The revelation that the Burrillville Town Council, under the leadership of John Pacheco III, has been engaged in ongoing negotiations with Invenergy LLC over potential tax breaks for their Clear River Energy Center gas and oil burning power plant, came as a surprise to many Burrillville residents Wednesday evening. Burrillville Town Solicitor Oleg Nikolyszyn, in a comment on the piece that broke this story objected to the word “secret” saying that the negotiations he and Town Manager Michael Wood were engaged in were “due diligence” and “not behind anyone’s back, or in secret, but openly.” He also says that, “Until now, the Council has not been engaged or negotiating with Invenergy.”

Nikolyszyn feels that he and the Town Manager, “would be remiss if we did not take into consideration what financial benefit the Town would receive.” They are doing, “what professionals are expected to do in a business environment.” At the meeting Nikolyszyn said that the town had a “fiduciary duty” to enter into negotiations.

That’s not what the law says.

Conservation Law Foundation senior lawyer Jerry Elmer maintains that, “one of the most effective ways that the Town Council can seek to prevent the siting of the Invenergy plant is to deny Invenergy the tax treaty it seeks.”

Not entering into a tax treaty with Invenergy will not necessarily stop Invenergy in its tracks, the plant could still go forward and pay higher taxes to the town, taking a hit to their profitability in the process. Elmer reminded me that the profitability of the plant has already suffered two recent hits “when (a) Invenergy cleared only one of two turbines in the February 8 Forward Capacity Auction; and (b) the SENE zonal clearing price had zero premium over the clearing price in Rest of Pool, unlike the previous two auctions in which our zone cleared at a huge premium.”

How many more hits to the plant’s profitability can Invenergy afford?

At Wednesday evening’s Town Council meeting Nikolyszyn was correct when he said that Burrillville has no say in whether or not the plant gets approved for Burrillville. As Elmer helpfully explained,

The underlying reason that the General Assembly created the Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB) by enacting the Energy Facility Siting Act (EFSA), was that it was assumed that — whenever any major power generation facility is planned to be built anywhere — the local residents in the local town would oppose the plant because of local impacts.  The purpose of the EFSA is to take the power out of the hands of the local officials, who may be subject to constituent pressure to oppose the plant.  That is the reason that all the opinions that the EFSB gets under the EFSA (from DEM, OER, Town of Burrillvile, etc.) are advisory opinions only.  The final decision to grant or deny a permit to build the plant rests solely with the EFSB.  This was the purpose of the law.”

However, “it is in the sole discretion of the Town Council whether or not to grant a beneficial tax treaty to Invenergy.  The Governor cannot force them to do that.  The EFSB cannot force them to do that.”

Pacheco and other Town Council members said over and over that they need to be neutral ahead of any reports that their boards are preparing for the EFSB, because it was the Town Council that nominated the members of these boards. This is of course nonsense. Governor Gina Raimondo, who nominated the members of the EFSB board, has been a major proponent of the plant. Where is her neutrality? Why is she not afraid that her support for the project will affect the people she’s nominated to board positions?

This pretension of neutrality merely shields the Town Council from their responsibility to their constituents, who overwhelmingly do not want this plant. Nikolyszyn might think this is all business as usual but he forgets: government is not business.

The Town Council would be completely in their power to pass a resolution declaring that they will not, under any circumstances, engage in a tax treaty with Invenergy. The company could then decide to go forward with the plant or not, but not only will their profitability suffer, so will their public image.

Reaching a deal with the Town will give Invenergy and Governor Raimondo political coverage. With a tax treaty in place it will be harder to say that the plant was forced on the Town against the will of the people since the company negotiated with the representatives of the people for an “equitable” deal.

Democracy will have worked, supposedly.

Not engaging with Invenergy sends a strong message that this plant is not wanted by the people of Burrillville. The plant can then only proceed against the will of the people, against the wishes of a democratically elected government. A Governor that blatantly disregards the will of the people in such a situation is a tyrant. A company that builds an unwanted facility against a community’s interests is not a community partner but a despoiler.

Now is not the time for wishy-washy politics, business as usual and secret (not secret) negotiations.

If the Burrillville Town Council can’t take a stand, it’s time for the citizens of Burrillville to find new Town Councillors.

Sixty people quickly filled the small meeting room, and when the librarian stopped letting in, between two and three times that number were forced to idle in in the parking lot, listen in through the window screens, or leave in frustration.

Kathy Martley of BASE (Burrillville Against Spectra Expansion) had invited Representative Cale Keable and State Senator Paul Fogarty to meet with their constituents at the Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library in Harrisville to discuss what can be done about Invenergy’s Clear River Energy Center, a new gas and oil burning energy plant currently planned for the Town of Burrillville. The turnout exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Senator Fogarty set the tone early on, saying that there’s “not a lot the General Assembly can do about [the power plant].” Claiming that he hasn’t yet made up his mind, Fogarty said, “I’m not here to stop the power plant, but I’m not here to put  a shovel in the ground [either].”

Rep Keable agreed, saying that the General Assembly has no control over the EFSB (Energy Facilities Siting Board), the political body tasked with determining the fate of the planned power plant, while acknowledging that “There’a a lot of anger out there.”

In many ways I was reminded of the first Burrillville Town Council meeting I attended back in October, when council members claimed to be powerless against the power plant.

The Town Council recommended contacting Governor Gina Raimondo or State Representative Cale Keable. Now here was Rep Keable and Senator Fogarty, telling residents that, “It comes down to a local issue.” Keable and Fogarty recommend taking it up with the Town Council.

A man stands and tells his state representatives that this isn’t good enough. “The answer is ’no.’ We don’t want the power plant,” he says, “We want you,” said the man, pointing to Keable and Fogarty, “to help us do this. We want you to talk to the Town Council. When there are meetings we want you to be our advocate there…

“There’s going to be a block of people, believe me, standing against this power plant. It’s going to be a movement.”

Burrillville has a history with large corporate projects like this ruining their town. Some well water in town is poisoned with MBTE from an Exxon gas station leak. One woman stood and said that three members of her family contracted cancer during that time. Her property abutted the land used to build the Ocean State Power Plant. She sold her home and moved, only to find that Invenergy wants to build its power plant in her front yard. She wonders about the toxins the plants pollution will rain on her property and into her air and water. “Our property values are already going down. What help are we going to have?

“Am I going to have to wait until my grand kids come down with cancer? Or my busband or my children still living at home? Because that’s what happened to my niece, her husband and her daughter.”

The new power plant will have little to no effect on Burrillville’s electric rates. There are few positives on offer: Some jobs, some tax relief, and a plan to clean the water contaminated with MBTE. The negatives are declining property values, pollution in both air and water, and a degradation of Burrillville’s pristine natural environment.

On Thursday night the people of Burrillville will have their first chance to bring their concerns to the EFSB. If tonight’s informal meeting is any indication, that meeting ought to be very interesting.

Full video of the meeting can be viewed here:

• Burrillville Town Council claims to be powerless against Spectra, Invenergy
• Burrillville Town Council argues with, disappoints residents on gas expansion project
• Power plant already adversely affecting Burrillville property values say realtors

Jeremy Bailey, from Acumen Group Real Estate, testified that he recently had a prospective buyer from Riverside about to put half down on a $449,000 piece of property on East Wallum Lake Road.

“He liked everything about the property,” said Bailey, “But before the conversation ended he asked, ‘Where are they putting the power plant?’”

Bailey pointed up the road and explained that the proposed construction wasn’t too far away. By the time he finished the buyer backed out, saying, “Nah, I’m not interested anymore.”

After the meeting Bailey told me that the buyer told him to let him know how the March 31 public hearing on the power plant goes.

Paul Lefebvre, another realtor and owner of Acumen Group, testified that when he heard about the proposed plant two years ago, he didn’t think much about it. He couldn’t see any way that the Town Council might support such a plan. But recently he learned that the power plant  has the support of both Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Governor Gina Raimondo, and it now appears the power plant is being “forced on the town.”

“Which is insanity,” said Lefebvre, “I don’t see any benefits for the town. I see all detriments. Nothing good, only bad.”

Speaking about the effect the proposed power plant is having on property values, Lefebvre said, “We’ve lost some interest and lost one sale at the company I own because of the talk, the perception, of this thing coming to town.”

“What surprises me,” said Burrillville native and retired schoolteacher Chuck Boucher, “is that the political system seems to have cut us out of the process. I was under the impression that we were a democracy… I would like to think that when Governor Raimondo hears the situation out here that she realizes that it will adversely affect everyone’s property values. It will adversely affect everyone’s health. It will adversely affect the community at large. I would like to believe that she cares enough about her constituents to reconsider locating something of this size in a rural area that’s known for being pristine.”

Kathy Martley, founder of Burrillville Against Spectra Expansion (BASE), asked the Burrillville Town Council to consider a resolution similar to the one Providence City Councillor Seth Yurdin submitted to the Providence City Council last week that was adopted unanimously. Yurdin was concerned about the health, environmental and safety effects of the proposed Fields Point Liquefaction facility to be located in South Providence.

“As a Burrillville resident and tax payer, I urge you to pass the same resolution to stop this project,” said Martley, until health, environmental and safety studies are done.

Jeremy Bailey pointed out that the power plant wants to tap into the town well and the sewer system. “At a minimum,” said Bailey, the Town Council could speak to state and federal agencies and ask them to, “hold off on entertaining or approving” the power plant.

In the past the Burrillville Town Council has claimed to be powerless against the corporate might of  multi-billion dollar fossil fuel companies like Invenergy and Spectra, but as Martley, Bailey and other residents speaking before the Town Council last night pointed out, there is plenty that can be done on a local level.

• Burrillville Town Council claims to be powerless against Spectra, Invenergy
• Burrillville Town Council argues with, disappoints residents on gas expansion project

Video of all who testified on the proposed power plant here:

The public hearing, scheduled for 6 PM on March 31 at Burrillville High School, is the first opportunity for the public to speak out on the proposed power plant since the EFSB application process began. So far all hearings have taken place at the RI Public Utility Commission offices in Warwick and no public comment has been allowed. At the first EFSB meeting, Invenergy presented a PowerPoint that explained their plans for Burrillville, and made their case for the power plant.

Invenergy then went on to hold two “open houses” in the Burrillville Middle School cafeteria, the first on Dec 1 of last year and the second on March 8, 2016. In addition, all of the documents submitted by Invenergy and others are available on the EFSB docket here.

Recently I learned that Bianco granted Invenergy a substantial portion of the upcoming public commentary EFSB meeting in Burrillville. Invenergy  has been given the opportunity to present what amounts to a one hour, pro-power plant infomercial before any public commentary will be heard. Meanwhile, each member of the public will be granted approximately 5 minutes to speak.

This isn’t the first time the public has had access to the EFSB approval process co-opted and blocked. At the beginning of the year several private citizens and environmental groups were blocked from legally intervening in the process. Also there has been a disturbing pattern emerging of anti-power plant protesters being denied access to public events where Governor Gina Raimondo is speaking.

According to Bianco, “At this point, it cannot be predicted how much time will be allotted to individual members of the public over the course of the public comment hearings… as that will depend on how many attend to provide comment.”

However, in an email to Paul A. Roselli, who represents the Burrillville Land Trust,  Bianco said, “I truly don’t know how much time will be given to each member of the public, but you might plan for no more than five minutes.”

Bianco went on to tell me that Invenergy’s presentation is required by law and is “for the benefit of members of the public, particularly for those who may have not made it to the preliminary hearing, which occurred during work hours, on a cold winter day, at a location outside of Burrillville.”

This is a weird defense. It was the EFSB that decided to have the preliminary meeting, “during work hours, on a cold winter day, at a location outside of Burrillville.” They could have scheduled the meeting in Burrillville at a time residents could be in attendance, and chose not to.

“Furthermore,” said Bianco, “Invenergy is not being ‘allowed 60 minutes to do a presentation,’ as you suggested. Invenergy’s brief overview of their project is mandated” by law. In a response to Roselli, Bianco said, “I expect Invenergy’s presentation will last between thirty minutes to an hour.”

Bianco cited R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-98-9.1(b), that states in part:

The [B]oard shall have at least one public hearing in each town or city affected prior to holding its own hearings and prior to taking final action on the application. All details of acceptance for filing in § 42-98-8(a)(1) – (a)(6) shall be presented at town or city hearings for public comment.

As Paul Roselli points out, however, there is nothing in the law that mandates an oral presentation from Invenergy. “If they are required to present their information at a public hearing,” said Roselli, “then they can present their testimony in written form.”

Mandating that Invenergy present their case at the hearing in written form in no way hinders Invenergy’s ability to be heard, if one follows Bianco’s logic. As Bianco says, “the Board also accepts written public comment electronically, by mail, and by hand delivery. Oral and written public comment are given the same weight required by the Act.” [emphasis mine] If this applies to the public, then surely it applies to Invenergy as well.

Roselli told me that there is much concern about Invenergy making a presentation and taking up valuable public comment time. “Many feel that [Invenergy] has already made their case” said Roselli, noting that he feels that Governor Gina Raimondo, and board members Janet Coit and Margaret Curran have already expressed their support for the project either intentionally or unintentionally.

In short, the EFSB is taking away precious public speaking time and giving it to Invenergy, a large and powerful company with a virtually unlimited amount of money with which to purchase advertising and curry favor with connected politicians.

The public interest is not being served by allowing Invenergy to swallow up their public speaking time.

“The Board expects that all those who provide comments will respect the process and each other’s time,” said Bianco in an email.

It would be far easier to respect a fair process: one that does not favor big money corporations over the rights of the public to be heard.