Lebanon
The Planning Board voted unanimously on Monday night to approve an addendum that removes references supporting “natural gas” and “liquefied natural gas” from the city’s guiding document. The move came on the heels of similar votes of support from the City Council and the ad hoc Lebanon Energy Advisory Committee.
Officials said the change was needed to correct mistakes made when the Master Plan was completed in 2012.
At the time, many thought natural gas would be an effective “bridge fuel,” used as businesses make the transition from fossil fuels to more environmentally friendly energy sources. But research has since shown that extracting and transporting natural gas has the potential to be just as damaging as traditional coal and fuel oils.
“It’s a distinct inconsistency in the Master Plan,” Councilor Clifton Below said on Monday, referring to the inclusion of natural gas alongside other renewable sources.
As the plan suggests goals toward making Lebanon sustainable, it supports those goals with evidence and texts backing up assertions, said Below, who also is the chairman of the city’s Energy Advisory Committee.
“This particular point is not (supported),” he said, according to an audio recording of the meeting. “Fracked natural gas from western Pennsylvania is not a renewable resource.”
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is the process of injecting a water mixture at high pressures to break up underground rock formations and extract natural gas. The practice is controversial, and some scientists have drawn connections between increased instances of fracking and earthquakes.
Although the addendum sought to promote environmentally friendly practices, much of the discussion on Monday focused on timing and whether it would be procedurally appropriate.
Liberty Utilities currently is before the state’s Public Utilities Commission seeking approval to obtain a natural gas franchise. The company hopes to build a facility near the Lebanon landfill on Route 12A, where natural gas would be piped along a route into downtown Hanover.
Two members of the Energy Advisory Committee — Ariel Arwen and Jonathan Chaffee — are intervenors in the review and have promoted the addendum to prevent the Master Plan from being used in support of the proposed pipeline.
“Policy is what creates the perception and we’re looking at changing policy mid-stride,” Planning Board member Carl Porter said in the audio recording.
Porter worried approving the changes could be seen as the city opposing Liberty’s proposal. While Lebanon is an intervenor in the PUC review, it has not taken a formal stance on the pipeline.
“If there was no application, I would have no question in my mind about this,” he said, adding that changing direction while proceedings are ongoing at the state level could be seen as “setting up an expectation and then ripping it away.”
However, Liberty Utilities has not used the Master Plan in testimony before regulators, and Michael Licata, the company’s government relations director, told the Planning Board on Monday it doesn’t intend to in the future.
Valley Green Natural Gas, a former competitor to the Liberty Utilities proposal, made note of the Master Plan in one of its filings, Below said. But that company bowed out of a review last year after making a deal with Liberty.
“I think this is actually an ideal time to take action on this, just to clean up our Master Plan,” Below said in the recording. “It (removes any bias of) the city, if anything. It’s taking no position one way or another on natural gas.”
Below, a former PUC commissioner, also acknowledged that some might try to use the addendum to make the case that Lebanon opposes a pipeline.
“I don’t think that will make a hill of beans’ difference to the commissioners because, having been a commissioner for six years, I know the criteria that they have to judge the case on, and that’s just not going to be material to their decision,” he said.
The commission evaluates each franchise petition on the basis of a company’s “managerial, technical and financial capacity.” In the past, it also rejected arguments based on climate change concerns, saying its job is to determine whether a project has the ability to operate successfully.
Some Planning Board members also expressed concern with how the addendum would be approved. The Master Plan was adopted in 2012 and a review for possible revisions isn’t expected until roughly two years from now.
“I’m just troubled about opening up changes to the Master Plan mid-course over something that doesn’t appear to be urgent,” Planning Board member Bruce Garland said in the recording.
However, Lebanon Senior Planner Tim Corwin said the board has made at least one change to the Master Plan since 2012, and it could be much longer than two years before its renewable energy chapter is up for review.
Other board members also countered that since Liberty doesn’t have a proposal under review on a city level, it is legally free to make decisions and talk freely about natural gas.
“I feel it would be irresponsible of any planning group in our city to ignore what has been proven scientifically in community after community, state after state, city after city,” board member Joan Monroe said.
Those in attendance agreed. Devin Wilkie, an intervenor in the Liberty review, said he works for a publisher. When a book needs correcting, he said, his company doesn’t wait for the next edition to fix mistakes.
“Otherwise the material we have out is wrong,” he said in the recording. “I don’t think it should necessarily be that we halt progress simply because we don’t want it to be seen the wrong way.”
On Tuesday, Arwen applauded the Planning Board’s decision, saying it supports the Master Plan’s goal to promote sustainability.
“I feel we live in a moment poised with crucial choices. The energy chapter charges the city with being an innovative regional leader, inspiring its residents and businesses to move toward sustainability via energy efficiency and renewable energy sources,” she said.
“I hope the Planning Board’s unanimous vote reinvigorates that charge and the city engages even more proactively with various sectors in our community to address pathways to sustainability.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.