<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div><div data-gcf-font-size="14pt" class="ArticleHeadlineText"><span _mce_style="color: #008000;" style="font-size: 16px;"><b>Local 350MA Group Encourages Comment at 2/8 Hearing in Sandwich Addressing "Canal Station Modernization Project" </b></span></div>
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<div><span>The Canal Electric Generating Station in Sandwich is in the midst of a <a style="color: blue ! important; text-decoration: underline ! important;" _mce_style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" track="on" shape="rect" _mce_shape="rect" href="http://canalnewgeneration.com/" _mce_href="http://canalnewgeneration.com/" linktype="1" target="_blank">modernization project</a>
that will add a 1.5-MW solar array and new 350-MW combustion turbine to
its two aging boilers, which are largely fueled by oil. On Wednesday
February 8 at 7 pm at the Sandwich Town Hall, the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold a public hearing
addressing air emissions from the new gas-fired unit, which will cast a large carbon shadow for decades. <br><br>350MA-Cape
Cod, rejuvenated by recent events, encourages local citizens to attend
the DEP hearing and register their opinions on the new unit, which will
rely on fracked gas and is projected to result in almost <strong>1 million tons of additional onsite CO2e emissions annually</strong>
starting in 2019. This total does not account for methane leakage
during the fracking process - fugitive emissions that according to recent studies put natural gas almost on par with coal, in terms of life-cycle
impacts. <br><br>The state is not projected to achieve its
statutory goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020, but
this major new source of emissions has already been approved under the
Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act and by the Cape Cod Commission.
The Commission's decision, which did not consider where the fuel is
coming from, nor how much greenhouse gas emissions will be produced, is
available <a style="color: blue !important; text-decoration: underline !important; " _mce_style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" track="on" shape="rect" _mce_shape="rect" href="http://www.capecodcommission.org/resources/regulatory/DRIdecisions/2016/EIR-DRI15016%20Canal%20Unit%203%20Dec%2012-1-16.pdf" _mce_href="http://www.capecodcommission.org/resources/regulatory/DRIdecisions/2016/EIR-DRI15016%20Canal%20Unit%203%20Dec%2012-1-16.pdf" linktype="1" target="_blank">here</a>.
The Town of Sandwich has signed on as an enthusiastic supporter, with
skids greased by more than $50M in payments promised by the power plant's owner over the next
20-plus years. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><b>Contact</b>: Grace Barter, 350MA-Cape Cod, gracembarter13@gmail.com </div></span></div></div></div></div></body></html>