Posted by Ed on February 25, 2007, 7:19 pm http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/25/a_power_plant_an Full Text Judi Luciano says she has nothing against industry. She just wants Ever since a private energy company sent Luciano a notice -- one of "I moved into the neighborhood 17 years ago realizing it was zoned Residents in both towns have raised questions about what effect the Billerica officials, on the other hand, welcome the revenues the All of these views will have to be considered when the state The 480-megawatt natural gas-fired plant has been proposed by Under the proposal, the plant would operate no more than 1,500 hours The proposal for the plant responds to growing electricity use in "We estimate right now that we need to increase the amount of DG Clean Power is managed by two men with experience in the energy They chose the Billerica site two years ago because it is a meeting "We literally drove the route of the gas transmission lines and the He said he hopes to have state and local permits by the year's end, The plant would store about 500,000 gallons of low-sulfur diesel The north-flowing Concord is Billerica's source of drinking water. "I know that they want to store 500,000 gallons of diesel oil on Tewksbury officials are concerned about the town's drinking water. Questions are also being raised by a group called Billerica "We don't even know if the town can handle the treatment of the Complese also voiced concerns over stressing the town's "This is a gamble that could end up being the taxpayers' burden," he Liston said that because the water would be recycled, it wouldn't The state "Department of Environmental Protection will make sure we Liston added that the 80-foot-high exhaust stack would be Billerica town officials are looking for additional revenues from "We're in the process of negotiating a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes Scanlon declined to specify how much the town is seeking. But those financial benefits won't help Tewksbury residents, and "We want assurances that as far as the air quality, environmental Joyce Pellino Crane can be reached at crane@globe.com.
24.34.144.49
Here's the link for the Sunday's Globe article on the Power Plant
and the full text follows.
d_a_plea/
A power plant and a plea
Safety assurances sought over project
By Joyce Pellino Crane, Globe Correspondent | February 25, 2007
some reassurances that her health won't be compromised if a power
plant is built a few streets away from her Tewksbury home.
about 2,000 mailed to residents this month -- she has been calling
local and state officials to voice her concerns about the proposed
facility in Billerica.
for industry," she said of the Park Avenue address where she and her
husband live. "I'm not saying 'not in my backyard,' because I do
have industry in my backyard. . . . I'm just concerned about the
health impacts and it being so close."
plant could have on air and water quality, as well as noise levels.
Tewksbury's town manager has told state environmental officials of
concerns he has regarding drinking water.
plant would bring. And the plant's advocates say it would comply
with strict state regulations governing everything from air
emissions to chemical storage.
Department of Telecommunications and Energy decides on whether to
approve the facility.
Montgomery Billerica Power Partners of Burlington, Conn., in
conjunction with DG Clean Power of Thornton, N.H. The facility, to
be situated on 16 acres off Billerica Avenue that will be leased
from Baker Commodities Inc., would help meet eastern New England's
electricity needs during peak usage times such as summer heat waves
and winter cold spells.
a year. Already, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has
ruled that an environmental impact report is needed.
New England over the past decade, said Ellen Foley, spokeswoman for
Holyoke-based ISO New England, one of seven independent system
operators in the United States that oversees wholesale buying and
selling of power.
generating capacity on the bulk power grid by approximately 170
megawatts by 2009 to keep up with consumer demand," said Foley. That
translates to an estimated growth in demand of 2 percent per year
for peak usage, she added.
industry, Joseph S. Fitzpatrick and Edward T. Liston. Fitzpatrick is
also a former state secretary of energy.
point for natural gas and high-voltage transmission lines.
high-voltage electric lines to find potential sites that could be
developed into electric power plants," Liston said. Once the gas is
converted into energy, the transmission lines serve as a
distribution highway throughout the region.
break ground in the spring of 2008, and complete the project by the
following December.
fuel as a backup for the source of natural gas, and about 15,000
gallons of aqueous ammonia. It would use almost 1 million gallons of
recycled water per day diverted from the town's waste-water
treatment plant, and return about 18,000 gallons per day to the
treatment plant, which discharges to the nearby Concord River.
It feeds into the Merrimack River, which is Tewksbury's source of
drinking water.
site so that when there are cold snaps and they can't burn the
natural gas, they'll burn the diesel," said Luciano. "That's the
stuff that when it gets in the air, it can have asthmatic effects in
children. It can cause cardiovascular disease."
In a letter dated Jan. 9 to the state environmental affairs office,
Town Manager David Cressman asked for assurances that "any water
withdrawals from the Concord River basin/watershed will not impact
Tewksbury's water supply which is dependent on and influenced by the
Concord River."
Watchers, which posts information at
groups.yahoo.com/group/BillericaWatchers/.
waste water from the plant," said Ed Complese, a New Foster Avenue
resident and founder of the group. "I don't think our pumping
stations can handle all the waste. I don't think this has been very
well thought out."
infrastructure and the prospect of using the plant more often than
just at peak times.
said.
stress the town's sewage system. He said there is no financial
incentive to increase plant usage because wholesale purchasers pay
continuous rent for their occasional use. And he said oil would be
stored in double-nested steel tanks that prevent leakage.
comply with all emission and noise standards," Liston said.
constructed deep within the wooded parcel. "You can't see this plant
from anywhere in Billerica or Tewksbury," he said. "The trees are
taller than the stack."
the plant.
agreement," said Billerica's principal assessor, Richard Scanlon. "I
consider us very lucky to be in this position considering how
strapped many cities and towns are."
Luciano's concerns transcend fiscal matters.
and health conditions that it's safe to live within a mile of the
plant," she said.
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