November 10, 2009
By Kyle Alspach, The Enterprise
BROCKTON —
Opposition to a proposed city power plant remains as strong as ever on the City Council following last week’s election, where voters rejected most candidates who supported the project.
Project company Advanced Power Services NA hopes to buy treated city wastewater for cooling at the 350-megawatt plant, but needs two-thirds of the council to approve the sale.
The chances of that happening remain slim following last Tuesday’s election, councilors said. In January, 10 of the 11 councilors who’ll take office are opponents of the plant — the same as the current council.
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Council members, current Mayor James Harrington and Balzotti, the mayor-elect, oppose the project due to its use of pollution-causing fossil fuels.
They point to studies showing that long-term exposure to air pollutants such as particulate matter are linked with health effects, including respiratory and heart disease.
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Meanwhile, an appeal of the siting board decision to the state Supreme Judicial Court by the city, the town of West Bridgewater and a group of residents from the city and town is “moving forward very slowly,” said attorney Eugene Benson.
“I believe the case will be briefed and argued somewhere in the year 2010,” said Benson, whose nonprofit group, Alternatives For Community and Environment, is fighting the plant.
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