Invenergy Releases Plan to Withdraw Water from Center of Indian Cedar Swamp in Charlestown
Invenergy Thermal Development LLC is the company that seeks to build a 1000 Megawatt Power Plant fueled by gas and diesel oil in Burrillville. The site of the power plant in Burrillville would require clearing hundreds of acres of forest contiguous with state conservation areas like George Washington Park, Pulaski Park, Buck Hill Management Area, and more. These protected lands in Rhode Island together with adjoining conservation lands in Connecticut and Massachusetts total tens of thousands of acres. The wildlife impacts of fragmenting this forest habitat are opposed by The Nature Conservancy, Rhode Island Audubon, Save the Bay and many other conservation organizations.
Charlestown was already connected to Burrillville through the North South Trail, a hiking trail, and a corridor of open space that extends from the ocean in Charlestown to the Carolina Wildlife Management Area in Richmond to the Arcadia Management Area in Exeter and then follows a string of state parks and other conservation land to the Massachusetts border.
Invenergy now proposes to connect Charlestown and Burrillville with a caravan of tanker trucks carrying water from the Indian Cedar Swamp in Charlestown to cool the turbines of the power plant in Burrillville.
The conceptual site of the well system to cool the power plant is shown on the graphic below which was recently released by Invenergy. The area identified as “United Nuclear Plant Location” is now the Francis Carter Preserve. The large green dot is the conceptual location of the water withdrawal. This is the center of the Indian Cedar Swamp, an over 900 acre, pristine wetland. The land was previously a state wildlife management area. It was transferred to the Narragansett Indian Tribe as part of the Settlement Act in 1978. It was transferred with the restriction that it be “held in perpetuity for conservation purposes and shall not be improved or developed.”
Developing wells at the center of the cedar swamp, a pumping station, and some kind of access road will require significant alteration to the wetland. This is not a proposal that will go before the Town, but it will need to be approved by the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB). The EFSB will hold a hearing in Charlestown on Tuesday, December 5 at the Charlestown Elementary School at 6PM.
We’ll have lots more about the proposal and the hearing between now and December 5.
November 29, 2017 @ 7:34 am
We need to speak out now and stop this!. Like the violation of our Tribal people in Dakota, the time has come to stand up and protect our water now!. Fred Hazard, Narragansett Indian
November 28, 2017 @ 10:54 pm
Burrilville has already said they don’t want this in their town! Why is Invenergy going against the citizens of the town? If this goes through then anyone can do whatever they want in any city or town even if the citizens say NO!!
November 29, 2017 @ 11:43 am
Great point! I wondered why they were still perusing the plan??
November 14, 2017 @ 6:14 pm
Please do not do this – especially for a diesel fired plant- can’t we develop energy from a more renewable source?
November 12, 2017 @ 7:21 pm
Subject to the 1978 Narragansett Land Trust agreement, all of the land that is held in trust by the Federal government of the Narragansett’s use is subject to “all” of the laws of the state of Rhode Island and the town of Charlestown, as any citizen’s property in the town would be. I am curious to know if there was a road/traffic impact study conducted on Invenergy’s endeavor to procure water for their energy plant? Does anyone know what the projected amount of trucks that would be necessary to provide water to the energy plant? Has anyone given any forethought whatsoever about what the trucks carrying all that water (8 pounds per gallon) would do to roadways and bridges designed to handle local, rural traffic? What route would these trucks be taking to get to Burrillville from the wells, there really are not too many roads that could accommodate any kind of heavy trucking! Just to go through a rural community in such a venture without any forethought whatsoever is ludicrous and also dangerous to our rural communities and not just Charlestown all of the surrounding communities equally as well.
November 11, 2017 @ 1:12 pm
Indian Cedar Swamp, cannot be used as there is a clause in the 1978 agreement when the land was returned to the Narragansett Tribe, it is not to be developed, upgraded in any way. It is to remain a wild life preserve in perpetuity.
The tribe doesn’t have the right to allow wells of any kind to be built. WTF is wrong with Invenergy and it’s corporate culture?
Since when does a corporation have the right to poison clean potable water? Especially when there is no need and they can’t sell the energy it would produce? This is stupid, plain and simple.
November 11, 2017 @ 9:58 am
Thanks for the update CCA.
Several questions:
1. On one of the maps on your website show “wellhead protected areas” What does this mean? what is “protected”? the surface only or the water under the surface?
2. Can my “neighbor” sell the water that supplies my well without my permission?
3. On another of your maps shows the extent of the aquifer in question, it appears to extend into 10 other towns …. are they concerned? are they taking any action? can Charlestown “team” with them like we did to oppose the high speed rail proposal so successfully?
4. Will our state representatives be at the meeting? have they been specifically invited? what are their positions on this topic?
November 9, 2017 @ 8:18 am
What a nightmare!!!
November 8, 2017 @ 6:04 pm
I don’t think that getting water from pristine wetlands to cool turbines is a good idea. I have nothing against turbines at this time to produce energy but feel they eventually will become obsolete in favor of renewable energy resources. They need to get their water for cooling purposes from another source.