Here’s a rundown of what’s happening this week with the proposed Burrillville power plant:
Public comment hearing
The Energy Facility Siting Board holds a hearing Wednesday evening for public comment on the proposed power plant in Burrillville. The hearing will take place at Warwick’s Toll Gate High School auditorium at 6 p.m.
Another public comment hearing is scheduled for October 3 at 6 p.m. at Burrillville High School. The EFSB is the lead permitting agency for the project.
Burrillville Town Council special meeting
Thursday night, at a special meeting, the Burrillville Town Council has scheduled a vote on an official position on the proposed project.
Until now, Burrillville town councilors have declined to take a position, saying they needed to remain neutral while local offices crafted advisory opinions on the project. The council said it didn’t want to give the impression that members influenced the opinions in any way.
Last week Burrillville’s planning and zoning boards and other town offices filed their advisory opinions with the state Energy Facility Siting Board. All but one indicated they didn’t receive the information they needed from Invenergy, the company planning to build the plant, to fully assess the project’s impact.
The town council will present its official position to the siting board. Many Burrillville residents, along with environmental groups, are hopeful the town will take a stand against the project.
Motions to dismiss
The board will also review requests from the Town of Burrillville and the Conservation Law Foundation to dismiss the power plant application on grounds that it’s incomplete.
The town’s argument to dismiss the application is anchored on the issue of water. To date, Invenergy hasn’t shared from where it plans to draw water to cool its power plant. Pascoag and Harrisville both decided against providing water supplies.
But the arguments for dismissal in CLF’s motion are broader. CLF outlines all agencies that weren’t able to provide a full assessment of the project because Invenergy hasn’t filed permits yet or didn’t provide all the information agencies needed.
So far, Invenergy and the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades have objected to the town’s motion to dismiss. They will likely file objections to CLF’s motion.
You can read the motions to dismiss and the objections on the EFSB docket page for Invenergy’s project.
