Biomass power plant is rejected

Regulators cite truck traffic

Plans for a controversial 50-megawatt wood-burning power plant in Russell were dealt a setback by the state Department of Public Utilities, which ruled that the facility would cause "significant, disrupting, and lasting" impacts on the town.

The proposed plant could have "clear public benefits," including the use of renewable fuel to produce electrical power and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the commission said in its ruling Friday. But those rewards would not be enough to overcome problems like heavy truck traffic on Russell's Main Street, where trucks would travel to and from the plant 150 to 240 times a day.

The commission denied a request by the plant's developer, Russell Biomass, to bypass town zoning laws and proceed with construction later this year.

The denial "was a disappointment to us, and it's a setback," Bill Hull, one of five partners in Russell Biomass, said yesterday. "It's certainly not the end of the project, by a long shot, but it does mean that we have to go back to the drawing board."

The proposed $200 million plant has generated intense debate in the town of 1,650 residents since Russell Biomass bought the proposed site at the base of Shatterack Mountain and along the Westfield River in 2000. Jana Chicoine, spokeswoman for the Concerned Citizens of Russell, said some residents worried about noise, traffic, and pollution.

"This controversy has been going on for three years," she said. "They're not wanted in Russell, and they need to just pick up their marbles and go home."

Company officials said they may now consider other options such as building a new road to address concerns about truck traffic.

Critics of the plant said it faces an uphill battle now. Chicoine said that to build a new road, the company might need to seize private property through eminent domain, requiring town approval.

The plant may also require a change in the town's zoning restrictions against buildings more than 35 feet tall, requiring unanimous approval from Russell's three-member zoning board, said Ronald Merritt, a selectman and one of the board's members. "That would be quite a reach," he said yesterday.

Hull said the plant should be judged on its societal good rather than "the interests of a few individuals."

"For 40 years, our presidents have been saying, 'We've got to get off fossil fuels,' " he said. "Well, here we're trying, and nobody wants [biomass plants]. . . . But they expect to have power. I don't know where they think it's going to come from."

Maddie Hanna can be reached at mhanna@globe.com.