By:Scott Brinton
LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel has until now maintained a conciliatory tone when speaking of negotiations over a possible deal between the Long Island Power Authority and Freeport Village to shut down Freeport's diesel-electric Plant No. 2.
His rhetoric shifted dramatically Thursday evening, Oct. 11.
In an impassioned talk before 100 members of the Old Lindenmere Civic Association, an obviously angry Kessel outlined a litany of frustrations he has faced in trying to do a deal with Freeport. Foremost among them was that village officials recently attempted to cut LIPA out, he said.
Subhed: What's the deal?
The deal, as proposed, was this: Freeport would close Power Plant No. 2, whose exhaust Merrick and Freeport residents fear causes cancer. (The California Air Resources Board labels the exhaust a known carcinogen; the federal Environmental Protection Agency says it likely causes cancer.)
LIPA would bring in a private electric provider, such as a KeySpan, to refurbish the plant with clean-burning, gas-fired turbines. The third party or Freeport or both could own the revamped plant.
The deal would enable the village to meet its power needs for at least 10 years, as well as keep its electric rate, according Kessel of Merrick. (Freeport Electric's Web site says the rate is half of what most Long Islanders pay.)
"The offer is a solid offer for the Village of Freeport," said Kessel.
Freeport appeared poised to accept the deal, but then balked. In recent weeks, without LIPA's knowledge, the village fired off a Request for Proposals, or RFP. The RFP sought plans from outside utilities to build two new power plants in Freeport. The trouble is, Kessel said, Freeport officials also want to keep Power Plant No. 2, and that he finds intolerable.
"The whole point" of the original deal was to "replace the diesel generation," Kessel said. He stopped short of calling Plant No. 2 a health hazard, as residents charge, but rather said there were "environmental consequences for Merrick, Freeport and Baldwin" associated with it.
Freeport officials could not be reached for comment at press time. They had until the end of this week to accept the LIPA deal. Otherwise, the power authority would have the gas-fired turbines -- $50-million General Electric LM6000s -- sited elsewhere on Long Island. If village officials were to decline the deal, Kessel said, "They're on their own."
Subhed: A pledge to fight
The LIPA chairman also pledged to help civic activists in battling to shut down Power Plant No. 2 and block any deal the village might strike with a third-party utility.
Kessel told Old Lindenmere Civic members that he would "do everything" he could to assist them during upcoming public hearings over Freeport Electric's Title V permit to operate Plant No. 2. The hearings are set to begin 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 22, at the Freeport High School auditorium.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation this last summer issued a tougher permit for the plant, which contains standards and monitoring requirements for particulate (soot) and nitrogen oxide. (It had none previously.) The permit, however, cannot take effect until Freeport is given "due process" under the law, meaning a series of public hearings in this case, said Ray Cowen, the DEC's regional director for Long Island.
Cowen believes that, if and when the plant is subjected to the new permit, it would need pollution controls to continue running. Otherwise, the village would have to close it.
"We don't believe [Freeport] can meet the conditions that are imposed [in the new permit] without very expensive upgrades," said Cowen in an earlier interview with the Herald. He bases the judgment on emissions tests that Freeport conducted in Plant No. 2's smokestacks during 1995 and 1997.
State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick), who originally brokered the LIPA-Freeport deal, also offered support to residents during the Thursday meeting. "We're not going to stand for the continuation of" Plant No. 2, he said.
Chris Hahn, representing U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, also attended. Speaking of Merokeans' concerns about the plant, Hahn said, "We hear you, believe me." He, however, said the senator hasn't yet taken a position on the issue.
Subhead: Freeport's energy future
In the end, Freeport could very well wind up with Plant No. 2 shut down and no new ones to replace it, Kessel said.
He noted, "We've got a real energy crisis on Long Island. We're certainly not looking to hurt the people of Freeport." Kessel predicted, however, that Freeport Mayor William Glacken's resistance to the LIPA deal would.
For starters, he said that, in its proposal, LIPA offered to pick up most costs of connecting the new gas-fired turbines to the New York State power grid, as well as hooking up the gas lines. Kessel called those expenses "significant," though he did not offer figures. If Freeport were to attempt to go it alone, it would likely incur those costs.
Kessel said that, in bringing in a third-party utility, that energy provider would be required to pay local taxes, which could be a boon for the village. If Kessel blocked the utility from moving in, which he all but promised to do, Freeport would lose that revenue stream.
LIPA also offered to assist the village in obtaining financing it might need to complete the deal.
Finally, village officials said that closing diesel Plant No. 2 would leave Freeport $2.5 million short annually. Kessel said he would help find the monies to bridge that gap, though he did not say from where.
Kessel charged that, in rebuffing the LIPA deal, Glacken is "jeopardizing [the village's] future energy security," which he called "very unfair" to his own residents.
Kessel said that the state, including Gov. George Pataki, is monitoring Power Plant No. 2 "very closely" to ensure its new draft permit is eventually enforced.
When asked why Freeport officials might refuse the LIPA deal, Kessel said he believes they are seeking to keep the old plant while building new ones so they acquire enough electric-generation capability to sell power on the new, deregulated market. He said Freeport could sell into what is called the day-ahead market, in which prices fluctuate daily, during summer. But, he said, "I don't see it as a bonanza."
Kessel also noted that a municipal utility's first responsibility is to provide electricity to its residents.
Subhead: Health fears
Merokeans attending the Thursday meeting expressed outrage over Freeport's apparent desire to keep Plant No. 2 up and running.
Cindy Crociata, mother of two small children who lives in Old Lindenmere, said the plant's exhaust permeates her neighborhood during summer when it mostly runs. "The smell is so vile I won't let my children walk to the next house," she said.
Stacy McHale-Grossman, the Old Lindenmere Civic Association vice president and mother of a toddler, said, "We're prisoners in our own homes" because of the exhaust.
Vincent Greco, a Freeport civic activist who has fought the plant for three decades, said the message that the plant poses a health threat simply isn't getting to the Freeport residents who voted Mayor Glacken into office. "That's the problem: How do you get the truth to the people of Freeport?" he asked.
The village this last summer hired Manhattan-based public-relations firm Rubenstein Associates to handle media inquiries about the plant. "Instead of putting the money into solving the problem, they put it into a spin," Greco said.
Cowen, of the DEC, said he believes his agency will prevail in efforts to enforce the plant's rewritten operating permit.
He reminded people that they should attend the Oct. 22 hearing over the permit with written comments, which can be given to the DEC administrative law judge presiding over the case. (For his complete advice, check out "Merrick to make its case," Oct. 4 edition, which can be found in the Merrick Herald's Power Plant Archive at www.liherald.com.)
Cowen also told the Herald that Richard Wissler, former Freeport mayor and now a DEC judge, would not hear this case.
Merrick residents said they're bitter that the plant's permit must go through what is likely to be a protracted series of public hearings and a possible lawsuit. (If Freeport loses at the hearings and the permit is enforced, it can sue the DEC in court.)
Speaking of the permit, Ivy Duneier said, "I resent it's going to a hearing."
Cowen replied, "Frankly, so did I."
A letter from the heart
Scott Brinton/Herald
Fred Sredl, a long-time Merrick resident whose wife, Jean, died recently of acute myelogenous leukemia.
Editor's note: Through tears, Fred Sredl read the following letter during the Old Lindenmere Civic Association meeting last Thursday. Joseph Kralovich, Old Lindenmere president, said Sredl presented the letter to remind people why they are fighting Freeport's diesel Power Plant No. 2 - because its exhaust might cause cancer, according to numerous studies. Sredl of Old Lindenmere said he wanted to tell his story because his wife, Jean, died recently of a rare form of cancer called acute myelogenous leukemia. He was prompted to write the letter after reading in the Herald about William Reilly, of Merrick, 18, who now suffers from the disease (see "Teen in fight for life," Oct. 4 edition, which can be found in the Merrick Herald's Power Plant Archive at www.liherald.com).
Oct. 11, 2001
My name is Fred Sredl. I have resided at 1654 Birch Drive in Merrick since 1955. I would like to start by mentioning a few names: Alison Oland - died at 34. A young mother who left behind four children - ages 6, 5, 4 and 3 - at the time of her death. Jean Sredl - stepmother of three - died at age 63. They had the disease called AML (acute myelogenous leukemia).
Alison passed away because of a bone-marrow transplant that didn't cure her. While Jean went into the North Shore Hospital the first time, she suffered with leukemia 15 months. The last time my wife lay in North Shore Hospital on the seventh-floor Leukemia Wing, there were about 30 patients on the floor. Of the 30, four were from Merrick. One person passed away before my beloved wife, and the fate of the others I assume was the same.
Acute myelogenous leukemia is almost always fatal. A few have miraculously survived, like 18-year-old William Reilly of Merrick, who has suffered for four years with AML.
My beloved wife, Jean, taught baton-twirling here in Birch School for 15 years. She also taught children at St. Agnes for 40 years and in many other schools. She taught in as many as four schools a day, as well as at night. Jean was trying to retire, but could not find a suitable replacement teacher. Jean taught the children until leukemia drained all her strength.
My doctor loaned me the paperback, number-one best-seller "A Civil Action." It takes place in Massachusetts. It is a true story about a leukemia cluster. A polluted well was found to be the cause. The town knew the well water had a strange taste, but did nothing about it.
I am not doing this for profit. We all have a responsibility to protect all the lives of our children and adults alike.
Don't let the lives of all our leukemia patients who have died and are dying be lost in vain. I implore you to find the cause [of their disease] in their memory. Power plant, polluted wells, toxic dumps...Thank you.
A night of music
To benefit plant fight
The Old Lindenmere Civic Association is to host "A Night of Art Songs and Arias" as a fundraiser for its ongoing fight against diesel Plant No. 2.
The association began raising money in July after it realized a long legal fight to have the plant's rewritten operating permit enforced lay ahead. The group wanted to hire its own experts and lawyers for upcoming hearings that are expected over the permit.
"A Night" will feature a performance by Anton Belov, a baritone, of the Julliard School in Manhattan and recent winner of the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition.
Sponsorships for the evening are available for $150 each. Sponsors have their names or businesses placed on the back of the program. Thus far, patrons include: Merrick Fitness & Dance, Cure of Ars Roman Catholic Church Mothers' Group, Royal Music Center, Gateway Inn and Aesthetic Landscape & Design, Inc., all of Merrick.
Trader Joe's is providing refreshments and Minuteman Press all fliers. Queen of Hearts and Maximus of Merrick are donating gift certificates.
The performance is to take place at The Stage, 2222 Merrick Ave., Merrick, on Sunday, Nov. 11. For more information, call Mark Vassilakis at (516) 623-5271.
Hed: Public hearing set
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is to hold a legislative public hearing over Freeport Electric's Title V permit to operate diesel Plant No. 2 this coming Monday.
The hearing gets under way at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 22, Freeport High School, 50 Brookside Ave. For more information, call the Old Lindenmere Civic Association at (516) 545-5632.
LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel, left, with Ray Cowen, regional director of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, says he's fully prepared to fight Freeport Electric's diesel Power Plant No. 2.
Photos by Scott Brinton/Herald
An estimated 100 Merrick and Freeport residents turned out for an Old Lindenmere Civic Association meeting Oct. 11 to prepare for an upcoming public hearing over Plant No. 2's Title V operating permit. Above: Vincent Greco, a civic activist who has fought the plant for 30 years, addresses meeting attendees.
During the meeting, State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. of Merrick pledged his continued support in the battle against the plant, whose exhaust people fear causes cancer.
