As a result of a meeting held to discuss ways to protect the Sheepscot River and Back River from "perilous industrial development," the 123 rd Legislature may have some added resolutions to decide on at their next session.

Over 40 people met at Bintliff's Ocean Grill last Thursday, October 11, to discuss how to prevent the proposed gasification plant from being built on former Maine Yankee property. Announced to Wiscasset selectmen in July, the plant would be built by National RE/sources of Connecticut, on 400 acres of land near the Back River, which the company purchased from Maine Yankee, an atomic power plant which closed in 1997. If built, it will be called the Twin River Energy Center.

Edgecomb selectmen organized the meeting with invitations sent to neighboring town officials, except for Wiscasset.

Edgecomb Selectman Jo Cameron opened the meeting by saying, "We are here to discover ways to protect an economic region from massive industrial development unsuited to our midcoast Maine conditions, and thereby a threat to us. The big bullet we have to bite is `can a number of towns in a region work together to prevent or discourage one town from taking steps that will endanger the region?' "

Two of the Edgecomb selectmen were asked why Wiscasset was not invited to attend the meeting.

Selectman John Johnson said, "It was nothing personal. The Wiscasset selectmen had already made up their minds, and we didn't look to change their minds regarding the gasification plant. Also we didn't think they should come to the meeting and be hammered. We just felt they didn't need to be there."

"We didn't want to lock heads with them," Cameron said.

"It was determined that this meeting should be for the towns of the affected region only, with advisors from the conservation, environmentalist and traditional industries communities," she said.

Steven Hinchman from the Conservation Law Foundation told the group that Maine is not the place of choice for such a plant.

Besides the environmental problems, he said the negative aspects of the project include: fewer homebuyers in the Wiscasset area, drastically lowered property values; discouragement of tourism, and ironically, increased taxes on properties outside the immediate area of the plant.

Hinchman also expressed doubt that the coastal rail lines will have the industrial strength to haul the many tons of raw coal required. He told the group that State Representative Bruce MacDonald (District 61) will soon be introducing legislation requiring any coal gasification project in Maine to comply with a 90 percent clean product standard.

According to Hinchman, this legislation would effectively prohibit the gasification project from being developed, unless the company can pipe "the noxious byproducts to sites where deep burial is possible, like upstate New York."

Stott Carleton reviewed the project from a working lobsterman' perspective. He explained the difficulties a barge captain would have coming through Hell's Gate, and the Snake Twist area around the northern end of Westport Island and down to Mason Station under the Westport Island Bridge.

He also spoke about the prevailing winds that flow form the southwest to the northeast, carrying air pollutants over Edgecomb and as far as the Damariscotta River watershed.

Carleton urged the group to "move extremely fast."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has set no standards regarding CO2 emissions, and there will be a big rush for permits before such regulations are imposed. There are only three weeks before the election," he said, referring to the November 6 vote in Wiscasset that will change the height ordinance if voters approve it.

MacDonald advised the group to try many techniques such as resolutions submitted from the towns select boards, writing to state representatives and senators, even federal legislators, circulating petitions, and attending legislative sessions and legislative committee hearings.

At the conclusion of the meeting it was suggested that a joint task force be formed to research possible impacts of the project. The towns were advised to put non-binding referendums opposing the Twin River Project, on their local ballots to put the town on record as to their position on the issue.

The group agreed they would meet again to develop action plans for addressing the issue.

According to a written summary of the meeting by Cameron, "there was some uneasiness expressed" because Twin River's Poe Cilley attended the meeting.

Asked this week if she had any comments she would like to make, Cilley sent the following e-mail:

"All the communities in the region should take the time to become educated and better informed about the energy center. Although the citizens of Wiscasset will certainly benefit from the project paying 81 percent of their property taxes, there are also tremendous and widespread benefits for the entire region."

"The energy center will create 200 new full time jobs, lower county taxes, inject more that $60 million dollars annually into our struggling regional economy, lower electricity rates, and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Make no mistake, these are significant economic benefits, and more time should have been used to discuss how these benefits would positively impact the region's businesses and its citizens."