Committee Votes In Favor Of Waste To Energy For Woonsocket

A bill which would allow Woonsocket to , making an exception to the statewide ban on trash burning, has received a positive vote from committee and could be headed to the House floor before the end of legislative session.   

Of the 14 members of the House Municipal Government Committee, the group tasked with evaluating legislation specific to municipalities within the state, nine voted in favor of H 5315 on Thursday.  Rep. Jon Brien (D-District 50, Woonsocket) is the sponsor of the bill, opposed by environmental advocates who question the safety of such facilities and fear it will reduce recycling. Currently there are 86 waste-to-energy plants operated in 24 states including nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut.

"I know times are bad and they want to make money, but they are going to ruin a neighborhood," said Leo Marcoux, a member of Concerned Citizens of Woonsocket, a local group opposed to the bill. "It just doesn't make sense to me."

Rep. Karen Macbeth (D-District 52, Cumberland,) Rep. Jeremiah T. O’Grady (D- District 46, Lincoln, Pawtucket,) and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-District 74, Jamestown, Middletown) voted against the bill. Reps. Schadone and Tarro were not present for the vote.

Advocates trying to block the H 5315 questioned Thursday's proceedings, claiming Brien, who heads the committee, moved too quickly into the legislative meeting. The vote took place before the end of House session, an action one EcoRI article referred to as "unusual." Eco RI reports that "Several opponents were shocked to learn they had missed the vote. After some backstage commotion between legislators, a vote on the bill was held a second time and passed." 

Brien confirms that votes were taken a second time last Thursday but points out that the committee readdressed nine different bills, not just 5315, with the same results.

According to EcoRI, Nicole Poepping of Clean Water Action plans to file a complaint over how the hearing was run.

"This isn't about merit, this is about politics," Brien said of the issue, adding that the public hearing on waste to energy had already occurred. "On an abundance of caution, we re-voted on all of the bills."

Brien said the proceedings were common. "We called the roll right before adjournment. It's very rare that you have every committee member there, so once there's a quorum in the room, the meeting will start," he said. 

"We popped nine bills out of committee that had already been heard. There was nothing nefarious going on - the votes came out the exact same."

Speaker of the House Gordon Fox has the authority to hold H 5315 or move it forward to the House floor for vote. Director of Communications for the House, Larry Berman said it has not yet been decided if the bill will move forward before the end of session. A corresponding bill has yet to be filed in the Senate.