The state rep from Salem and the state’s leading environmental group are engaged in a down-and-dirty battle on Beacon Hill over the state’s energy future.
Rep. John Keenan is eager to see a natural gas-fired power plant built in Salem to replace the coal-fired plant scheduled to shut down in May. He says the proposed plant will generate far fewer carbon emissions than the coal plant and its owners will clean up the site and provide a continuing stream of tax revenue to the city.
Where Keenan sees the gas-fired plant as the solution to a group of environmental and municipal problems, the Conservation Law Foundation sees a fossil-fuel plant contributing to global warming. The foundation on Friday filed an appeal with the Supreme Judicial Court challenging the state’s approval of the plant. The foundation’s attorney says it’s unclear whether the plant would comply with the greenhouse gas emission limits established in the 2008 Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act.
“It’s simply unacceptable to propose building such long-lived, greenhouse gas-emitting infrastructure without also analyzing how it intends to meet state laws to significantly reduce climate pollution by 2020 and 2050,” says the attorney, Shanna Cleveland.
Worried that delays caused by the appeal could derail the natural gas plant, Keenan this week responded by inserting an amendment into a bill coming out of his committee that would exempt the proposed natural gas plant from further regulatory review. Keenan says the plant has been through every regulatory step and it’s time to move on. Cleveland, in a blog post on CLF’s website, says what Keenan is doing is “unconstitutional and unconscionable.”
The debate over the Salem plant is a preview of coming attractions over how the state should deal with its future electricity needs. Says Cleveland: “The bottom line is that while natural gas may burn cleaner than coal and oil, it is still a fossil fuel with significant carbon emissions. Locking in new natural gas infrastructure means locking out zero-carbon technologies like wind and solar.”
Keenan says natural gas is a fossil-fuel bridge to a future with more renewables. Indeed, he says the proposed plant could come online quickly and provide badly needed backup for intermittent solar and wind power. “It’s a pipe dream to think we can keep the lights on with wind and solar,” he tells CommonWealth in an interview. As for CLF, he says he’d rather work things out across a table than in the courts or through legislation. “But if their position is no plant, then I’m going to do what I have to do.”
BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
The cavalcade of Beacon Hill goodies keeps flowing, as Patrick administration officials announce a $1.2 million award for traffic and roadway improvements in North Salem, the Salem News reports.
The botched $46 million computer system to handle state unemployment claims has also cost $800,000 in overtime for workers dealing with the fallout from the glitches.
Proponents for a bill of rights for Massachusetts domestic workers , such as home health aides and nannies, talk about the uncertainties of their jobs and the need for more security.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Brockton City Councilor Jass Stewart is proposing a measure that would bar the mayor from presenting union contracts to the council for approval within six months of a city election.
Boston Mayor Tom Menino didn’t consult the state ethics commission before taking a job with Boston University, whose development plans his administration regulates. Keller@Large offers some unsolicited advice for both Meninoand BU on their impending partnership.
Ed Glaeser says mend, don’t end, the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
CASINOS
Investigators working for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission raise financial concerns about Foxwoods’ plan to open a casino in Milford, specifically the company’s debt, declining revenues, and inadequate financing for the project, the Associated Press reports. Because the developers have yet to identify a major funding partner for the project, gambling commission investigators have not been able to mount the required background checks — and it’s unclear whether they could complete such a task by the December 31 deadline.
Somerset selectmen voted 2-1 to explore putting a referendum before voters to see if they want a casino in town as one way to make up for losing millions in tax revenues when the Brayton Point power plant closes.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
House Speaker John Boehner ices immigration legislation for the year. A couple of teenagers took matters into their own hands and lobbied Boehner on immigration as he was eating breakfast at his favorite place, Pete’s Diner.
Plastic guns made by 3-D printers are passing through metal detectors unnoticed.
ELECTIONS
Six police officers are working overtime around the clock to guard the ballots cast in last week’s Lawrence mayoral election between incumbent William Lantigua and Daniel Rivera, a job that will cost the city $25,000 by the time a recount starts this weekend, the Eagle-Tribune reports. In response to Lantigua’s failure to file campaign finance reports on time, the Massachusetts House passes a bill that would keep municipal candidates off the ballot if they fail to report contributions promptly. The bill was filed by Rep. Diana DiZoglio of Methuen, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Lawrence DiCara and James Sutherland, in a CommonWealth opinion piece , analyze the voting patterns in Boston’s mayoral election and find a split based on education and income.
The Bay State Banner profiles Dennis Benzan, the first Latino member of the Cambridge City Council. The paper also breaks down the race and class voting patterns in the Boston mayor’s race.
Newsflash: Scott Brown reveals that he is a “Scott Brown Republican.”
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Gas prices fell for the 10th straight week in Massachusetts, inching toward the magical $3 a gallon mark.
HEALTH CARE
Just over 100,000 people chose a health plan during the first month of Obamacare, NPR reports. The dismal numbers have President Obama fighting off attacks from within his own party, Time reports. Massachusetts health care guru John McDonough argues that the glass is more than half full when it comes to the health care law.
Lynn-area lawmakers raise concerns about Partners HealthCare and its plans to shift responsibilities between Union Hospital in Lynn and Salem Hospital. The lawmakers are particularly concerned about the plan to close the emergency room at Union, the Item reports.
The FDA issues a strong review against a multiple sclerosis drug developed by Genzyme.
TRANSPORTATION
The state is expanding commuter rail service between Boston and Worcester, the line with the second-highest traffic behind Boston-Providence, the Telegram & Gazette reports.
A labor dispute in New York could disrupt bus service for thousands of students in central Massachusetts, the Telegram & Gazette reports.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
A representative of Frontiers of Freedom says in a CommonWealth opinion piece that big subsidies for wind and solar power don’t make any sense.
Sudbury turns a former landfill into a solar plant.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Whitey Bulger ’s victims confront the gangster in court . Kevin Cullen says Bulger is “a small, unctuous man, not worthy of our hate.”
MEDIA
Dan Kennedy thinks John Henry’s silence on his other purchase , the Telegram & Gazette, speaks volumes about his plans for the Worcester paper’s future.
