Burrillville already has one power plant that we are dealing with. For all of this environmental damage and health risk of adding this SECOND oil and gas power plant Rhode Island would get; 300 non-guaranteed temporary jobs over three years, approximately 24 full time jobs, a modest non-guaranteed reduction in utility bills, and marginal per person tax benefits. The citizens of neighboring Uxbridge, MA defeated a similar plant proposal. Tell our elected officials that Rhode Island does not need this kind of investment that destroys local habitats and puts the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.
The RISK to our children, their future, and our environment is not worth the REWARD.
This is scary stuff. Who approves a new Power Plant in Rhode Island?
Base on to the Rhode Island Siting Act, the approval for this proposed plant rests with the Energy Facilities Siting Board and is going through the review process with a decision expected now expected in January 2018. We are currently in the advisory opinion period where public hearings are being held and a number of agencies and boards will submit their updated advisory opinions ahead of final hearings late this year.
Based on the Rhode Island law, approval for a major energy facility is based the considerations below. If the Board Members find all of the following are supported by the record, the license application will be approved; if one or more are not supported by the record, the license application can be denied.
- Construction of the proposed facility is necessary to meet the needs of the state and/or region for energy of the type to be produced by the proposed facility.
- The proposed facility is cost-justified, and can be expected to produce energy at the lowest reasonable cost to the consumer consistent with the objective of ensuring that the construction and operation of the proposed facility will be accomplished in compliance with all of the requirements of the laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances, under which, absent this chapter, a permit, license, variance, or assent would be required, or that consideration of the public health, safety, welfare, security and need for the proposed facility justifies a waiver of some part of the requirements when compliance cannot be assured.
- The proposed facility will not cause unacceptable harm to the environment and will enhance the socio-economic fabric of the state.
We already know the proposed plant does NOT meet the requirements above for approval!!
- Many experts have testified before the PUC and the Rhode Island Senate that the energy from this proposed plant is not needed. In fact, even the ISO which operates the power grid in New England is predicting continued .2% decline in the regional power needs based on efficiency efforts and the positive impact of renewable energy sources.
- Experts have also testified before the Burrillville Town Planning Board the plant will have a very hard time meeting current town ordinances and have recommended that variances would be required. Experts have also testified at EFSB hearings regarding the risk to public health, welfare, and security due to the massive amount of hazardous and cancer causing chemicals released and the plan to potential to pollute our land, air, and water resources. This puts both water availability and water quality in serious jeopardy.
- Finally, many experts have testified in front of the EFSB, The Rhode Island House of Representatives, and the Rhode Island Senate that this proposed plant would have a massive negative impact on the environment. Most notably due to the 3.6 Million tons of Global Warming Causing CO2 emissions the plant would make it impossible for Rhode Island to ever meet our carbon emission reduction commitments in the Resilient Rhode Island Act. Furthermore, the area proposed for the plant is one of 9 designated resource protection areas in the state due to its ecological and bio-diversity importance and is directly surrounded and abutted by numerous state conservation areas, land management areas, state parks, state recreational areas, lakes, rivers, campgrounds. The quality of all of these areas is put at risk by this massive power plant and if we further industrialize this area and strip this area of our forests it ceases to be a viable eco-tourism destination putting the existing economy at risk.