Thursday, May 4, 2000 Older Editions

Article 72: Town approves legal help for Nickel Hill project

By Judy Wakefield

As owners of the proposed power plant on the Dracut-Methuen line gear up for the state's permit process, Andover will be well represented every step of the way.

Town Meeting voted to spend $145,000 for assistance from experts in legal and regulatory proceedings regarding Nickel Hill's proposed power plant. Article 72 took little discussion as residents were in agreement about staying well informed on the matter. By approving Article 72, the town ensures that if the plant is built, it is done so in a way that will have the least environmental and public health impacts on Andover.

"We need a voice as this permitting begins," said Laura Jordan, a strong supporter of Article 72 and a member of the Merrimack Valley Residents for the Environment, which sponsored it. "This is an insurance policy... We need the legal channels to be successful."

She said the plant, as currently proposed, is not as safe, clean or quiet as it can and should be.

Yet the technologies are available to make it so, she said.

Funding for this article is the town's insurance policy to ensure that if the plant gets a permit, the best technologies are used.

She also said that because of Andover's involvement in this issue so far, Nickel Hill is being forced to examine the costs and benefits of using the best pollution-control and noise-mitigation technology. Neither was included in the original proposal.

The permit process is expected to take about six months to a year.