By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
Developments in the
fossil-fuel power plant drama are happening at a furious pace.
On Oct. 20, the Tribal
Council of the Narragansett Indian Tribe asked the Energy Facilities Siting
Board (EFSB) for intervenor status in the process to vet the proposed Clear
River Energy Center.
The recent request
highlights the rift within the Narragansett Indian Tribe over its decision to
serve as a backup water source for the $1 billion energy project.
At an Oct 10 public hearing at
Burrillville High School, tribe members Randy Noka and Silvermoon LaRose said
the agreement goes against land-use needs at the reservation in Charlestown.
They promised to fight
the decision, which they said was made by tribal leaders in September without a
vote by the full tribe.
“We do not support the
agreement. It was made in violation of tribal constitution and bylaws,” LaRose
said.
The letter from Tribal
Council attorney Shannah Kurland states that tribal members haven't seen the
agreement, much less voted on it.
They can only assume
that the water will be drawn from the lower Wood River aquifer and wells that
supply water to the reservation.
“The outcome of the EFSB's decision, should it
precipitate or allow for the sale of any of the Tribe's water, even on a
contingent basis, could potentially bind Narragansett Tribal members and the
Tribal Council charged with representing them, for generations to come,” Kurland wrote in the request to the EFSB.
The motion to serve as an intervenor comes three days after the EFSB granted intervenor status to the town of Charlestown, due to the town’s concern about impacts the use of Narragansett Indian Tribe water to the cool the proposed power plant will have on local water supplies.
On Oct. 19, Invenergy
Thermal Development LLC, the developer of the proposed power plant, asked the EFSB to
grant a hearing in Charlestown over its water plan.
Invenergy’s primary
water source is the town of Johnston, but that agreement is being
challenged in Rhode Island Superior Court by the Conservation Law (CLF)
Foundation and the town of Burrillville.
The Benn Water Supply
Co. in Hopkinton has also been named a backup water supplier and water hauler
for the power plant.
However, unknown until
recently, the Watuppa Water Board in
Fall River, Mass., approved in August the sale of water to the Clear River
Energy Center as a backup supply to Johnston.
Benn Water would haul up
to 18 tanker trucks of water per day from the Bedford Street hydrant in Fall
River.
Invenergy would pay a
$30,000 reservation fee to have access to the water and pay an additional $250
per 6,000-gallon tanker truck. The Watuppa water district serves Fall River,
Westport, and Freetown, Mass., and Tiverton, R.I.
Watch a video of the
vote here. The Benn Water
deal begins at the 21-minute mark.