“Once again environmental injustice is plaguing South Coast residents,” said Dave Dionne, a founding member of the Massachusetts Clean Air Coalition. “The Department of Environmental Protection must not only revisit but reverse this decision.”

The coal plant had been under a longstanding requirement to shut down or re-power with cleaner emissions by 2010 – a commitment that had been made in order to meet the “Filthy Five” regulations. However, in a final permit issued by the Department of Environmental Protection in January, the Commonwealth said it would allow the plant’s owner, NRG, to adopt experimental coal plasma gasification technology and a controversial biomass plan. 

“We cannot allow industry or government to backslide on their commitments to use cleaner fuel and produce less carbon dioxide- the leading global warming pollutant. The future of my children and grandchildren depend on us taking action now,” said Emily Johns of New Bedford. 

At the hearing, the outraged residents, who have formed a group called the Massachusetts Clean Air Coalition, detailed the following concerns:

NRG plans to burn construction and demolition debris as part of a related biomass proposal. If allowed, that plan would release toxic chemicals such as arsenic and dioxin into the air. The project will still emit more particulate matter than a shutdown or re-powering. Particulate matter emissions contribute to an increased risk of asthma and other respiratory illnesses among children. Environmental groups have said the plant’s goal gasification plan will allow it to emit an additional 28 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air compared to a complete shutdown in 2010, as previously promised.

“This community has endured an undue amount of air pollution from this and surrounding plants for decades. Releases of toxic pollutants like mercury, lead, arsenic, zinc and chromium pose an unnecessary danger to the health of Massachusetts citizens and the health of Massachusetts’ environment,” said Joe Carvalho, a founding member of the Coalition.

Before the final permit decision in January, and despite the warnings of prominent climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, Energy and Environment Secretary Ian Bowles rejected a petition filed by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Clean Water Action, the Toxics Action Center and Environment Massachusetts requesting a full-scale environmental review to assess the impact of the Somerset proposal on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

“Opening the door to this technology is dangerous and irresponsible. In the absence of effective sequestration strategies for carbon dioxide, this proposal represents little more than a decades-long extension of the lifetime of an outdated and highly polluting coal plant,” said Katy Krottinger, Clean Energy Coordinator for Clean Water Action. 

“This proposal directly undermines Massachusetts’ efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Winston Vaughan Field Organizer for Environment Massachusetts. “At a time when the governor is developing his climate road map, this project takes us in the wrong direction and makes it even harder to achieve climate-safe emissions reductions.”

ABOUT COAL GASIFICATION:  Coal plasma gasification – a process which breaks down coal into gas before turning it into energy – reduces other pollutants, such as mercury, but results in the continued release of carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming. Carbon dioxide emissions can theoretically be reduced using carbon capture and storage, however because of geology and other considerations that technology that is not viable in New England.

for more information, contact Ben Wright (617) 747-4313