Renovo Energy Center opponents send out anti-project mailer, post signs

RENOVO, PA – Residents in the Renovo area this week received a mailer urging its recipients to contact their municipal officials to express concern about the proposed $1 billion Renovo Energy Center project.

The mailer, paid for by project opponent Clean Air Council, is critical about a negative effect on the environment it says will result from a 6.5 mile pipeline which will be needed to carry natural gas from a nearby transmission line through Noyes and Chapman townships to the gas-fired power plant planned for the north side of Renovo.

The mailer lists the names and phone numbers for the supervisors from the two townships and states “Please call your local officials today to raise your concerns about these projects and ask them to strengthen local rules about where pipelines and power lines can be sited and oppose local permits for this infrastructure in order to protect the safety and welfare of residents and the community’s natural resources.”

According to the mailer, 4.2 miles of the pipeline would go through the Sproul State Forest and claims over 20 acres of trees would be cleared and would “fill valuable wetlands, damage a number of high-quality streams and fragment the forest.” It states the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has the authority to deny access to the project and asks recipients to contact DCNR and seek denial.

The mailer also claims, “The construction and operation of this proposed pipeline and power lines have the potential to permanently degrade privately-owned land along the route, damage waterways and threaten public safety.”

The mailer says more information may be obtained from HealthyRenovo@gmail.com or by phone at 570-531-1866 for more information “or to get involved.”

Renovo Energy Center developers were asked to comment on the mailer and signs against the project posted around Renovo this week. They had no immediate response. Questions about the impact on Sproul State Forest relative to the project from the developers’ perspective can be found on REC’s Sproul State Forest Fact Sheet on the www.renovoenergy.net website.

Meanwhile planning continues on the project, developers expecting to begin construction in 2022.