Speaking out against the Towantic Energy Center are, left to right, Jeff Ruhloff, Melissa Leonard, Sondra Harman, Len Yannielli, Marcia Puc, Felipe Flores and Kevin Zak. (Marjorie Needham photo)
Representatives from several Naugatuck organizations gathered on the banks of the Naugatuck River Saturday morning to speak against the Towantic Energy Center gas-fueled power plant Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) intends to construct near the Oxford Airport in Oxford. Representatives of the Naugatuck Valley Audubon Society, Naugatuck Land Trust, Naugatuck River Revival Group and Committee for a Cultural/Environmental Center – Gunntown Road, all members of the Naugatuck Environmental Network, stood in the snow in 19-degree weather. The Naugatuck River flowed past behind them.
Calling the Towantic Energy Center a “dirty” fuel power plant, Marcia Puc of the Naugatuck Land Trust said this is a pivotal moment for area residents, one in which they must decide whether or not they want to stay on the path to clean energy.
Kevin Zak of the Naugatuck River Revival Group said his group came out to show its opposition to the plant and its support for all who oppose it. He said the plant is a short distance from the Naugatuck River. The power plant’s industrial waste water will go to Naugatuck’s waste water treatment plant for eventual discharge into the Naugatuck River. “No added pollution should be brought to this river,” he said. “It will affect the quality of life in this valley.”
Zak also expressed concern that water for the plant will be drawn from one watershed, the Pomperaug River watershed, and then discharged into a second watershed, the Naugatuck River watershed.
Melissa Leonard of the Naugatuck Land Trust enumerated the various airborne pollutants that will come from the plant and noted Connecticut already has a “D” rating for its air quality.
Len Yannielli of the Committee for a Cultural/Environmental Center said the Gunntown Road Passive Park is 1.2 miles from the proposed site. The park is used by the elderly and by families with young children, he said, and the air pollution from the plant would be harmful to them.
Jeff Ruhloff of the Naugatuck Valley Audubon Society said in 2012 the Naugatuck forest was named one of 27 forests in the state that are critical bird habitats. He said a full environmental study of the impacts the power plant will have on the entire area needs to be done. To date, the environmental study has focused on only the 68-acre power plant site.
Both Ruhloff and Zak expressed concern the plant would have an adverse effect on area wildlife.
The group is calling on citizens opposed to the power plant to be at a mass demonstration against the plant Thursday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. outside Oxford High School at 61 Quaker Farms Road in Oxford. That is the day the Connecticut Siting Council will be conducting a site visit and then a hearing on the plant.
We are told part of the site visit includes flying two balloons at the height of the proposed stacks. Readers who notice the balloons Jan. 15 are urged to email us at beeintelligencer@gmail.com to let us know where they were when they saw the balloons.
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