Posted by Wayne G. Barber
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| Nick Katkevich, left, of Fight Against Natural Gas was denied the right to litigate in the Burrillville power-plant decision. Paul Bolduc lives across from the proposed entrance to the project. He was granted intervenor status. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News) |
The rules and players involved in the approval process for the proposed Burrillville power plant has narrowed. On Jan. 29, the two-member Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) voted down several groups and individuals seeking to litigate in the approval process.
Burrillville Land Trust, Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America, Fight Against Natural Gas, Burrillville Against Spectra Energy, Sister Mary Pendergast, Fossil Free Rhode Island and Occupy Providence were all denied status to intervene in the proceedings.
EFSB chairwoman Margaret Curran and board member Janet Coit said they rejected the parties because they wouldn’t be directly impacted by the power plant or would otherwise be represented by other entities. They said environmental concerns would be addressed through their vetting of the application and the permitting process being done by the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).
“The simple allegation, however heartfelt, is simply not enough to warrant entry as a party,” Curran said.
Coit said future public hearings allow all voices to be heard. “There is ample opportunity for public input, which we welcome and will consider,” she said.
Although public comment wasn’t permitted, two of the disenfranchised parties expressed their disappointment to the board. Peter Nightingale of Fossil Free Rhode Island
interrupted the meeting and was led from the room by security, after announcing that the EFSB may have “acted in accordance with twisted statuary law, but government in that case will have failed in its fiduciary duty to protect our natural resources, air, land and water.”
Patricia Fontes of Occupy Providence then approached the lectern. “Remember Flint, Michigan,” she said. “The poor will die first and they have had no voice in the process.”
Two couples living across from the entrance to the proposed Clear River Energy Center were approved to participate in the decision process. Paul and Mary Bolduc and Dennis and Kathryn Sherman both oppose the project, because of health and environmental risks and potential harm to their property values.
Paul Bolduc, a 37-year resident of Wallum Lake Road, is particularly concerned about the use of polluted well water as a coolant at the power plant. In September 2001,
underground storage tanks at a gas station in the nearby village of Pascoag leaked an unspecified volume of the now-banned gasoline additive methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). The leak closed Pascoag’s only public water supply. Now, Invenergy, the developer of the power plant, wants to use that water to cool turbines at its 1,000-megawatt energy facility.
Bolduc wants assurances that steam emissions will not spread MBTE. He’s also dubious of a promise by Invenergy to clean the tainted water and discharge it into the municipal sewage system.
“It’s not good for this town,” he said. “I want to know how I’m protected.”
Pendergast, a nun and ecology director for the International Sisters of Mercy chapter in Cumberland, said the permitting process doesn’t address the ethics of a polluting power plant. She intends to pursue the issue by joining with the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the only environmental advocacy group allowed to participate in the case.
The EFSB also denied a motion by the CLF asking that the board consider the state’s climate-emission-reduction goals in its decision. Coit said the EFSB doesn’t need to address the issue, “but it will impact our decision making on this application.”
“Our request was aimed at addressing all future proceedings at the EFSB, not just this specific proceeding,” wrote Jerry Elmer, a CLF senior attorney, after meeting in a blog post. “The carbon-emission-reduction provisions of the Resilient Rhode Island Act are now the law in Rhode Island, and the best way to put those provisions into effect is by writing them into the EFSB rules. CLF regrets that its request was denied.”
The hearing concluded without any decisions regarding the merits of the power plant. But the two-member board did approve measures seeking advisory opinions from several state agencies and groups. The Public Utilities Commission and the Office of Energy Resources will comment on the power plant’s role in the energy landscape. The Division of Planning will consider consistency with the state guide plan and state energy plan, and the socio-economic impacts. DEM, with help from the Executive Climate Change Coordinate Council, will advise on climate-change adaptation and mitigation. DEM also will be asked for opinions regarding fuel storage, impacts on fish and wildlife, water quality, compliance with the recent federal
Clean Power Plan, and impacts on the regional cap-and-trade program, known as the
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
The state Department of Health will address public health, drinking water, power lines and wildlife. The state Department of Transportation will advise on utility permits for physical alteration, as well as traffic impacts and power-line detours during construction. The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission will be asked if exceptions will be granted on historic land.
The Burrillville Planning Board will be asked for opinions relating to land use and noise impacts during construction and operation. The town building inspector will advise on erosion, sediment control and other municipal ordinances. The Burrillville Board of Review will provide information on variances and special-use permits. The tax assessor will advise on property taxes and the impact on abutters.
The Pascoag Utility District will be asked about water use.
The first hearing that allows public input is scheduled for March 31 at 6 p.m. in Burrillville. The site is either the high school or middle school. The Public Utilities Commission will host another hearing on an undetermined date. DEM and CRMC also will hold hearing public hearings, according to Coit.
Coit also noted that pending approval, the executive director of the state Planning Division will soon fill the vacant third seat on the EFSB Source: TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
PASCOAG
PUBLIC LIBRARY— Greenridge Apartments, a 96-unit development in Pascoag planned by NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, was approved for a first mortgage up to $1,735,180. The board also reserved $1,072,000 in 2015 9-percent low-income housing tax credits, and OK'd a "forward reservation" of the same amount in 2016 and or 2017 credits.
The proposal for the $28 million Greenridge Apartments includes the development of 96 new affordable homes on two sites in Burrillville’s Pascoag Village. Seventy-five townhouse apartments, named Greenridge Commons, will be built on nine acres on South Main Street. About one mile away, in the commercial center of Pascoag Village, the Greenridge Downtown development will include 21 second- and third-floor apartments in three mixed-use buildings. There will be a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three bedroom homes.
The Greenridge development is expected to generate about 125 construction jobs over the estimated three-year building process. The Greenridge Downtown apartments are expected to help initiate a revitalization of the center of Pascoag with more than 8,000 square feet of new commercial space located on the ground level.
With the development of Greenridge Apartments, Burrillville will reach its goal of ensuring that 10 percent of its housing stock is affordable. In addition, the development of Greenridge Commons will preserve 116 acres through a conservation easement.
Glocester, Rhode Island, Effective February 1st through February 29th, 2016 the Transfer Station will charge $5.00 each for TVs, Computers, Computer Monitors and Laptops.
BREAKING: The RI House has just voted to approve truck tolls.
PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Division of Law Enforcement today announced the arrest of Justin J. Wagner, age 30, of Fall River, Massachusetts. Wagner – arrested on Wednesday, February 3 – is charged with importing dogs into the state without valid importation certificates or certificates of veterinarian inspection; he is also charged with operating a pet shop without a license. Wagner is scheduled to be arraigned in 3rd Division District Court on Monday, February 15.
Loyal Labs sold several other puppies prior to February 3, 2016 – which may have been exposed to the seized puppies. If you purchased one of these puppies, please contact your veterinarian to have your pet examined immediately.
The parade REALLY needs volunteers. Please consider coming to this event to find different ways to get involved. Students need volunteer hours? We would be happy to have your help.
"No Empty Bowl" - A Night of Fine Arts 
