Flanagan blasts Renovo Energy Center opponents

LOCK HAVEN, PA – Mike Flanagan, the President/CEO of the Clinton County Economic Partnership is the local official who for the last nine years has been the local point person in the now failed effort to locate the Renovo Energy Center project at the old railyard site in Renovo.

Project developer Bechtel Corporation announced a week ago that it was ending its plans to bring the billion-dollar project to fruition, the effort entangled in a variety of legal challenges from out-of-the-area environmental groups.

In his opinion piece, Flanagan was harshly critical of those groups and the delayed state governmental process as Bechtel and multiple local supporters attempted to make the natural gas-to-electricity plant a reality.

Flanagan prefaced his opinion piece with “One final letter following the unfortunate decision of Renovo Energy Center (REC) to withdraw plans for a power plant in Renovo because of appeals by environmental groups.” His thoughts:

“The DEP permit system needs looked at, especially when there is an appeal involved or a likely appeal forthcoming. DEP issued the air quality permit to REC for 18 months, which normally would seem like more than enough time to get a project started. But when an appeal is launched, it basically stops a project in its tracks. In the Renovo power plant case, it took almost two years for the PA Environmental Hearing Board to set a hearing date or dates. During that two year timeframe, DEP’s air quality permit to REC expired, so REC asked for (with more involved expense) and received an 18-month extension. Of course, then the extension was appealed by the environmental groups. The project opponents also indicated to REC that they were about to appeal the soon-to-expire water withdrawal permit from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which would have added further delays. Thus, the investors eventually go away, the project is pulled, and a community that badly needed this project is back to square one. It is like being stuck on a hamster wheel that is never going to end. State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz and State Sen. Cris Dush both requested and received this information.

“On its own website, the PA Environmental Hearing Board, which would have heard this case, states, “It is the intent of the Board to resolve all appeals as expeditiously as possible. In any event, the Board will strive to revolve all appeals with two years of filing.” In this case, it took the Board almost two years just to set up a hearing date(s), which could have stretched into October of this year. Advantage to the appealants – Clean Air Council, PennFuture and the Center for Biological Diversity.

“We would work with landowners at the former Renovo Industrial Park to turn the property ownership and deed over to Clean Air Council (Joseph Otis Minott, Philadelphia), PennFuture (Jessica O’Neill, Philadelphia) and the Center for Biological Diversity (Robert Ukeiley, Boulder, Colorado). Since they destroyed the power plant project, you make the call for the site – what’s your plan?

“Mr. Minott’s group recently sent out a news release that they are “keeping an eye” on the blue hydrogen plant proposed near Keating, Clinton County. What’s interesting is that about a half mile from the hydrogen plant site is a proposal for a very large solar field, which the Partnership also supports. The news release from Mr. Minott’s group that it will “keep a close” eye on the solar field project must have been lost in the mail, or perhaps destroyed by a windmill. And you would think that Ms. O’Neill’s group would be applauding that a company was offering to clean up a contaminated site in PennFuture’s Commonwealth. Now, thanks to her group’s action, we have no company and still have a contaminated site.

“We were pleased to hear new Gov. Shapiro state in his recent budget address (and during a presentation to the PA Chamber prior to his election) that he would work for economic development projects and he talked of a streamlining process. The Governor and his staff could use the Renovo Energy Center project as Exhibit A on how the process destroys a project.

“Assuming there are no takers on the deed offer, and despite the damage that has been done and the fact that many of us are worn out over this fiasco, the Partnership, along with others such as Mayor Bruno and Renovo Borough Council, the Renovo Community Trade Association, the county commissioners, Rep. Borowicz and Sen. Dush will continue to work to get someone to locate across the tracks – that’s a local term that the Philly groups wouldn’t know or understand.

Mike Flanagan
Clinton County Economic Partnership