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Woodburning plant unhealthy for planet |
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At the end of last week we learned that the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (MEPA) decided not to require an Environmental Impact Report for Palmer Renewable Energies (PRE) proposed wood burning power plant Incinerator in East Springfield. PRE submitted their notice of project change to the MEPA office and in early October, the request for change was open to comments. Over four hundred comments were sent in to the MEPA office, which included environmental professionals, doctors, lawyers, scientists, various groups, everyday people, all with important comments and most asking for an EIR Environmental Impact Review. It is hard to believe given the magnitude of this project that a state agency would allow a company to do its own study and accept all the data without an unbiased in-depth review of all the facts
The proposed plant initially was going to burn construction and demolition debris, but with public pressure the DEP had second thoughts and required a two-phase study be done to look at the true effects of burning construction and demolition debris and the other for the Dept. of Public Health to do an environmental impact assessment of this area and to the effects this plants emissions could have on our already compromised air. The studies have not started yet, so Palmer Renewable Energy could not wait any longer, so they changed their plans, now they want to burn waste wood, wet green wood from tree services, etc. They now plan on burning about 1,200 tons of waste wood per day to generate an insignificant amount of energy, in the process they will be pumping out tons of particulate matter and other pollutants, but because they say the levels will be in the acceptable range everything will be ok. As an extra benefit PRE has decided to give the city of Springfield, $2 million to help mitigate some of the health issues so we will "not simply bear its impacts."
The sad thing being, that the state and federal regulations, along with the acceptable ranges, are so far behind the science that if the emissions from these plants could actually meet the acceptable ranges it would not necessarily mean that they are safe, if the EPA changed all the ranges to what they really should be, entire industries could be out of business, that is why they phase things in over years. It is up to the public to stick up for itself and demand that local government and policies truly look out for the public health and the environment.
On a larger scale, in this day and age when most American cities are hovering at unhealthy levels of air pollution according to the American Lung Association and global warming is threatening our future with major climate changes, how can reasonable people even think about allowing more greenhouse gases under the disguise of being carbon neutral if you emit it now it effects us now, it seems so simple to be emitted along with all the other pollutants that are known to have a direct impact on the community. It is a scary situation.
As far as greenhouse gases go, this plant will emit 400,000 tons of CO2 per year, but because they are assuming that burning wood is carbon neutral they will remove the CO2 emissions with a swipe of a minus sign.
This same scenario is going on across the country; it is like we are being led down a slow pathway to self destruction so that a few people can make a lot of money. If all these plants go on line, we could quickly get to a point of no return with regards to global warming.
We have to contact our elected officials now, state, local and federal, let them know this is not acceptable, we do not want more air pollution, and we can not handle more air pollution.
There has to be a way to stop this insanity
John Miller
Springfield
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