Springfield eyes MOU with woodchip plant developer

The Springfield Select Board announced Friday it would discuss a possible agreement with the developers of the proposed wood-fired power plant in North Springfield at a public meeting Monday.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130615/NEWS02/706159911

Published June 15, 2013 in the Rutland Herald Springfield eyes MOU with woodchip plant developer By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Select Board announced Friday it would discuss a possible agreement with the developers of the proposed wood-fired power plant in North Springfield at a public meeting Monday. Town Manager Robert Forguites and Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris said the town wants to get promises made by the North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project into a signed document before any decision is made by the state Public Service Board on the 35-megawatt facility. The project, a joint undertaking by Winstanley Enterprises and Weston Solutions, would build a 35-megawatt, woodchip-fired plant in the North Springfield Industrial Park, next to the former Fellows Corp. building, now owned by Winstanley. The developers have made several offers to the town in the past year or so, Morris said, and Town Attorney Stephen Ankuda urged the board to put the offers in a written memorandum of understanding. Morris said the board will publicly discuss the three main issues expected to be contained in the memoradum, and take comment from the public Monday. Those issues are a new access road to the North Springfield Industrial Park, formalization of the offer to provide a thermal heating loop for some residents in North Springfield, and a swap-out of woodstoves for residents, in an effort to cut down on air pollution, Morris said. Forguites said the town, along with the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission, had been interested in a new access road to the industrial park, straight off Route 11 and avoiding a residential neighborhood on County Road. Morris and Forguites said Monday’s meeting will not be a discussion of the pros and cons of the project. The developers are seeking a Section 248 permit from the Public Service Board to build the plant. Hearings on the proposal were held this spring in Montpelier. It has already received its air pollution permit from the Agency of Natural Resources. Forguites compared the agreement to a pre-nuptial agreement, and a way for the town “to get a foot in the door” regarding over the project. Morris said many of the board’s concerns — and of North Springfield residents — were beyond the control of the Select Board, since all power plant construction in the state is regulated by the Public Service Board. Forguites said he scheduled the special meeting at the high school cafeteria because of an expected large turnout. But Fredda Kischko, a member of North Springfield Action Group, which is opposed to the wood-fired project, questioned the short notice of what she called a very important meeting. “I’m encouraged to hear the town has some expectations, and in writing,” Kischko wrote in an email Friday afternoon. “However, I’m not hearing the words air quality, health concerns, wanting to know what the chemicals are that will be used in the blowdown.”. Kischko added, “As always, I don’t understand the Select Board’s lack of concern for the residents’ health. And I don’t understand this meeting being called at the eleventh hour with no public notice.” She said she received notice Friday afternoon for a Monday evening meeting. Forguites said he didn’t expect the developers to be present for the meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Springfield High School cafeteria.