NORTH BEAVER TOWNSHIP Don't let plan ruin wetlands, citizens group tells officials

A public hearing is set for 7:30 p.m. March 22 to consider the company's request.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A proposed natural gas-fired electric generating plant has a citizens group concerned about the natural wetlands in their community.
About 50 people, many members of Citizens Against Toxic Sites Inc., attended North Beaver Township planning commission and supervisors meetings Monday to voice their opposition to any disturbance of wetlands off state Route 551.
"CATS, speaking for many tax-paying citizens of North Beaver Township, are not opposed to positive development and an increased tax revenue. However, they are opposed to the interference of state-declared wetlands," said Christine Piccirillo, a member of the group's executive board.
Previous matter: The group formed about 15 years ago to fight Solidtek Inc., a toxic waste site that landowner Bob Bruce wanted to build on the same land now proposed for the electric plant.
That project was abandoned when federal environmental officials decided there were nearly 50 acres of wetlands on the property that could not be disturbed.
The wetlands, according to CATS member Richard Eidam, provide storm water retention for the Mahoning and Beaver rivers, which helps prevent flooding.
Eidam pointed out that preliminary plans for the plant, submitted by ERORA Group Inc. of Louisville, Ky., show the plant to be in the wetlands area.
What's proposed: The company wants to build a natural gas-fired electricity generating facility that would operate only about three to six months a year, when electricity use is at its highest, said James Gagliano, chairman of the township planning commission.
The company is competing with two others to build in this area. Township officials say another peak generation power plant is proposed in Beaver County and a substation is being considered for Cedar Street in New Castle.
Companies like ERORA build the plants and then sell them to power suppliers, Gagliano said.
Preliminary plans were given to the township to see if there is an interest in the plant, he said. More detailed plans, including the locations of extended natural gas and electrical power lines, which will be used to generate the electrical power, will come later.
ERORA won't know until at least mid-April if its plant will be bought and built, he said.
If approved, it would be built in land designated as a Keystone Opportunity Extension Zone, a state designation that would give the company a 13-year abatement from most state and local taxes.
Township Supervisor Ed Weber assured residents that the supervisors will not give final approval to the plant construction until they know all the details.
Scheduled: More details are expected at a public hearing planned for 7:30 p.m. March 22 to consider the company's request that township zoning laws be changed to permit electricity plants as a conditional use in an industrially zoned area.
Township planning commissioneers agreed Monday to recommend preliminary land use approval to supervisors for ERORA's preliminary plans with several conditions, which include not disturbing any wetlands and negotiating an agreement to pay the township a fee based on the number of kilowatt hours produced in the plant.