To the editor:

There has been minimal reporting in our local papers regarding the push to build Invenergy's Clear River Energy Center (CREC), the largest gas and diesel oil fired power plant in New England, in Burrillville, RI. This project, now in the permitting process before the RI Energy Facility Siting Board, will affect all of us in the state in one way or another.

• It will use thousands of gallons of water each day from rivers and streams and has raised concern regarding diminished drinking water

sources in the area and well beyond.

• It will expand Rhode Island's fracked gas use, escalating carbon and methane emissions.

• It will impede our mandated Resilient Rhode Island Act requirements which address global warming.

• It will support unconventional fracking in other states and is highly suspect in expanding gas export to the Maritimes and overseas.

The chosen location is within 200 acres of forest and wetlands, described as a statewide protected source of biodiversity. Proponents

say this gas will provide a necessary “bridge fuel”. Opponents say the need for CREC in Rhode Island is not proven to the degree required – and keep in mind the vast infrastructure of pipelines, compressor stations, drilling, truck traffic, safety hazards, etc. that will additionally accompany this or any plant.

A free “Learn the Facts” discussion about Invenergy's Clear River Energy Center (CREC) sponsored by the Burrillville Land Trust and the Rhode Island Association of Conservation Commissions will be held at the Middletown Public Library, Tuesday July 12, from 5:45- 7:45. p.m.

Claudia Gorman

Middletown