A dozen local and state agencies have filed their advisory opinions for Invenergy’s proposed power plant, the Clear River Energy Center.

Well, sort of. A few offices did not offer opinions because they have yet to receive pertinent information and/or permits from Invenergy.

Below are few highlights from the advisory opinions — with favorable and unfavorable assessments — posted on the Energy Facility Siting Board’s project docket page.

Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission

No objections.

Rhode Island Department of Health

DOH determined the impact of electric and magnetic fields would be negligible or non-existent.

Noise levels would exceed annoyance thresholds. The agency said it supports the company’s efforts to minimize noise in the facility design but recognizes that such measures have not yet been proven.

DOH recommended that the Energy Facility Siting Board establish clear noise limitations and that Invenergy work with the Spectra Energy to minimize noise as much as possible.

To date, Invenergy has not shared from where it plans to draw water to cool its power plant. DOH has asked to assess the impact of future proposals on drinking water quality.

Burrillville Planning Board

The Burrillville Planning Board determined that the power plant would “not be consistent with our Comprehensive Plan and would not be consistent with…the Rhode Island Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act.”

The board has not seen the facility’s complete engineering design or state agency permits. The board is troubled by the fact that the state air quality review will not be issued until after the EFSB review and that other reviews by government authorities, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, are still incomplete.

“It is also our opinion that many of the data responses we received from Invenergy were incomplete and at times evasive.”

The board recognizes some economic benefits, such as town tax revenues and new jobs, but come at an unacceptable cost.

Statewide Planning

The Department of Administration’s Statewide Planning Program acknowledged that the amount of ratepayer savings is in dispute,  but determined that the power plant would still have small but meaningful savings.

It determined the project would enhance the region’s reliability to produce electricity.

Construction and operation phases would have significant out-of-state investments in Rhode  Island. The project would lead to positive effects on businesses through increased spending  and jobs, and result in positive net revenues to the state and Burrillville.

The program determined there may be some additional demands on local emergency management systems.

The opinion was not updated to reflect the fact that both Pascoag and Harrisville declined to provide water to Invenergy to cool the facility.

Burrillville Zoning Board of Review

The Burrillville Zoning Board of Review said Invenergy has “refused” to provide information about its potential new water source and therefore couldn’t adequately evaluate the project’s impact to the local community without this required information.

Burrillville Tax Assessor

The tax assessor found little evidence to suggest that the project would have a negative impact on property values in town or on the abutting properties, saying the power plant may affect property values by three to seven percent with the greatest impact to those properties closest to the plant, but no impact on property values beyond two miles.

Burrillville Building Inspector

“To date, I have not not received anything from Invenergy in the form of plans, narratives or construction drawings to meet any of the requirements of the Town of Burrillville’s Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance,” wrote the building official and zoning enforcement officer. “I would have to consider the application as incomplete and consider the delay, or withholding, grounds for disapproval.”

He also described the company’s zoning application as inaccurate and stated he couldn’t get pertinent information needed to offer the required advisory opinions.

Pascoag Utility District

The Pascoag Utility District decided not to supply Invenergy with water from a contaminated well closed by court order several years ago. The utility’s expert consultant concluded using the well posed too many significant risks to the environment and the proper treatment system couldn’t ensure eliminating public health risks.

Office of Energy Resources

OER determined the project would continue to displace power plants that are less efficient and emit more emissions, but that impact will diminish as the region continues to add more renewable and cleaner sources of energy.

The operation of Invenergy’s power plant will support state and regional goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or at least not impede progress.

Department of Environmental Management

DEM could not render an opinion as to whether the project presents an unacceptable harm to the environment because it has not received permit applications for freshwater wetlands, water quality and stormwater. “Failure to receive ANY of these required permits would represent a determination by DEM that the proposed facility presents an unacceptable harm to the environment.”

The cumulative impacts on air quality are still under review.

DEM could not render an opinion about the oil pollution control regulations or the above ground storage tanks because Invenergy had not completed the design of the fuel oil piping, pumping and storage tank systems.

The project would require clearing more than 120 acres of forest. DEM said substantial forest clearing and fragmentation from the project will negatively affect area-sensitive wildlife and plants in the site vicinity. It would also hold back DEM’s efforts to build resiliency within the landscape to slow the loss of biodiversity through habitat fragmentation and climate change.

DEM determined the location of a facility this size and scope immediately next to substantial state preserved land is inconsistent with the state’s conservation priorities.

Department of Transportation

Invenergy is proposing to build a new access road to the power plant, south of and parallel to the existing Algonquin Road. DOT could not render an opinion on the impact this and other alterations would have on traffic and the state highway’s drainage. That’s because Invenergy has not filed any required permits, including physical alteration and utility permit applications (to review the proposed sewer and water and utility lines along Route 100 and any other state roads).

Public Utilities Commission

Commissioner Herbert DeSimone concluded southeastern New England and Rhode Island consumers need Invenergy’s proposed power plant to meet the reliability of the region’s electricity grid and believes the facility will provide meaningful savings in the capacity market for up to four years and generate wholesale energy prices in New England.

The commissioner noted the company would bear the costs and risks of the project, not ratepayers.

DeSimone said he was convinced that energy efficiency and renewable energy could not at this time meet reliability needs. “The record revealed that at least in the foreseeable future, generating units such as the proposed Clear River Energy Center facility are needed in order to meet Rhode Island’s clean energy goals.”

He indicated the fact that the ISO-New England, the regional grid operator, cleared half of Invenergy’s project for capacity supply is evidence of the project’s need.

DeSimone agreed Invenergy’s choice of Burrillville appears to be rational and justifies cost, given the chosen site’s close proximity to Spectra Energy’s gas pipelines and compressor stations and the electric transmission lines.