provide environmental controls for the project.

Yesterday the New American Movement and Harvard Ecology Action promised that they would help ACORN in its drive to win assurances of sulfur dioxide controls and payment for any damages incurred by the plant's operation.

Harvard Ecology Action will supply money for the fight, Ruth C. Streeter '76, a member of the group, said yesterday. She added that the organization will probably send some students to Arkansas during the Christmas recess to study the plant and possible environmental hazards.

Streeter also said Harvard Ecology Action hopes that one of its members will serve on the committee to study the plant and its repercussions if such a group is appointed.

"We're 100 per cent behind ACORN," Streeter said. "As the plan stands now, it screws the farmers and it screws the air.