A coalition of environmental groups says a plan to convert a coal-fired Bridgeport power plant to one that runs on natural gas is indicative of a faulty regionwide strategy when it comes to addressing global warming.
A new report issued by the Toxics Action Center, Frontier Group, Environment America, and more than a dozen community groups across New England says natural gas-fired power plants as a bridge from burning coal to generate electricity yields no positive gains and may actually be worse in terms of global warming. The groups presented their findings in Bridgeport, where PSEG Power has agreed to replace the coal-powered Unit 3 of Bridgeport Harbor station with a 485-megawatt generation facility that will run largely on natural gas.Construction of the new $550 million power plant is expected to begin in 2017, according to officials at the energy company, and be ready to run by June 2019. The existing coal-fired power plant produces 410 megawatts, but only runs during periods of peak demand.The report’s claims center around a contention that there are significant amounts of natural gas that leak into the atmosphere from the time its is brought out of the ground to the time it is delivered to homes and power plants around the region. That is important because the report emphasizes that natural gas is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, trapping 86 to 105 times as much heat as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. “Our review of the evidence suggests that these leaks may have an annual global warming impact equivalent of up to 250 coal-fired power plants, enough to nearly or completely offset any other climate benefits of natural gas,” Elizabeth Ridlington of Frontier Group and an author of the report said Wednesday.
Environmental groups have sought for years to have the coal-fired plant shut down, contending the particulate matter that is emitted from the plant is unhealthy for the neighbors of the plant to be inhaling. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Voluntown plans for new Public Works garage gets final OK
VOLUNTOWN - Design plans for a new town garage have received final approval from Voluntown's Planning and Zoning Commission.The commission approved the site plans last week for a new Public Works Department facility. The vote came after the commission delayed approval last month because of concerns that the garage would be too big and too close to the elementary school.To address those concerns, First Selectman Bob Sirpenski requested a 35-day extension for the application and he said now that the plans are approved, the town can go out to bid for a contractor to build it.“We’re hoping to break ground before the fall,” he said. The proposal calls for a 60 feet by 100 feet building on Gate Street, which is the area next to the school’s bus depot behind the school. Design work was completed by CLA Engineers of Norwich. The project will be funded through the $500,000 grant Voluntown received in March 2015 through the state's Small Town Economic Assistance Program. Sirpenski and Public Works Department employees have said the needed garage will include an emergency chemical cleaning area and heat, which the current space does not have. Approval of the project didn't come without tension. At a July 13 meeting, Planning and Zoning Commission member Carl Grenier said a level of hostility was geared toward him regarding the project. He has expressed concerns about the scope of the project saying the trucks and noise of construction will distract students. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Fired Developer Suing Yard Goats Owner
HARTFORD — The fired developers of Dunkin' Donuts Park are suing the owner of the team that is someday expected to play its home games there, alleging interference with contractual relationships and violation of state unfair trade practices.
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court last week by Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford, says the Hartford Yard Goats baseball team and its owner, Josh Solomon, insisted on changes to the design of the minor league baseball stadium that made them miss two deadlines for completing the project on time.
The first missed deadline resulted in an additional $10 million in construction costs and the team's playing its early season home games on the road. The second missed deadline resulted in the city firing the developers from the project in June and the team's playing its entire season on the road.
The suit alleges that Solomon knew in both instances that the design changes would jeopardize the developers' ability to meet the deadlines.
According to the lawsuit, in both instances that caused missed deadlines, the team and the city met without the developers to make changes to the design of the stadium that resulted in cost overruns and construction delays. The suit also says that Solomon had agreed to make a $2 million contribution to cover the additional $10 million in construction costs but never came through with the money, and that the city did not have enough money to pay to finish the ballpark even with Solomon's contribution.
As a result, the suit says, the city sought to have the bonding company that guaranteed completion of the ballpark pay subcontractors money that was owed to contribute to the completion of Dunkin' Donuts Park.
According to the suit, Solomon and representatives from John Moriarty & Associates Inc. met with the city July 19 and the city told them that they could contact subcontractors who had worked on the project about returning to work with Moriarty overseeing the project instead of Centerplan. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Berlin Police Station Proposal Halted By Split Council
BERLIN — A yearlong plan for a new $16 million police station has been halted by a split town council, with majority Republicans deciding to shelve the project for at least a year because of uncertainty over state aid and worries about an increasing debt burden.
After the 4-2 vote Tuesday, Mayor Mark Kaczynski said the town could offer $2 million to improve the existing station, built in the lower level of the 1974 town municipal complex and considered overcrowded and inadequate since 1995 by a succession of police chiefs and commissions.
"We had a very difficult budget year," Kaczynski said, with the state cuts of municipal aid reducing Berlin's revenue by $400,000. "From what we hear, this year will be worse. This is a very, very difficult scenario, and we can't make a decision in a vacuum." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT raising fares, cutting construction to balance budget
To offset a $37 million budget reduction, the state Department of Transportation has announced fare hikes and reductions to planned rail and bridge improvement.
Road and bridge program reductions total $19 million and public transportation program reductions total $18 million.
The highway and bridge reductions include decreasing maintenance work related to items such as tree cutting, joint and crack sealing, and drainage work. Additional plan savings include delays in hiring personnel, anticipated fuel savings and anticipated reduced salt purchases based on larger than normal starting inventories resulting from last year's mild winter. Other savings include $100,000 in subsidy reductions to Municipal Planning Organizations.
Effective Dec. 1, DOT is planning to increase fares by 5 percent on the New Haven commuter rail line, including the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches, and Shore Line East, which the agency said would generate about $5.9 million in new revenue. On the New Haven Line, the increase would be combined with a 1 percent previously scheduled fare increase that supports the purchase of the new M-8 rail cars that the state put into service beginning in 2010.
DOT said in a statement that another $7.2 million would be saved through Shore Line East fuel savings, reducing New Haven Line overtime costs through reduced after-hours maintenance, and closing underused ticket windows at the Greenwich, South Norwalk and Bridgeport stations. At the New Haven station, two ticket windows will be open on weekday mornings, down from three currently.
The standard one-way fare on the statewide CTtransit services would go up 25 cents, from $1.50 to $1.75, and the express bus fares and other pre-paid fare types would rise a proportional percentage – generating an estimated $2.3 million. Approximately $1 million will be saved through subsidy reductions to local transit district operations and other reductions.
DOT also plans reductions of staffed hours at seven highway rest areas and closing the Westbrook welcome center completely. The seven staffed rest areas will be closed overnight, but truck parking will be permitted. The budget proposal is also based on obtaining sponsorship funding to sustain the CHAMP highway emergency service program.
Panel puts rules on Yale lab project
NEW HAVEN >> An aldermanic committee Wednesday adopted a process whereby a proposed $70 million Yale science building renovation could get its final city approval by mid-September.
After hearing another two-and-a-half hours of testimony, the Joint Community Development and Legislation Committee amended Yale’s current central/science campus Overall Parking Plan with three stipulations to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles coming to the university by July 2017.It directs Yale to open a satellite parking lot with shuttle service to the campus near the city’s northern border to accommodate its workers and students coming to New Haven from nearby suburbs.It also said Yale should partner with local transit agencies to provide reduced-cost monthly transit passes to its commuters. The final point was to work with the city to create a plan to improve bicycle infrastructure that would connect the city’s neighborhoods to Yale and downtown.
The amendment, which was read by Alder Adam Marchand, D-25, had not been shared previously with Yale officials. Marchand, after the meeting, said they could not do that until the public hearing, which extended over two months, was closed, which it was just after 9 p.m.Lauren Zucker, Yale’s associate vice president for New Haven affairs and university properties, said she would have to read it first before commenting extensively, but on its face she felt it was “ a little arbitrary.”She said the university tries to be a “good partner” and reaches out to the community whenever it has a project. “It is unfortunate that we didn’t get the same courtesy here,” she said.“If they really wanted to promote more sustainable transportation, we could have had a positive conversation about that,” Zucker said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
As a result, the suit says, the city sought to have the bonding company that guaranteed completion of the ballpark pay subcontractors money that was owed to contribute to the completion of Dunkin' Donuts Park.
According to the suit, Solomon and representatives from John Moriarty & Associates Inc. met with the city July 19 and the city told them that they could contact subcontractors who had worked on the project about returning to work with Moriarty overseeing the project instead of Centerplan. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Berlin Police Station Proposal Halted By Split Council
BERLIN — A yearlong plan for a new $16 million police station has been halted by a split town council, with majority Republicans deciding to shelve the project for at least a year because of uncertainty over state aid and worries about an increasing debt burden.
After the 4-2 vote Tuesday, Mayor Mark Kaczynski said the town could offer $2 million to improve the existing station, built in the lower level of the 1974 town municipal complex and considered overcrowded and inadequate since 1995 by a succession of police chiefs and commissions.
It wasn't immediately clear what the $2 million could be used for. Police Chief Paul Fitzgerald could not be reached for comment.
The 10,000-square-foot station has outgrown the space, with a staff more than twice the size of the 18-officer force that moved into the facility in 1974. The department lacks storage space for records and equipment, and needs room for private interviews, police officials have said for years.
The project stalled by the council vote was construction of a police station building on town-owned land on Farmington Avenue.
The $2 million could be used to "give you some relief quickly," the mayor said to Fitzgerald, who sat quietly in the council chamber as the vote took place. Kaczynski said concerns about adding to town debt and likely cuts in state aid were the reasons for the decision to delay a project that he said will eventually be done."We had a very difficult budget year," Kaczynski said, with the state cuts of municipal aid reducing Berlin's revenue by $400,000. "From what we hear, this year will be worse. This is a very, very difficult scenario, and we can't make a decision in a vacuum." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
DOT raising fares, cutting construction to balance budget
To offset a $37 million budget reduction, the state Department of Transportation has announced fare hikes and reductions to planned rail and bridge improvement.
Road and bridge program reductions total $19 million and public transportation program reductions total $18 million.
The highway and bridge reductions include decreasing maintenance work related to items such as tree cutting, joint and crack sealing, and drainage work. Additional plan savings include delays in hiring personnel, anticipated fuel savings and anticipated reduced salt purchases based on larger than normal starting inventories resulting from last year's mild winter. Other savings include $100,000 in subsidy reductions to Municipal Planning Organizations.
Effective Dec. 1, DOT is planning to increase fares by 5 percent on the New Haven commuter rail line, including the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branches, and Shore Line East, which the agency said would generate about $5.9 million in new revenue. On the New Haven Line, the increase would be combined with a 1 percent previously scheduled fare increase that supports the purchase of the new M-8 rail cars that the state put into service beginning in 2010.
DOT said in a statement that another $7.2 million would be saved through Shore Line East fuel savings, reducing New Haven Line overtime costs through reduced after-hours maintenance, and closing underused ticket windows at the Greenwich, South Norwalk and Bridgeport stations. At the New Haven station, two ticket windows will be open on weekday mornings, down from three currently.
The standard one-way fare on the statewide CTtransit services would go up 25 cents, from $1.50 to $1.75, and the express bus fares and other pre-paid fare types would rise a proportional percentage – generating an estimated $2.3 million. Approximately $1 million will be saved through subsidy reductions to local transit district operations and other reductions.
DOT also plans reductions of staffed hours at seven highway rest areas and closing the Westbrook welcome center completely. The seven staffed rest areas will be closed overnight, but truck parking will be permitted. The budget proposal is also based on obtaining sponsorship funding to sustain the CHAMP highway emergency service program.
Panel puts rules on Yale lab project
NEW HAVEN >> An aldermanic committee Wednesday adopted a process whereby a proposed $70 million Yale science building renovation could get its final city approval by mid-September.
After hearing another two-and-a-half hours of testimony, the Joint Community Development and Legislation Committee amended Yale’s current central/science campus Overall Parking Plan with three stipulations to reduce the number of single-occupancy vehicles coming to the university by July 2017.It directs Yale to open a satellite parking lot with shuttle service to the campus near the city’s northern border to accommodate its workers and students coming to New Haven from nearby suburbs.It also said Yale should partner with local transit agencies to provide reduced-cost monthly transit passes to its commuters. The final point was to work with the city to create a plan to improve bicycle infrastructure that would connect the city’s neighborhoods to Yale and downtown.
The amendment, which was read by Alder Adam Marchand, D-25, had not been shared previously with Yale officials. Marchand, after the meeting, said they could not do that until the public hearing, which extended over two months, was closed, which it was just after 9 p.m.Lauren Zucker, Yale’s associate vice president for New Haven affairs and university properties, said she would have to read it first before commenting extensively, but on its face she felt it was “ a little arbitrary.”She said the university tries to be a “good partner” and reaches out to the community whenever it has a project. “It is unfortunate that we didn’t get the same courtesy here,” she said.“If they really wanted to promote more sustainable transportation, we could have had a positive conversation about that,” Zucker said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE