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It’s been on the table for some time now, the proposed expansion of power company Exelon Generation’s facilities in Medway to include two units adjacent to its current 94-acre Summer Street facility in response to an RFP by ISO New England. The proposal, first submitted in March, would be for two units capable of producing 200 megawatts of electricity to meet New England energy needs in times of peak demand. The dual-fueled units would run on either natural gas or ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
The project was first proposed by Exelon in March, and the town of Medway, the Charles River Watershed Association and the Conservation Law Foundation all filed petitions to intervene in the EFSB hearings at the end of June.
Franklin, on December 10, filed a late petition to intervene in the hearings before the Energy Facilities Siting Board. Franklin maintained that notice of the deadline to intervene was sent to Franklin’s planning board, not the Town Council, and that the Council was unaware of the scope of potential impacts to Franklin in the areas of air and water use. Franklin argued that it is “substantially and specifically affected by this proceeding” due to Franklin’s proximity to the proposed facility, that Franklin provides drinking water to its residents governed by a 2007 Water Management Act (WMA) permit and that as a resident of the Charles River Basin along with Millis and Medway, a “safe yield” cap exists under WMA regulations and that water usage for the project, if purchased by Millis, would place Millis over its permitted water withdrawal and possibly threaten its ability to sell water to Franklin. Franklin is possibly looking for 300,000 to 500,000 gallons per day of water from Millis, discussing this with Millis as recently as late October.
“Franklin cited sale of water by Millis to Exelon affecting their ability to purchase water from Millis,” says Charles Aspinwall, Millis Town Administrator, “but our discussions have been brief, and Franklin’s DPW Director has told me they are focusing on other supplies, including a new well. Our contact with them over the sale of water has been limited. We told Franklin that they would have to conduct a study, similar to that which Exelon is doing, before we would consider the sale of water to them. The ball is in their court to conduct such a study.”
Exelon hired the firm, Kleinfelder, to conduct a feasibility study on the use of the water from Millis, which in mid-December concluded that Millis has an adequate amount of water to supply. Exelon has agreed to pay for a Millis-hired peer review of the findings.
The Energy Facilities Siting Board has granted Franklin only limited participation, meaning the town is not a full intervener in the process, said Michael Boynton, Medway Town Administrator. “At the end of the day, they’re not able to appeal, they can’t cross examine,” says Boynton. “Franklin can offer opinion and feedback, but may not appeal the final outcome.” The town of Medway had opposed Franklin’s petition of intervention.
“We as the town of Medway had an obligation to protect the town’s legal interest, in the scenario of someone at the last minute trying to intervene and possibly extend the process and add cost to Medway. That would open the door to any community looking to stall the process. From October 7 through December 10, when they filed the late intervention, the only outreach Franklin made was to obtain a Power Point we used at our public forum,” says Boynton. “Nobody sat down and said could you talk to us about this … (Medway) had an air quality person, a noise person, health professionals that came on, two legal experts on board representing us, and their answer was yes, it’s safe; the town of Medway will not suffer a harmful impact,” says Boynton.
Medway presented its findings to its residents in a public forum on October 21, and the town selectmen signed a host agreement with Exelon Generation. In addition to mitigation by the company, Medway will receive $75 million over 20 years in taxes and other earmarked funds.
Exelon Generation spokesperson Kevin Thornton also says Exelon voiced opposition to Franklin’s intervention. “As noted in our filings on the matter, we did not believe it was appropriate for Franklin to be allowed to intervene at this stage of the proceeding. Beyond that, our role in the EFSB hearings is to demonstrate that the proposed project meets all Siting Board requirements. We will continue to provide information as requested, as we have done throughout the permitting process. We’re confident in the design of the project, and that the expansion will minimize impacts on the environment and community.”
The Energy Facilities Siting Board’s (EFSB) decision will include any conditions placed on its permit and is anticipated in the Spring of 2016. If approved, Exelon would begin the construction process to be able to offer the additional electrical power in 2018.
On December 16, the Franklin Town Council held a closed executive session to discuss the Energy Siting Board’s response to its late petition to intervene. No comment was made available to Local Town Pages.
January hearings currently are expected to begin the week of January 11, 2016.
To follow some of the proceedings in this case, visit the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs website at http://web1.env.state.ma.us/DPU/FileRoom/dockets/bynumber and enter Docket number EFSB15-01.