Final hearing on power plant held in Burrillville
BURRILLVILLE – While Wednesday’s night’s final public comment hearing on Invenergy’s plans to build a $1 billion power plant in Pascoag didn’t bring out the kinds of crowds that attended the four previous public hearings in town, there was no shortage of impassioned pleas from opponents urging the state Energy Facility Siting Board to reject Invenergy’s application.
Unlike the four previous hearings which were held in the 600-seat high school auditorium, last night’s session was held in the middle school auditoirum, a 483-seat venue that was more than half empty as last night’s four-hour session got underway.
Notably missing were the members of the trade unions who attended the four previous hearings to show their support for the plant.
There have been a total of seven public comment hearings since Invenergy filed its application with the EFSB in 2015. Of those seven hearings, five have been held in Burrillville.
Burrillville residents thought they were participating in their last public hearing on Invenergy’s plans back in October, but that month Invenergy unexpectedly asked for another public hearing to be held last night after submitting an amended water supply plan on Sept. 28. In addition to identifying the Narragansett Indian Tribe as a new supplementary source of water, the plan also gave Benn Water & Heavy Transport first-time status as a full backup to the primary source – the town of Johnston.
Invenergy said it wanted the additional public comment hearing in Burrillville to be sure it is fully compliant with the statutory requirements for public hearings, citing the many adjustments to its water supply plan since the company’s original permit to build CREC was filed in 2015 .
A similar public was held in Charlestown Tuesday night. That hearing was held because the EFSB has determined that Charlestown is a community affected by the proposed power plant construction because the application includes a backup water supply from wells located in Charlestown that are owned by the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
At last night’s hearing in Burrillville, opponents urged the the board to reject the application.
“This plant will have a negative impact on the ecosystem and habitat and will undermine the state’s ability to lower greenhouse gas emissions,” resident David Brunetti testified before the three-member board, which includes Chairwoman Margaret Curran; Janet Coit, director of Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management; and Parag Agrawal, associate director at the Rhode Island Division of Planning.
“They have no water plan,” Sr. Mary Pendergast, R.S.M., told the board. “The Johnston water deal is in superior court; the Fall River water deal was done illegally; and there has not been any tribal decision. What will it take to get the EFSB to dismiss this case with prejudice? This water plan changes
with every meeting that we have. There is no plan.”
“Invenergy struggles to practice integrity,” added resident Donna Woods. “None of us are fooled and none of us are for sale.”
“You’ve been given plenty of evidence that this plant isn’t needed,” said another resident. “This is an educated public. We know what’s going on. Your job is to say ‘no’ there is no need for this. Do your job and prove to us that this board is still relevant.”
“Invenergy is not a good neighbor,” Julia O’Rourke testified. “How can the EFSB approve such a dangerous project with no gurantees?”
Two weeks ago, the EFSB granted motions by the Town of Burrillville and Conservation Law Foundation to provide a 90-day extension to allow for additional discovery and to give their experts time to examine the impact and reason why Invenergy’s proposed 1,000-megawatt power plant’s two generating units were disqualified from an auction by Independent System Operator New England, which manages the regional power grid.
Earlier this month, ISO-NE, a neutral, non-profit organization that calculates the region’s energy needs for the future and helps determine whether additional suppliers are warranted in the marketplace, disqualified Invenergy’s planned Clear River Energy Center Unit 2 from offering into February’s capacity auction because of permitting delays resulting from local opposition to the natural gas-fired plant in Pascoag.
As a result, the EFSB agreed to not only grant a 90-day extension of the process, but also requested additional supplemental advisory opinions on the issue from the Office of Energy Resources and Statewide Planning.
The EFSB ruling will extend the start of the final hearings on Invenergy’s application. The hearings were slated to begin Friday, but that has been canceled until further notice.
Curran said at the hearing last night that the final hearings will probably begin in April and conclude in July. Under state law, the EFSB must make a decision in the administrative procedure within 60 days from the conclusion of the hearings.
Meanwhile, Chicago-based Invenergy is pushing back the opening of the proposed power plant to 2021 because of permitting delays in connecting the facility to the electric grid.
Invenergy Thermal Development Corp. says it plans to invest more than $700 million in the proposed Clear River Energy Center, which its says will generate an overall economic impact to Rhode Island’s economy of $1.3 billion. Opponents of the power plant say it will ruin the town’s rural charm and leave the community susceptible to pollution, noise, and traffic.