Written by Karen Melton
Despite steady opposition for two and half years, SEPTA has refused to back down from its plan to build a gas-fired power plant in the heavily populated, predominantly African American neighborhood of Nicetown, a community already surrounded by major sources of pollution, including a SEPTA depot housing 312 diesel buses; however, opposition keeps building.
After Air Management Services (AMS), a division of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, issued the final permit required for the plant last November, two organizations filed appeals -- Neighbors Against the Gas Plants and The Center for Returning Citizens, both active in adjacent communities. 350 Philly, a local group affiliated with a global organization focused on climate change, later joined the appeal. The first appeal hearing took place in April, the second in June. Both times the hearing room was packed with citizens opposing the plant. A third hearing is scheduled for 12 pm on Tuesday, September 18th at 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor.
The permit application approved by AMS, and under appeal, details expected plant emissions including: 21.7 tons per year (tpy) of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), 27 tpy of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and 16.3 tpy of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). These are the pollutants that are required to be reported, and are known to contribute to the formation of smog which can cause or aggravate health problems including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and other respiratory conditions.
Ultrafine particles (UFPs) will also be emitted, but are currently not regulated by EPA, and do not have to be reported; however, there is a growing body of evidence about the health risks associated with UFPs, which may be released at high levels by gas-fired power plants. We continue to ask SEPTA and AMS to observe the precautionary principle. More than 37,000 people live within a mile of the proposed plant. Community health should be the primary consideration.
Opposition to the plant continues to build. A Letter to the L&I Review Board by State Senator Sharif Street was signed by five additional state legislators from NW Philadelphia. City Councilwoman Cindy Bass has sent her own letter to the Review Board.The plant would be in the district represented by Bass and Street, and just blocks from their district offices.
Letters to the editor opposing the plant have appeared in the Inquirer and the Philadelphia Weekly, and an Op-ed by Councilwoman Bass was published in the Inquirer and the Tribune. It has been discussed on multiple radio shows as well as NBC10.
On August 2nd, the 'Power Toward a Just Future' march targeted SEPTA as well as PECO and the City of Philadelphia in seeking a rapid transition to renewable energy sources. Hundreds gathered outside SEPTA headquarters on Market Street to listen to speakers, join in chants, and enjoy a skit featuring large scale puppets.
We urge concerned citizens of SE PA to continue making their voices heard by joining events targeting SEPTA, by sending letters to the editor, and by contacting your city or county elected officials and members of the SEPTA board who represent your county (http://www.septa.org/about/board/members.html). And please come out for
the next appeal hearing at 12 pm on Tuesday, September 18th at 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor.
To learn more about how to get involved in the Fossil Free SEPTA campaign, go to www.350philadelphia.org/septa.