Not In Our Backyard, Senators!
Editor’s Note: Since the public hearing on St. Croix last month, there have been rumblings that some revision of the Alpine Energy deal is in play. According to statements on radio by Sen. Craig Barshinger, the revised plan would all but eliminate the use of pet coke from the waste to energy process. There are few other details on this “new” plan so there’s not much more we can tell you. What we do know is that Alpine has begun some construction activity on St. Thomas and whatever plan they’re following, that causes us some concern. In the meantime, until some official information is released, we must continue to stay focused on the issues of the plan as we know it. Mr. Payne’s editorial addresses a key point in his article here. The Alpine St. Thomas leases are on Monday’s Legislative agenda.
By Clarence Payne
There is startling information within the Information Packet submitted by Alpine to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that must be discussed. This particular concern has flown under the radar and probably for good cause. Or because the other components of the Alpine Project are so alarming that we didn’t tackle this issue; however, it is about time that this issue comes front and center.
Clarence Payne
Ash management is going to be a huge problem. A few of the Senators along with Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. and Paul Chakroff visited a PET COKE fired plant in Jacksonville, Florida. Even though the PET COKE fired plant appeared to be operating in compliance, it was reported to this writer by several of the members of the group, that they saw a pile of ash the size a pyramid! They were “deeply concerned” by what they observed. Why would a pile of ash, the size of a pyramid, in Jacksonville, Florida, cause deep concerns? This writer does not believe there is a structure the size of a pyramid in the Virgin Islands, so if the size of the pile of ash “was cause for concern”, we are in for a rude awakening.
The following is an excerpt from the Information Packet sent to the E.P.A., Provided by Alpine, Prepared by Trinity Consultants; page 3-15 section 3.4.4 reads: “Fly Ash; two 10,000 cubit feet fly ash silos, one for each steam generator, are located adjacent to the common unit stack. The silos represent approximately two days of ash storage capacity at nominal, full load production rate of 7.9 tph. Ash will be collected in the fly ash hoppers on the steam generators, multi clone, economizer, dry scrubber, and bag house and will be pneumatically conveyed by vacuum to the storage silo. From the storage silo, the ash will be discharged to a truck and TRANSPORTRED TO A TEMPORARY ASH STORAGE silo capable of holding 3,000 tons of ash. The ash will ultimately either be sold to an external agency to be processed for beneficial use or TRANSPORTED OFF SITE FOR PERMANENT DISPOSAL.”
One would think that a contract of this magnitude would answer the most basic of questions such as defining a plan of action to address the ash substance. Questions should include but not be limited to:
1. Where does Alpine plan to erect the “Temporary” Ash Silo capable of holding 3,000 tons of ash; how much does it cost and who will be responsible for this arrangement?
2. Who are the prospective external agencies that would procure fly ash from PET COKE over the entire 20 or 40 yrs of this agreement?
3. Will those external agencies procure the ash as long as the plant is producing or will Alpine have to relentlessly search for buyers of this absolute dirty product every other year?
4. Have the potential Permanent off site disposal locations been identified for St. Thomas or St. Croix?
5. Where are some of the areas on both islands that are being considered as the permanent off site locations, how many acres are being considered for the off site location, and how much does that cost and ultimately who will pay for it?
6. How will the ash be transported to the permanent off site location?
7. Who will manage the permanent off site location and ensure that the first tropical storm does not blow the ash around the territory affecting our valuable cistern water?
8. How many acres will Alpine need to purchase or lease to store ash at their temporary or permanent off site location?
9. Being that we depend of cistern water for our survival, what happens to the water when the next yearly tropical storm arrives and blows the ash, smoke, soot all over our island?
In addition to the 30 acres of fragile coast line that is currently under consideration by the 28th legislature for this project, Alpine will need additional acreage as reported in the Information Packet, to facilitate the “temporary and permanent storage sites” for this venture. Where can Alpine place a storage container that can store 3,000 tons of ash in the Virgin Islands? This writer along with the other residents of this territory would like to know if the following areas are under consideration as “Temporary or Permanent” site to store ash; Smith Bay, Savan, Hospital Ground, Mahogany Estate, Agnes Fancy, Kirwin Terrace, Garden Street, Mafolie Estate, Magens Bay, Mahogany Run, Frenchtown, Mandahl, North side, Hull Bay, Botany Bay, Fortuna, Bordeaux, Sub-base, Crown Bay, Tabor and Harmony, Tutu Bay, Bakkero Estate, Frenchman Quarter, Estate Dorethea, Crown Mountain, Mafolie Estate, Nazareth Bay in-between The National Guard Armory and Wassen Dominic Park or Vessup Bay next to the Ritz Carlton. Mr. Hixon, Mr. Beach, Mr. Hurd and the other managers of Alpine along with the executives at WAPA should come clean with the residents of our beautiful territory and fully report every aspect of the PET COKE burning plants and tell us where they plan to place the “Temporary and Permanent” storage sites for the ash before the lease agreement is discussed anymore! Committee members; Craig Barshinger, Michael Thurland, Samuel Sanes, Louis Hill, Shawn Malone, Neville James, and Nellie O’Reilley; analyze the section above and do not approve this lease which might place one of these sites in your constituencies backyard and you will never hear the end of your decision.
Each resident that is not in favor of having a “Temporary ash silo or a Permanent disposal site” placed in your backyard, community or anywhere in the Virgin Islands; contact the Senators listed above ASAP at 340-774-0880, which is the phone number of the legislature, and demand that the lease planned for St. Thomas be terminated! In addition you can also write to the Senators at: 28th legislature P.O. Box 1690, St. Thomas U.S.V.I. 00804. We must call and write starting today because the final hearing for the Alpine lease agreement will be scheduled between March 6TH and March 12, on the island of St. Thomas. Encourage your family, friends, co-workers and grassroots organizations to join in and participate with us to resist any “Temporary or Permanent” off site location that will store Ash, in the Virgin Islands.
To my many wonderful friends who live on St. Johns and St. Croix and cares about the health of the people, the health of the environment, and social justice, show your full support for our endeavor and participate. The Alpine lease agreement is not a St. Thomas problem; it is a Virgin Islands problem! We are well within our rights as tax paying, free residents of this territory. These projects are bigger than the proposed plan and our community needs to see the entire scope of this project, in its entirety. There is no way our community can effectively examine this project without all of the information in front of us.
The Alpine project will continue to be the focus of our attention as long as legitimate questions are left unanswered.
WOW CIF NW THATS SOME SWEET NEWS. Please hurry and verify those documents. If all this is true, well I already know it will be true. Anything that is said about any of these agencies in this administration is beieveable without seeing any documents!
CIF, the info is solid! Do you need the vi CODE.
QUESTION:
Is it not true that the reason we have 2 categories, “consumption” & “LEAC” is because we are paying #1 for the consumption, and #2 because we are paying for the fuel to consume?
Is it not true that the Federal Government implemented a law that required all jurisdictions to supply affordable electricity to the people?
So, is it true then, that our government has found a way to bypass the federal law by billing us for the “consumption” which is an affordable figure, and then billing us again for the fuel which takes away the afford-ability?
There MUST be something we can do NOW to rid of us of this outrageous LEAC we are FORCED to pay in order to obtain “affordable consumption”.
Fortunately, I did not have my current cut this month, so I didn’t need to come up with the additional rape fee of $55 to re-connect, but how many people did? This is another fee we need to do away with COMPLETELY while WAPA gets on the move to reduce our exorbitant bills.
Do we need to go to the IG to get this done?
This Month:
Consumption $67
LEAC $210
Explain the “affordability” please…
@ Kista 8:45
Yes go to the IG and file a complaint! You have laid out the evidence of a potential fraud being committed by WAPA through the LEAH.
Why not go to the PSC Kista and put your remarks on record? Maybe you can make a difference that would help bring the maddest to a end!
Thank you for the info.
We the people ALL need to hold the PSC responsible for the madness.
IMMEDIATELY there needs to no longer be a charge for reconnection until WAPA provides AFFORDABLE service.
Joseph B. Boschulte
Commissioner, Chairman
jboschulte@psc.gov.vi
Donald G. Cole
Commissioner, Vice Chairman
dcole@psc.gov.vi
Verne C. David
Commissioner
vdavid@psc.gov.vi
Sirri Hamad
Commissioner
shamad@psc.gov.vi
M. Thomas Jackson
Commissioner
tjackson@psc.gov.vi
Elsie V. Thomas- Trotman
Commissioner
Senator Patrick Simeon Sprauve
Senator
Senator Michael Thurland
Senator
Keithley R. Joseph
Executive Director
kjoseph@psc.gov.vi
fire boschulte then
Seems to me the time is NOW to begin electing our boards, doing away with appointing.
I am watching the good Senator N James on tv right now.
He just explained his soft-spot for WAPA, fine.
He mentioned Hurr Hugo.
What the good senator does not understand is that the LEAC was basically set in motion by the legislature in order to off-set the costs that Hurr Hugo incurred, and that WAPA found it convenient to leave in place after the repairs were completed.
THAT’S why we have a LEAC. It was intended for one thing, then abused for another.
Krista, you are absolutely correct. To think Hugo Hodge took it upon himself to overspend monies for consultants on the Alpine deal; he should have been terminated not rewarded. He was authorized by the board who is controlled by the Governor to spend no more than $3 million yet he spent $5 million. This should have been a violation of his fudiciary responsibility. And where do you think all this money is really coming from; your correct the LEAC charge which by all means might be outright illegal at this time. They have already recoup monies for the loses as a result of Hurricane Hugo. An audit might be necessary.
The problem really is not Hugo Hodge, it is our government, and the supposed leader of our government.
Mr. Hodge is only capable of working within his confinements, and if those confinements do not benefit the people, we need to go over his head.
Our marginally elected leader has done squat to enable comfortable living conditions for the majority of the people. He has no interest, he has no interest, or we would have seen something positive over the past 3 1/2 years.
All we see is money going out of the territory on the backs of the hard work populus. In some cases, we even see evidence of money staying in the territory only to be flaunted in our faces of thier great success by adhering to this governor.
Soldier Crab put it clear: Vote. Vote or stop the griping.
Take it upon yourself to mentor a younger person to register to vote too. We gotta make some changes here, or we are all going to be living on rain water and daylight.
I take issue with the senators with rocks in their heads.
Doesn’t Thurland and Sprauve sit on the PSC board?
WHO IN HELL ARE THEY REPRESENTING?????
Are we going to be stupid enough to let them back into the position of making and amending laws when they take no part in understanding the impact the LEAC is having on the community?
Hugo is a over spending PUNK who took it upon himself to over pay his consultants. The buck stops with Hugo at WAPA and anyone that did as Hugo is also responsible for the misuse of public funds.
You people got some nerve to suggest PUNK A** Hugo don’t know better. If he don’t why in hells name are we giving him over $240,000 to do his job. Krista you should be ashame of your self for such a statement.
Everyone that plays a role in this failing Administration KNOWS better. Sadly, they all choose to do what is NOT better for the masses. Instead, they all SELFISHLY prefer to fatten their own bank accounts without any regard to the majority of Virgin Islanders that are SUFFERING right before their eyes.
Whomever said money is the root of all evil was not lying. The de Jongh Administration continues to prove this on a daily basis.
Yes and power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I knew we were in big troublle when dejongh get his boys to unseat the senate president. No more years please
Is there a PSC meeting Wednesday PM on STX? Where? When?
The PSC will meet Thursday, June 17, at 10 a.m. in the Port Authority Conference room at the Henry Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix.
lets stop the madness by comin out in mass june 17 10am port authority
if we dont we will pay the prize lets get ur friends mother sister bother father kids lets do this one for us oh by the way we also need to demand that the gov dismantle the psc asap there r not for us
jc i 4 sure will be there
This is what I am looking into right now:
The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) was implemented to encourage, among other things,
1. the conservation of electric energy,
2. increased efficiency in the use of facilities and resources by electric utilities,
3. equitable retail rates for electric consumers,
4. expeditious development of hydroelectric potential at existing small dams, and
5. conservation of natural gas while ensuring that rates to natural gas consumers are equitable.
One of the ways PURPA External Link set out to accomplish its goals was through the establishment of a
new class of generating facilities, which would receive special rate and regulatory treatment. Generating
facilities in this group are known as qualifying facilities (QFs), and fall into two categories:
qualifying small power production facilities and qualifying cogeneration facilities.[1]
I want to go into that meeting tomorrow with some knowledge…
VI CODE SAYS:
(12) except that the Authority shall install electrical poles and power lines and maintain and install street lights at no cost to its customers to determine, fix, alter, charge, and collect reasonable rates, fees, and other charges for the use of the facilities of the Authority, or for the services, water, except for water obtained by the Fire Services at metered stand pipes that is used to out fires and which shall be provided free of charge, electric power, or other commodities rendered or furnished by it, which shall be at least sufficient, together with all other available moneys, revenues, income and receipts of the Authority from all sources, for the payment of the expenses of the Authority incurred in connection with the repair, maintenance, use and operation of its facilities and properties, for the payment of the principal of and the interest on its bonds, and for fulfilling the terms and provisions of such covenants as may be made with, or for the benefit of, the purchasers or holders of any bonds of the Authority; provided, that in fixing rates, fees, and other charges for water and electric power, the Authority shall have in view the encouragement of the widest economically possible use of water and electric power consistent with sound fiscal management; and in this connection it is the intention of the Legislature that in fixing such rates, fees and other charges the Authority shall take into account the respective expenses, as hereinbefore enumerated in this subparagraph, for the water and electric power systems; provided, further, that initially, the Authority shall adopt the existing rates, fees and other charges for water and power, and that, thereafter, before changes in such general rate structure for water or electric power are made, or, in cases where the Board shall decide to make such changes and deems the immediate effectiveness thereof to be necessary, then within a reasonable time after such changes are made, a public hearing shall be held with respect thereto before the Board, or before such hearing officer or officers as the Board may designate to give interested persons an opportunity to advise the Board of their views and of evidence in support thereof, and upon such hearing, the Board, pursuant to the powers, duties, and obligations vested in it by this chapter, may alter, suspend, or revoke such changes;
…Just what I was looking for…”reasonable rates and fees”