I would like to point to the facts regarding quality and security concerns as they relate to the Billerica Energy Center.
The draft environmental impact report referenced on BillericaPowerPlant.org holds vital information regarding the environmental impacts of the facility. I would direct readers to section 5.0 of the DEIR on page 86 to page 103, which speaks directly to air-quality issues. We state categorically that there is no violation of air standards. In fact, we are considered to have "insignificant" emissions by definitions set out by the EPA for all pollutants including fine particulates.
Billerica has retained an independent health consulting firm that includes Dr. Jack Spengler, who has a 30-year association with the Harvard School of Public Health. This firm has concluded that the Billerica Energy Center will meet all air-quality standards. This project will also replace the need to rely on older, more environmentally harmful power plants. BEC must meet approval of the Massachusetts DEP's standards, which have been developed over the past 30 years by medical and public health specialists to protect the most susceptible of our population to conditions of air pollution, including those who are asthmatic, the elderly, and children. At the selectmen's meeting on March 3, Dr. Spengler and associates stated that the power plant impacts are the equivalent of running an automobile for an additional minute, and this impact is the same for Billerica and surrounding communities.
Regarding security concerns, please note that either operations or security personnel will be on the premises 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, full-time staff will be available at our Lowell plant, which is 10 minutes away on the Lowell Connector. Plant operators will also visit the plant daily during operating periods and for all deliveries. Also, emergency response plans and site security plans have been developed with the Billerica Fire and Police departments and reviewed with fire personnel in each neighboring community. These plans include real-time Internet-based video cameras and emergency alarms linked to the Lowell staff and the Billerica Police and Fire departments. The two 18,000-gallon enclosed ammonia tanks, which are 81 percent water content, will be located about one-half of a mile from the Concord River. Ammonia is used to scrub emissions and is a key part of the DEP clean-plant strategy. Since the publication of the DEIR, BEC agreed to the request of the Billerica Fire Department to enclose the tanks. As a result, there will now be no off-site impact from a worst-case tank release. In addition, the tanks will be surrounded by dikes that contain 110 percent of the capacity of the tank in the unlikely event of a release. Moreover, the fuel tank, which is located one half-mile from the river, with the same containment as the ammonia tanks - essentially a tank within a tank - will contain ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel. This fuel will only be used during a natural gas interruption such as the severe winter cold snap of January 2004. The remaining time we will be running on natural gas and the tank will be at near-empty level.
The residents of Billerica and surrounding towns have legitimate concerns, and we have asked for the chance to provide you with factual, credible information pertaining to the Billerica Energy Center. Our opponents owe you the same. This facility is before three separate state regulators whose duty it is to ensure that this facility will be safe, clean, and give us the reliable supply our power grid managers suggest we need.
For more information, visit dgcleanpower.com/billerica.htm, e-mail billericapower@dgcleanpower.com, or call 888-353-3003.
JOE FITZPATRICK
CEO, DG Clean Power
