Thursday, October 21, 1999 Older Editions

Plant hearings started

By Rebecca Lipchitz

Public hearings are now under way to consider local and state permits that would grant Constellation Power the chance to build and operate a 750-megawatt, natural gas power plant in Dracut.

Hearings on the Nickel Hill Energy Project's special permit in Dracut began before the Board of Selectmen last week, and will continue until Oct. 27.

Meanwhile, hearings at the state Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) are being held nearly every day between now and early December.

The Town of Andover and MVRE (Merrimack Valley Residents for the Environment) are two of several parties granted intervener status by the EFSB. Representatives or lawyers for interveners are allowed to participate in EFSB hearings. Other members of the public are allowed to attend and observe, but not participate.

Residents wishing to speak about the project to Dracut Selectmen can sign up at the beginning of each meeting.

Discussions at public meetings in Dracut held last week included an opening presentation by Nickel Hill, and issues of site selection and visual impact on the neighborhood. Tuesday night's meeting concerned water usage.

The meetings are held at the Dracut High School auditorium from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the following topics to follow: air quality (Wednesday, Oct. 20 after Townsman presstime); hazardous material usage and safety issues (tonight, Thursday, Oct. 21); construction issues (Tuesday, Oct. 26); and the impact on neighborhood property values (Wednesday, Oct. 27).

Hearings at the EFSB are also scheduled by topic, but depending on how long it takes to discuss such a topic, the schedule is subject to change, says an EFSB spokesperson.

Site selection and land use are topics still under discussion at the EFSB hearings. Future discussions will include wetland issues, water quality impact, air quality impact, visual impact, solid waste issues, traffic and safety, noise issues, and other health related topics.

The state hearings are in Boston, often at the Department of Transportation and Energy in South Station or at the Saltonstall Building on Cambridge Street, but locations also vary depending on the hearing, a spokesperson says. Times also vary, but meetings usually begin at 10 a.m., according to the EFSB.

Laura Jordan of the MVRE says she or a representative of the MVRE has attended hearings at the EFSB and in Dracut. As a group they are working to discourage Dracut selectmen from issuing the special permit, and trying to get the EFSB to deny permits.

Jordan says the MVRE takes issue with statistics provided by Nickel Hill, which have changed since the project was first proposed.

"From my perspective, the company keeps losing ground on their credibility. How can we evaluate impacts when every time we look at these numbers, they change?" she says.

MVRE member Sheryl Poole of Andover says the group doesn't need technical expertise to come to that conclusion.

"Nickel Hill is promising things they can't deliver, and I can use their own words to prove that," she says.

The next hearing at the EFSB is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 22 at the Department of Transportation and Energy. The scheduled topic is wetlands impact.