PROVIDENCE — It was probably the final opportunity for opponents to a liquefied natural gas processing plant proposed at Fields Point to voice their objections to the project, and the three dozen people who showed up at a public hearing Wednesday night made their feelings clear.
Each of the speakers at the hearing held by the state Department of Environmental Management came out against the $180-million facility proposed by National Grid that would supercool natural gas to turn it into a liquid for easier storage.
“I just don’t see a reason for it. We should be getting rid of fossil fuels,” said Shanna Wells, of West Warwick.
The DEM held the hearing as part of the process to consider awarding a water quality permit that would allow the project to discharge stormwater into the Providence River.
Just like the state Coastal Resources Management Council, which held hearings on the project in November and December and raised no objections, the DEM is considering only one aspect of the application. The lead permitting authority is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
National Grid argues that the project is necessary to ensure adequate supplies of natural gas for heating on cold winter days. The liquefaction facility would tap into a nearby pipeline and supply an existing storage tank that has stood on the site off Allens Avenue since the 1970s. The tank has operated safely over that period, according to the company.
But all of those who commented at the hearing said the project would harm the environment. Some focused on the narrow set of issues before the DEM.
“There’s going to be negative impacts on Narragansett Bay during construction and afterwards,” said Taylor Ellis, of South Kingstown.
Ellis, who described himself as a former employee of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and the Narragansett Bay Commission, said that water tainted with hydrocarbons will run off the site.
“It’s going to end up in the Bay,” he said. “It affects the Bay quality and all of the people of the state. I think we need to take a stand against fossil fuels and for Narragansett Bay.”
Others said the DEM must consider the broader impact of a facility that would be built in an area in South Providence that has been contaminated for generations by heavy industrial use.
“All decisions are made in a context. What you may think is a narrow decision may have broad and far-reaching impacts,” said Kenneth Payne, of the Civic Alliance for a Cooler Rhode Island.
“What we have in Rhode Island is a system of de facto segregation,” said Payne, the former head of the state Office of Energy Resources. “Try to imagine siting this … in Barrington, Bristol, other communities. You would find it impossible.”
The area around the Port of Providence where the facility would be located is already home to 11 major polluters, said Claire Miller, of the Toxics Action Center.
“This is a clear case of environmental justice,” said Timmons Roberts, the Ittleson professor of environmental studies at Brown University.
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