Lebanon
Meanwhile, Liberty intends to ask the state Public Utilities Commission to reopen the hearing on its petition to establish a gas distribution facility in the Upper Valley.
The utility had asked the state to suspend the process while it negotiated with Valley Green, which had put forward a competing proposal.
“We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Valley Green,” Liberty spokesman John Shore said in a news release. “They have withdrawn their petition for franchise rights and they are supporting the Liberty Utilities petition that is now before the Public Utilities Commission.”
Jay Campion, who owns Valley Green, said on Thursday that the agreement allows Liberty the primary role of supplying natural gas to the region, while his company will assist with permitting.
“I think what’s going to happen process-wise is that Liberty will move forward with a configuration very similar to what Valley Green has proposed,” Campion said in a phone interview. “They have the capacity and can bring a lot more to the process because of their background and other resources.”
Campion had proposed to truck natural gas to a yet-to-be-built facility off Route 120 on Etna Road, where it would be distributed to area businesses. The Zoning Board approved an extension in March of two variances that allows Campion to operate the facility in the light industrial and rural lands district, so long as he has the PUC’s blessing.
It’s possible the land will still be put to such a use.
“(Liberty does) have interest in the Valley Green site for a facility,” Campion said. “That is a possibility, but Liberty is going to continue to explore the site that they have previously chosen as well as other potential sites.”
Liberty Utilities’ planned facility is right off Route 12A near the city landfill, but the company’s agreement with Campion allows it the right to evaluate Valley Green’s land as an alternative, Shore said.
The company still needs to clear multiple regulatory hurdles before construction could begin.
On Thursday, Liberty Utilities’ lawyers circulated a draft motion requesting the commission reopen its application and schedule another hearing so more documents could be filed. The motion said the company is contracting to develop a feasibility report, which will be included in a new five-year business plan.
It’s unlikely all stakeholders will be on board with the proposal, though. When the company asked the PUC to hold off on a decision in August, the city of Lebanon and others argued that more information or a combined proposal should warrant restarting the approval process.
“I can’t agree to reopening the record in a case that is fully under advisement to the commission based on vague representation that there are unspecified (new documents),” said Donald Kreis, the state’s consumer advocate, in an email to Liberty’s attorneys on Thursday.
“I’m concerned about the process here,” he said in a phone interview, adding that he thinks its best for Liberty Utilities to request an informal meeting where it can introduce new information without reopening the record.
Otherwise, Kreis said, the company should make a new petition and start over.
Both proposals have been opposed by environmental groups, who question the suitability of natural gas.
Ariel Arwen, a member of the city’s Energy Advisory Committee, said on Thursday that area businesses will have to begin deciding whether to pursue renewable sources of energy or continue with traditional fuels.
“If we’re increasing fossil fuel infrastructure for natural gas, whose natural depreciation life is 40 to 50 years, we can’t have both,” she said.
Liberty Utilities expects to file its motion to reopen the PUC case today. It’s not clear when the commission will issue an answer.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.