COMMONWEALTH of MASSACHUSETTS Energy Facilities Siting Board Petition of Southern Energy Ke
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COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Energy Facilities Siting Board ____________________________________ Petition of Southern Energy Kendall, LLC ) for Approval to Upgrade and Replace ) Generating Facilities at the Existing ) EFSB 99-4 Kendall Square Station in ) Cambridge, Massachusetts ) ____________________________________) FINAL DECISION Sheila R. McIntyre Hearing Officer December 15, 2000 On the Decision: Jenna Ide Barbara Shapiro William Febiger APPEARANCES: Donna C. Sharkey, Esq. Frank P. Pozniak, Esq. JoAnne A. Pierce, Esq. Rubin & Rudman LLP 50 Rowes Wharf Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3319 FOR: Southern Energy Kendall, LLC Petitioner Stephen D. Anderson, Esq. Arthur P. Kreiger, Esq. Douglas H. Wilkins, Esq. Rachel Graham Evans, Esq. Anderson & Kreiger, LLP 47 Thorndike Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 FOR: City of Cambridge Intervenor Mary E. Grover, Esq. NSTAR Services Company 800 Boylston Street Boston, Massachusetts 02199 FOR: Cambridge Electric Light Company and Commonwealth Gas Company Intervenor Mark Landin Sigma Consultants, Inc. 95 Main Street Maynard, Massachusetts 01754 FOR: Sigma Consultants, Inc. Interested Person Peter L. Cooper Assistant Director of Facilities for Utilities Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307 FOR: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Interested Person -i- Philip Higonnet 83 Thorndike Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 FOR: Form Petitioners Interested Person Joseph J. Avin 106 Spring Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Carole K. Bellew 257 Charles Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Stephen Bikofsky P.O. Box 410419 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Barbara Broussard 148 Third Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Mary Ann Donofrio 122 Gore Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Jennie Iantosca 12 Winter Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Frances Menezes 548 Cambridge Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 Charles C. Poirier 18 Gore Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141-1212 Mary Travers 54 Fulkerson Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 -ii- Robert V. Travers 54 Fulkerson Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141 -iii- TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION................................................... Page 1 A. Description of Proposed Project, Site, and Interconnections.. Page 1 B. Procedural History............................................. Page 4 C. Jurisdiction and Scope of Review................................. Page 5 II. SITE SELECTION................................................... Page 6 A. Standard of Review............................................ Page 6 B. Description................................................... Page 7 C. Analysis.................................................... Page 10 III. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS....................................... Page 12 A. Standard of Review........................................... Page 12 B. Air Quality.................................................. Page 13 1. Applicable Regulations.................................. Page 13 2. Equipment and Operations................................ Page 16 3. Emissions and Impacts................................... Page 19 4. CO2 Offset Proposal..................................... Page 25 5. Position of the Parties. .................................. Page 25 6. Analysis.............................................. Page 28 C. Water Resources. ............................................ Page 35 1. Description............................................ Page 35 2. Impacts on Municipal Water Supply and Sewage Systems. Page 37 3. Impacts on the Charles River.............................. Page 38 4. Positions of the Parties................................... Page 47 5. Analysis.............................................. Page 51 D. Wetlands. .................................................. Page 58 1. Description............................................ Page 58 2. Positions of Parties...................................... Page 62 3. Analysis.............................................. Page 62 E. Solid and Hazardous Waste..................................... Page 63 1. Description............................................ Page 64 2. Analysis.............................................. Page 66 F. Visual Impacts............................................... Page 66 1. Description............................................ Page 67 2. Analysis.............................................. Page 71 G. Noise. ..................................................... Page 72 1. Description............................................ Page 72 2. Position of the Parties. .................................. Page 78 3. Analysis.............................................. Page 79 H. Safety...................................................... Page 81 1. Materials Handling and Storage.. Page 81 2. Fogging and Icing. ..................................... Page 85 3. Emergency Response.................................... Page 85 -iv- 4. Existing Hazardous Conditions. Page 86 5. Analysis.............................................. Page 87 I. Traffic. .................................................... Page 90 1. Description............................................ Page 90 2. Position of the Parties. .................................. Page 94 3. Analysis.............................................. Page 95 J. Electric and Magnetic Fields.................................... Page 97 1. Description............................................ Page 98 2. Analysis............................................. Page 100 K. Land Use. ................................................. Page 102 1. Description........................................... Page 102 2. Analysis............................................. Page 106 L. Cumulative Health Impacts.................................... Page 107 1. Baseline Health Conditions.............................. Page 108 2. Criteria Pollutants. .................................... Page 110 3. Air Toxics. .......................................... Page 115 4. Discharges to Ground and Surface Waters. Page 116 5. Handling and Disposal of Hazardous Materials. Page 117 6. EMF................................................ Page 118 7. Noise. .............................................. Page 121 8. Conclusions.......................................... Page 122 M. Conclusions................................................ Page 123 IV. CONSISTENCY WITH THE POLICIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH.. Page 124 A. Standard of Review.......................................... Page 124 B. Analysis................................................... Page 125 V. DECISION....................................................... Page 126 FIGURE 1: SITE LOCATION MAP -v- LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Explanation AALs Annual allowable ambient limits ACCs Air cooled condensers ANP Bellingham Decision ANP Bellingham Energy Company, 7 DOMSB 39 (1998) ANP Bellingham ANP Bellingham Energy Company - Compliance, 9 DOMSB 211 Compliance Decision (1999) ANP Blackstone Decision ANP Blackstone Energy Company, 8 DOMSB 1 (1999) AUL Activity and Use Limitations BACT Best available control technology Board Energy Facilities Siting Board Berkshire Power Decision Berkshire Power Development, Inc., 4 DOMSB 221 (1996) Brockton Power Decision Brockton Power LLC, 10 DOMSB 157 (2000) BTA Best technology available Btu/kWh British thermal units per kilowatt hour Canal Station site Southern Energy Canal Units 1 and 2 in Sandwich, Massachusetts canal walk Proposed public access path along the Broad Canal Cancer Incidence Reports Massachusetts Department of Public Health cancer statistic reports CELCo Cambridge Electric Light Company CELCo/ComGas Cambridge Electric Light Company and Commonwealth Gas Company collectively cfs Cubic feet per second CHA Report 1999 Public Health Assessment: A Report from the Cambridge Health Alliance Charles Basin Charles River from Watertown Dam to the Science Park Dam CHC Cambridge Historical Commission City Cambridge, Massachusetts as an intervenor CLEPC Cambridge Local Emergency Planning Commission CO Carbon monoxide CO2 Carbon dioxide -vi- Com/Energy Commonwealth Energy COM/Gas Commonwealth Gas Company Company Southern Energy Kendall, L.L.C. COM/Steam Commonwealth Energy Steam Company CSO Combined sewer overflows CTG Combustion turbine generator CRWA Charles River Watershed Association dBA A-weighted decibel Diffuser Pipe that diffuses once-through cooling water Dighton Power Decision Dighton Power Associates, 5 DOMSB 193 (1997) DO Dissolved oxygen EMF Electric and magnetic fields ENF Environmental Notification Form EPA The United States Environmental Protection Agency EPC Engineering, procurement, and construction ERCs Emission reduction credits ERP Emergency Response Plan F Fahrenheit FAA Federal Aviation Administration FEIR Final Environmental Impact Report fps Feet per second GEP Good Engineering Practice GIS Geographic Information Systems gpd Gallons per day HAPs Hazardous air pollutants HAPs Study EPA’s 1998 “Study of Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions from Electric Utility Steam Generating Units – Final Report to Congress” HRSG Heat recovery steam generator Hz Hertz (cycles per second) -vii- IDC Bellingham Decision IDC Bellingham, LLC, 9 DOMSB 260 (1999) Kendall Station The Existing Kendall Square Station Kendall Station project The proposal to upgrade Kendall Station kV Kilovolt kV/m Kilovolts per meter L10 The sound level that is exceeded 10 percent of a measuring period L90 The level of noise that