“Green energy” that dries up rivers and dumps toxic pollution?
Photo courtesy of Claudia Hurley, Westfield, MA
Westfield River, Massachusetts, about 1 mile downstream of Russell Biomass water withdrawal and pollution discharge points.
The Russell Biomass incinerator will withdraw an average of 885,000 gallons per day for cooling water near this spot. Of the 885,000 gallons per day, 85% will be evaporated and the remaining 15% will be heated and polluted, and dumped back into the river.
Biomass projects are not “clean and green” when they have these impacts on our water resources. The Westfield River is a federally designated “Wild and Scenic” river, but this didn’t stop Massachusetts from giving a permit to a biomass incinerator to set up shop on its banks and take its last remaining drops of water. The project is being challenged by Connecticut River Watershed Council, Trout Unlimited,
Westfield River Watershed Association, Concerned Citizens of Russell, and many others.
Already, thermoelectric-power withdrawals account for 49 percent of total water use, 41 percent of total freshwater withdrawals for all categories, and 53 percent of fresh surface-water withdrawals.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wupt.html See also http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/33905.pdf “Clean and green” energy should have a minimal water footprint, not one imposes further demands on increasing scarce water supplies.
Other rivers threatened by biomass incinerators include the Appalachicola River in Florida. If your river is under threat from biomass energy, let us know. Email us at stopbiomassburning@gmail.com
Relevant documents:
Testimony of Connecticut River Watershed Council, River Steward, on negative impacts of biomass project on Westfield and Connecticut Rivers Russell MA CRWC DirectTestimony12-2008.doc
Letter from member of Pownal, Vermont’s Fire District #2 Board of Directors opposing water withdrawal for biomass project
Water VT Pownal Fire Dept Letter.jpg
State permit allowing water withdrawal for Russell Biomass
Russell MA Water NPDES draft permit.pdf
Some biomass projects want to use sewer water from local wastewater treatment plants. Here’s a report on the harm to human health from exposure to evaporated sewer water. 01-CCFC-The Greenfield sewage overview-final.pdf In 2009, Citizens in Greenfield, Massachusetts held a city wide vote to overturn the city’s contract to sell sewer water to the biomass project. www.greenfieldbiomass.info
2 Responses to Water Pollution
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The Biomass Monitor [News]- Vermont Biomass Working Group’s Recommendations Threaten Public Health, Forests, Climate, and Clean Energy Economy [The Biomass Monitor] February 8, 2012
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- Forest Die-off and Biomass Power in Texas [The Biomass Monitor] December 22, 2011
There are a lot of ways wherein we can be affected by the pollution that are present in our environment. We may not know but it has started to affect us.
You’re absolutely right. And we’re afraid that biomass power facilities require too large a quantity of fresh water to operate. Water is a precious resource and shouldn’t be wasted on inefficient, outdated technology, like biomass power incinerators.