Nickel Hill Update -- Dracut Information Resource Forum

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Date Posted: 13:52:01 09/04/01 Tue
Author: Ed Valis
Subject: Nickel Hill Update

FYI! From Lowell Sun.

Appeal of Dracut power plant set for Thursday

By KATHLEEN DEELY
Sun Staff

DRACUT -- The proposed power plant in East Dracut is still on hold, but the fate of its crucial state license is up for debate Thursday.

The town of Andover and a citizens group called Merrimack Valley Residents for the Environment are seeking to discard the Energy Facilities Siting Board's Nov. 13 decision to approve the Nickel Hill LLC plant through a joint appeal filed with the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County in December.

Although the proposed 750-megawatt plant was called off by its owners, Constellation Power, in May, a new company is said to be reviewing the 25-acre site. But depending on the SJC's outcome, an interested buyer may need to secure another permit from the siting board.

The plaintiffs contend that the EFSB's Nov. 9 hearing was too rushed, unfounded and biased in favor of Nickel Hill.

In the 26-page appeal, plaintiffs raise 15 points objecting to the board's acceptance of certain environmental assertions about the plant at the hearing. Those assertions were not tested, the plaintiffs maintain, nor were witnesses for Nickel Hill allowed to be cross-examined.

"The bottom line is, this can't be allowed to move forward," said Laura Jordan, spokesman for Merrimack Valley Residents for the Environment. "We were not allowed due process, and there is too much misinformation and lack of information out there."

The seven-member state board couldn't have determined that the 750-megawatt plant will minimize environmental impact at the East Dracut site while keeping costs down, the appeal states, because it barred inquiry into the costs of an alternative site.

The appeal also questions the noise level at the plant. The project should require a noise-policy waiver from the state Department of Environmental Protection because it will exceed DEP noise guidelines, the appeal states.

At the hearing, each side will have 15 minutes to present arguments. On behalf of the siting board, Assistant Attorney General William Reynolds and Nickel Hill lawyer David Rosenzweig will speak. The town of Andover's lawyer, Robert Muldoon, and MVRE's attorney, John Boumil, will represent the plaintiffs.

After the arguments, the judges will deliberate. It could take several months before a verdict is reached.

The town is confident the appeal will not be upheld.

"I don't think the appeal will raise any particularly difficult questions," said Dracut Town Counsel Raymond Miyares. "It would astonish me that the court thought it would be a good idea to reverse the decision and turn on the agency with expertise."

MVRE's Jordan is eager for the appeal to go forward. The watchdog group, along with the town of Andover, have spent upwards of $250,000 and countless hours fighting the case.

If the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, Nickel Hill will go back to the siting board for a supplemental hearing to address the issues in the appeal.

While an undisclosed company entered an agreement with Constellation Power to review the site with a deadline that was set for the end of August, a company has not come forward. Miyares, Dracut's town counsel thinks Constellation Power's preparation and presence at the upcoming appeal proves they are going full steam ahead.

"I thought at one point we would hear by the end of the month," he said. "As long as Nickel Hill is continuing to prepare, it shows they are moving with a commitment to go forward."

But despite the power plant's commitment, the plaintiffs are holding their ground.

"We feel we were denied due process by the siting board and feel we have a very strong case there," said Sheryl Poole, also of MVRE. "We feel it's imperative that the decision is reviewed by a legal authority and be remanded for further consideration."

If a new company decides to pursue the project, it would purchase the state and federal permits already obtained by Constellation Power for its Nickel Hill Energies subsidiary. Then it would begin the process of obtaining local approval.

Kathleen Deely's e-mail address is kdeely@lowellsun.com.

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Replies:

Re: Nickel Hill Update -- Michael H, 14:13:36 09/04/01 Tue