Editor, East Bridgewater Express:

Does anyone in East Bridgewater know that a 350-megawatt, gas-and-diesel-fired electric power plant - with a 250-foot smokestack – may receive approval by a state board at the end of this year?

The proposed power plant would be less than two miles from our town line, and less than four miles from two of our schools.

Does anyone in East Bridgewater realize that the state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs has just determined that this plant is “environmentally sound?”

Does anyone in East Bridgewater realize that the state Energy Facilities Siting Board began holding staff meetings in Boston last Monday morning, with no public input allowed, in order to decide by the end of this year whether or not to license the proposed project?

Does anyone in East Bridgewater realize that if the Siting Board approves the plant for licensing, then MassDEP may then proceed to issue permits for the project?

Does anyone in East Bridgewater realize that soot, smog and toxic gases will be flowing on a daily basis toward East Bridgewater, beginning in 2011, unless the project is stopped?

My main question is: Why hasn’t this proposed power plant, so closed to the East Bridgewater town line, been discussed by East Bridgewater’s elected officials in any kind of public forum?

Many people who reside in East Bridgewater will be closer to the proposed site than people living in the town of West Bridgewater - the only nearby community voicing strong opposition to the project at the present time.

During the past few weeks, I have talked with many people in East Bridgewater about the proposal. I was startled by the fact that no one I spoke with knew anything about the proposed project.

Why hasn’t a copy of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR), which details many of the dangers that this plant could pose to area residents, been made available to East Bridgewater residents?

So far, a copy of the above report has only been made available to residents in Brockton and West Bridgewater.

The facilty, Brockton Power, is being proposed to be constructed on a 13-acre site on Oak Hill Way, off Sargents Way in south Brockton. Sargents Way is a major roadway leading to the town of East Bridgewater.

The proposed plant would emit over a million tons per year of known air pollutants, soot and waste-water vapors. These pollutants are expected to travel a great distance. Proposed ambient-air monitoring sites will be set up as far as Milton and the Boston area.

The plant would also store on site 750,000 gallons of diesel fuel and highly-caustic and potentially-dangerous aqueous ammonia and chlorine that could be subject to an explosion or terrorist attack.

Trucks carrying these dangerous fuels and chemicals could also travel through East Bridgewater, ignoring proposed routes to the site.

According to a 2003 Energy Facility Boards report, the plant’s massive cooling towers could also cause icing on walkways and streets surrounding the plant. Would this also cause icing on powerlines and trees, as well, causing major blackouts in the area?

I am not claiming to be an expert on power plants or the environment, but I am concerned about the possible terrible dangers associated with the proposal after reading many articles and reports relating to the project - both positive and negative.

Again, my most urgent question is: Why would such a plant be considered for construction within such a densely-populated area, when so many risks to public health and safety are associated with the proposal?

I am requesting that the East Bridgewater Board of Selectmen or the town’s Board of Health hold a public information session, to help raise citizen awareness of the project and its potential dangers.

Last week, I requested - from Josephine Wixon, with Mass Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs - a copy of a March 28, 2008, Final Environmental Impact Report. A copy of the report is now available at East Bridgewater Public Library for public viewing.

Laurie Mathews
Memorial Drive