EFSB to hear opinions on water supply for Burrillville power plant

BURRILLVILLE – The Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) will most likely ask the state Department of Environmental Management, Department of Transportation, Providence Water Supply Board, Statewide Planning and the towns of Burrillville and Johnston to weigh in on a new water supply plan Invenergy is proposing for its natural gas-fired power plant in Pascoag.

That short list of agencies that may be asked to submit supplemental advisory opinions was discussed by EFSB at a brief meeting Monday, which was held to discuss several power plant matters, including the need for Invenergy to file additional information as part of its application; the need for revised or additional advisory opinions; and a new timeline for the review process.

A more definitive list of who will be invited to submit additional advisory opinions will be discussed at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 21. At that hearing, the board will also hear oral arguments on the latest round of motions the town of Burrillville and the Conservation Law Foundation have filed with regard to the new water plan.

The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. at the Public Utilities Commission Offices, 89 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick.

According to the board’s rules and regulations, agencies asked to submit advisory opinions on an application are allowed up to six months to do so, which means final hearings on Invenergy’s application would not be held until the fall.

But EFSB member Parag Agrawal indicated Monday that the board may ask for those opinions earlier.

Three weeks ago, the EFSB unanimously voted to deny separate motions by Burrillville and the Conservation Law Foundation to dismiss Invenergy’s application. The town’s original motion to dismiss was filed in September on the grounds that Invenergy’s application is incomplete and did not include information regarding all required support facilities, including water resources. The EFSB, which will have final say on whether the plant is built, voted a month later in October to suspend the application and ordered the company to report back by Jan. 11 with a new plan to secure water for the $700 million Clear River Energy Center after two water suppliers in Burrillville rejected proposals to sell water.

On Jan, 11, the last day of the suspension period and the day after the Johnston City Council approved a longterm agreement to sell water to the company, Invenergy filed its revised water supply plan.

Meanwhile, the town continues to maintain its position that Invenergy’s new water plan in partnership with the town of Johnston changes the processing methods of the power plant and includes process that were not known to the town, the EFSB, or the other agencies that provided advisory opinions to the EFSB back in September of 2016.

With the two motions to dismiss denied, the EFSB review process is back on track and headed towards final public hearings although how the time clock will be re-set remains unclear. The board’s meeting on March 21 will debate that issue as well as determine a timeframe for agencies, including the town of Burrillville, to submit their supplemental opinions on Invenergy’s revised water supply plan.

The board’s final decision is due within 120 days of the beginning of the final hearings or 60 days after the end of the hearings, whichever is shorter.

The applicant has a 10-day period in which to appeal a final decision to the State Supreme Court, otherwise the decision stands.