These days most of the action coming from the City Council is at the committee level such as the effort to reform collections at the Water Pollution Control Authority. Monday night looks like a tame full council agenda that projects for an early night. PSEG, which is undertaking a $550 million coal phase-out conversion to a gas-fired power plant at its Bridgeport Harbor Station in the South End, will update the council on the project and its Community Environmental Benefits Agreement signed about two years ago.
The agreement was also signed by the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, University of Bridgeport, and neighborhood revitalization zones.
Council agenda here.
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The United States of America used to be called “the Saudi Arabia of coal.” Unfortunately it is also the dirtiest hydrocarbon known to man. Environmentalists tried for years to shut down the industry with protests, lawsuits, etc. Nothing worked. Then huge natural gas deposits were discovered in Texas and The Dakotas. Natural gas became cheaper than coal. It is also cleaner and more efficient.
It wasn’t Green Peace that put the coal industry out of business, it was the almighty dollar.
But 45 said that we have good clean coal, when the hell did coal ever becomes good clean coal? Fake news 45.
45 never lived in America (Trump Tower is not America, it is Minas Morgul on the Hudson). 44% of the world’s worst polluting power plants are in the US.
For me Ron, clean coal is a big ole diamond.
Another slow day at OIB
John Marshall Lee // Feb 26, 2016 at 9:08 am
Ron, the residents of the South End require energy continuity. The utility owns the land and to dedicate it to a new use, away from coal-powered to gas-powered takes many hurdles in the approval process. The City may find a new “largest taxpayer” if the $500 Million is spent and forms a basis for its valuation. When the above happens the final days for the coal plant become certain earlier than currently. And there is a $2 Million community benefit agreement, also. To the extent the community is happier about the various steps above and perhaps a few more I have missed, they will not end up in broad protest slowing down or stopping this development step. In the ongoing discussions and public meetings, did anyone entertain a practical better idea to accomplish similar results? Or can they today? Time will tell.
We are now nearly two years later. And memory tells me that citizens were appointed to a Committee to review, discuss and generate ideas on how dollars from a Community Benefit Agreement might flow. What has been the work of such appointees? Meetings? Minutes? If the funds are closer to flowing into the community what are the purposes or causes addressed? What about individuals and families beset by air quality in their residences because of mold or other respiratory issues as well as a concentration of external sources of pollutants that while “clean”, to a demonstrable level of evidence, when combined with the other issues present brings macro-health issues to our community and to the individual lives of citizens, OUTSIZED comparatively to our population.
Rumor has it that re-organization efforts of this body have been ongoing, but the meaning of such efforts and decision making already present await public presentation. Interested in how such a fund will be spent? Time will tell.
The money will be spent on:
“MAKE GANIM GREAT AGAIN”
I can’t believe no one ran this by the most Rev. Carl McCluster?
Put down those Duchess Hot dogs, the Wrath of God will be at the meeting!
Unless Rev. Carl McCluster has already received his Vig from PSCG, in that case no protest is needed.
Good point.
The City Council agenda may look simple but still waters run deep. There has been a little,or a lot more,controversy depending upon your perspective. Various Bridgeport job groups have claimed that PSEG has not delivered the local jobs and training that PSEG promised in the various plans and community interactions over the multi-year planning of this new power plant. Some have come late to this issue and are claiming that the location of the power plant is not in the best interests of Bridgeport but that caboose may have left the station by now. Actually,this is a complicated issue and requires a lot of research.
What kind of jobs are you referring to. They cant train for any of the construction jobs because that is a 5 year training program
Low turnout cancels budget forum; more planned
BRIDGEPORT – Turnout was so low at the first of three forums scheduled on the city school district’s 2018-19 budget plan that officials called it off and plan to try again. Only two members of the public, School Board Member Joe Sokolovic and about a dozen members of the district’s administrative staff showed up at a forum held Thursday evening at Batalla School. Because of the light turnout, Schools Superintendent Aresta Johnson pulled the plug on her power point presentation shortly after …
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Low-turnout-cancels-budget-forum-more-are-planned-12546947.php#photo-14982301
PSEG ought to collect bullshit from City Hall, burn that. It has. Negligible carbon footprint and there’s tons of it.