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Russell Biomass LLC receives 2006 Dirty Dozen Award
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Local residents protest in front of Russell's Town Hall on Nov. 28. Reminder Publications photo by Erin O'Connor
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By Erin O'Connor
Staff Writer
RUSSELL "Where will it end?" Jana Chiccoine, president of the Concerned Citizens of Russell asked. "Only when elected officials stand up and take Russell Biomass off of free skids and put it on ice where it belongs," she answered.
On Nov. 28 in front of the Town Hall, where two months earlier the Russell Biomass LLC. asked the Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) for zoning exemptions, a group gathered to award the proposed Biomass Plant one of the 2006 Dirty Dozen Awards. The group consisted of members of the Concerned Citizens of Russell, the Toxics Action Center (TAC), representatives from the American Lung Association (ALA) and others.
"It's hard to measure the output of a plant before it is built," Jon Boss, Russell Biomass public information officer said. "I googled the Dirty Dozen and it deals predominantly with coal-fired plants."
"The award recipients have distinctive themes by threatening the public health and the environment and the lack of action that has been taken by government and public officials," Sylvia Broude, of TAC, said.
The tenth Annual Dirty Dozen Awards are said to spotlight twelve of New England's egregious polluters and potential polluters. The Dirty Dozen are selected from a set of nominations by an eleven-member panel of environmental and public health professionals.
The Russell Biomass LLC went in front of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy on Sept. 17 for zoning exemptions for its proposed generating facility.
Members of the Concerned Citizens said they formed a regional coalition opposing the Biomass Plant for reasons that include air pollution, contamination to the environment and public health and emissions levels.
"If air quality contamination is their real concern, why aren't they also focusing on the WTE (Waste to Energy) plant at Bondi's Island in Agawam serving Springfield and 15 other communities and a newly proposed biomass plant at Indian Point that plans to burn Construction and Demolition materials?" Boss asked. "This is not a Russell issue. It is a regional, state and national issue since we are, all of us, already breathing air befouled by soft coal burning power plants in Ohio and the Midwest as well as Texas which is planning to build 11 new coal fired power plants."
"We are waiting to here back from the DTE," Jana Chiccoine, president of the Concerned Citizens said to The Reminder. "They said it [an answer] would take between six and nine months."
"I think they [Russel Biomass] should withdraw the proposal and urge state officials to reject it," Broude said. "It has negative impacts on residents living nearby and on communities across the region."
"Part of my [gubernatorial] campaign was that I wanted to see how to have an energy system in the state that does not contribute to global warming," Grace Ross, former candidate for Massachusetts governor said. "This [Russell Biomass] falls into the no column. We have our future to secure."
Ross said that she opposed the Biomass Plant because it would burn construction and demolition materials and because of it's cooling methods.
"The state just changed a regulation that will allow the burning of C & D demolition materials such as the glues in plywood which are incredibly toxic," Ross said.
In a report issued by the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources (DOER) on Nov. 6 they state:
"DOER believes that, with appropriate regulatory restrictions on the characteristics of the wood waste that is burned, on emissions, and on emissions monitoring, clean C&D wood can be burned to generate power without endangering human health."
"The C&D material is supposed to be clean but the state has no way of sorting these materials, Ross said." "They have found that there are glues and other materials being burned that are showing to be fatal to fetuses."
"The opposition is trying to use this to thwart our effort," Boss said. "We have removed that from the fuel mix. Our opponents keep bringing it up but it is not a fact," Boss said.
Ross said that the Biomass Plant uses water cooling as one of its methods which she also opposes.
"Water cooling is standard but has a very bad impact," Ross said. "If you take water out and then you put it back it is put back at incredibly high temperatures. The temperature of the water makes it difficult for the fish."
"And there have been millions spent on the salmon project," Ellen Moyer, a Montgomery resident said. "Some water goes back in at high temperatures a lot goes off as steam so it [the water] does not go back at the same level," she added.
Ross said an alternative to the water cooling would be air cooling which she said has less of an impact on the environment.
"Biomass chose wet cooling because it is cheaper rather than dry cooling which is more expensive," Chiccoine said. "I am very grateful to the distinguished members of the Dirty Dozen Committee. I believe that Russell Biomass LLC deserves this award chiefly because of air pollution. We really need to clean up our air. Over a-ton-a-minute of air pollutants will be additionally released into the air with the Biomass after subtracting pollution credit trade-offs."
Chiccoine said that according to the ALA both Hampden and Hamden Counties have received a grade of F for air quality.
"Just breathing can be a serious health concern. It is reckless to propose to worsen the already burdened air quality in the Pioneer Valley, she said."
"I looked at the numbers and the numbers are staggering. This Biomass puts 383,430 citizens in the Hampden County at increased risk for breathing problems," Donna Hawk, ALA board member, said.
Hawk said that more information about the quality of local air could be found at the ALA State of the Air report for Massachusetts. The web site address is www.lungaction.org/reports/stateoftheair2006.html.
"We live in a valley and pollutants get trapped," Hawk added.
Chiccoine said that the next step for the Concerned Citizens of Russell will be to go to Boston to present a petition from over 1,000 members of the Concerned Coalition to the Secretary of the Environment Robert W. Golledge Jr. that tells him that Biomass is fine but this [Russell] plant is not planned right.
The Concerned Citizens said they are hoping to go to Boston before the end of the year.
"The state of Massachusetts has had a goal to increase renewable electric power in MA by two percent," Boss said. "The reason they are not achieving this is because in every place from Cape Wind to Florida to the Berkshires there is local opposition. It is a problem that the public, the press, and the politicians are becoming aware of."
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