WEC gets permit for methane plant at Coventry site
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By Sky Barsch Times Argus Staff - Published: November 16, 2004
Act 250 approval has been granted for doubling the size of the state's largest landfill, clearing the way for construction in Coventry next spring of what will become the state's largest generator powered by methane.
The approval by the District 7 Environmental Commission will allow New England Waste Systems of Vermont, a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, which owns the Coventry landfill, to accept 370,000 tons of garbage a year, up from the current limit of 240,000 tons.
The permit opens the way for the East Montpelier-based Washington Electric Cooperative to start construction on its $7.2 million methane conversion project. The generation plant will capture the gas generated at the landfill and use it to supply about a third of the cooperative's power needs for its 9,400 homes, farms and businesses.
The local district Commission granted the Act 250 land-use permit for the Coventry landfill expansion a year after Casella applied. The co-op's plans to build the project had been held up this fall while it waited for the permit to be issued.
Avram Patt, general manager of Washington Electric, said though he would have preferred construction to have started by now, the land-use permit is exciting news for the co-op.
"All of the reasons that we gave to the Public Service Board and our members who voted overwhelmingly to support this back in June are still the case," Patt said, pointing to the "low cost, it's a steady and predictably priced source of power for us for really the long term. We know with a fair degree of accuracy what this will cost us for the life of the project."
The methane project includes a 6,900-square foot building in the landfill, installation of concrete pads for the internal combustion generators and construction of a 7.5-mile transmission line to connect with Vermont Electric Power Co.'s local substation. The landfill will provide sufficient methane for power generation for 30 years, co-op officials said. The Coventry methane power project will be the largest methane generation facility in Vermont, and would produce power at an average of about a nickel per kilowatt hour, supplying about one-third of the co-op's power needs. It serves primarily the rural Washington and Orange county areas.
The $22 million landfill expansion will add 44.5 acres to the massive operation on a hillside a few miles south of the city of Newport.
The MRC de Memphremagog, the first Canadian body to earn party status in an Act 250 hearing, heavily participated in the permitting process, ensuring that the impact of the landfill was minimal on Lake Memphremagog, a recreational and drinking water resource for tens of thousands of people.
The permit was granted with some restrictions and fees. New England Waste Systems will pay $1 per ton of waste accepted at the site toward a special closure trust fund, which will deal with any long-range problems that occur 30 years after the landfill is closed.
The district commission will retain jurisdiction over the project, it said in its ruling. The commission also said that NEWS-VT must remove waste from two unlined cells and place the waste into lined cells, to prevent leachate from contaminating the groundwater. Those cells were filled unlined prior to NEWS-VT's ownership, according to commission documents.
The commission also ruled in favor of creating a landfill oversight committee that will include both Canadian and American representation, and it also requires new groundwater monitoring, increased Agency of Natural Resources monitoring and a $30,000 fee for the project's impact on "prime agricultural soil."
The co-op had expected the Act 250 permit to be issued sometime late this summer. The methane project was dependent upon the landfill expansion to generate the amount of methane it needs for the project to be successful. Canadian concerns over landfill runoff into nearby Lake Memphremagog, and other factors delayed the timeline initially expected by Washington Electric.
The co-op earlier this fall sought Public Service Board approval to begin construction on the project prior to the Act 250 permit being issued to avoid winter construction costs and the costs ratepayers would incur if the co-op was forced to purchase power from the open market.
The PSB turned down that request, saying it was too risky to begin construction, because there was a possibility that the expansion of the landfill not be approved – possibly putting the brunt of construction costs onto co-op members who would be left with no methane project.
The Public Service Board last month did, however, agree to allow Washington Electric to start construction on just the foundation of the project.
Construction on the power lines to the VELCO substation is expected to begin immediately. Patt said he believes the project will be on line in March or April.
Contact Sky Barsch at sky.barsch@timesargus.com 223-3335.
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