Apr 25, 2016 3 min read

NEMACOLIN – An informational public meeting held Monday on plans to build a 536-megawatt natural gas power plant near Nemacolin brought questions from residents about noise, emissions and increased truck traffic.

About 50 people attended the meeting at the Nemacolin union hall to hear about the project proposed by Hill Top Energy Center LLC for a 41.7-acre site off Thomas Road. Only a few had questions. No one directly opposed it.

Hilltop Energy applied for both an air quality permit and water discharge permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, representatives of which were also on hand to answer questions.

Bill Campbell, environmental consultant for Hilltop Energy, said the plant would include the latest pollution controls, using “best available control technology” and employing continuous emissions monitoring.

He referred to the project as a “poster child” for the federal Clean Power Plan, under which states will be required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. A coal-fired plant emits twice the carbon dioxide emitted by a natural gas plant for the same power generation, he said.

The company will be required to buy offsets for nitrogen dioxide emissions because the area is designated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a “nonattainment area” for criteria pollutants, he said.

The plant, which will be built on property that was once the proposed site of a coal waste-fired power plant, will take two years to build and create about 250 construction jobs. In response to a question, Campbell said companies being considered for the work are union companies.

Once in operation, the plant will employ 25 to 30 people. Once the plant is built, truck traffic also is expected to be minimal, Campbell said.

Linda Dulik of Nemacolin expressed concern about emissions from the plant, saying Nemacolin is home to many retired coal miners with black lung.

Campbell said the proposed plant will employ “very clean technology” and power plants are strictly regulated. The plant must keep within the required emission standards or face being shut down, he said.

Ed Orris of the DEP air quality permitting, said the plant would be considered a “minor source” in regard to hazardous pollutants, but a “major source” for criteria pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, because the plant will be in a nonattainment area.

Dulik said she wanted to know more about the project and was skeptical, believing people have been lied to about pollution caused by fracking. She also asked why a more isolated site had not been chosen for the plant.

Campbell said he believed the site is isolated and the nearest home is 2,500 feet away. The turbine will be housed in a building, and the plant will employ noise silencers.

“I don’t think noise will be an issue, because of where it’s located,” he said.

George Rattay of Edenborn, a retired plumber and pipe fitter, said he could understand Dulik’s concerns but he noted the company said it would hire union contractors. The plant will provide jobs for people in the community, he said.

The informational meeting was held because the plant is near an environmental justice area, an area of high poverty or minority representation, requiring additional DEP outreach.

Asked when public hearings at which public comment can be made on record might be held, Orris answered after DEP completes its technical review and issues draft plan approval, the plan will be advertised and residents will have 30 days to comment.

A resident then can request a public hearing on the project. One woman in the audience suggested the company itself simply request the hearing.