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City Council Weighs Decision On Biomass Plant

By Paul Tuthill

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-969312.mp3

Springfield, MA – The fate of a proposed wood burning power plant in western Massachusetts is in the hands of elected officials in Springfield. Dozens of opponents and supporters of the project packed a public hearing Tuesday night for one last chance to sway city councilors. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

Speakers at the hearing which lasted more than four hours offered contradictory opinions on the impact the biomass power plant would have on health and public safety and on whether the city council has just cause to revoke the special permit it gave the project's developer in 2008.
The council voted 10 to 3 to close the hearing, meaning it will take no more public or written comment, and City Council President Jose Tosado said the issue would be put on the agenda for the regularly scheduled meeting Monday night. Tosado says the council has enough information to debate and to vote.
City Councilor Timothy Rooke wanted the hearing extended. He said the council lacks the expertise to sort through the conflicting studies and statistics that experts on both sides have offered up.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is weighing a decision on the final permit needed by Palmer Renewable Energy to build a 150 million dollar 35 megawatt power plant at an industrial site in east Springfield.
Patrick Markey, an attorney, who is a former Springfield city councilor and former city solicitor, said there is just cause for the council to revoke the special permit
Markey urged councilors not to be swayed by the threat of a lawsuit if they vote to revoke the permit.
Palmer Renewable Energy's original plans for the biomass project included construction and demolition debris as a fuel source. The current plans call for burning nearly 12 hundred tons of green wood chips per day
Frank Fitzgerald, an attorney representing Palmer Renewable Energy said the council has no grounds to revoke the special permit.
City Councilor Katerie Walsh said she'll be looking for guidelines from the city's lawyers prior to Monday's possible vote.
Opponents of the biomass project contend it will worsen air pollution in Springfield and surrounding communities. Environmental organizations, including the Conservation Law Foundation, have joined with a grassroots group, called Stop Toxic Incineration in Springfield to fight the project Neighborhood councils have weighed in against it. More than 170 small business owners in Springfield signed a petition urging councilors to revoke the special permit

Consultants hired by Palmer Renewable Energy told councilors last night that the opponents they heard from are wrong. The developer's experts insist the smokestack emissions will have no adverse effects on people's health.. The project has the backing of construction trade unions, because of the promise of 200 jobs.