Astoria Power Plant Plan Gets 6K Letters Opposing: Advocacy Group

ASTORIA, QUEENS — When the public comment period on a controversial Astoria power plant proposal came to an end this week, thousands of people had sent in letters opposing the project, according to an advocacy group.

Food & Water Watch, which has long advocated against NRG’s proposal to replace its fossil fuel powered peaker plant with a new natural gas-fired generator, reported that more than 6,000 people filed comments against the project, citing concerns that the plant would harm the health of local residents — who already bear the brunt of power plants' impact in Astoria — and would worsen climate change.

“As Hurricane Ida made crystal clear, the impacts of climate change are upon us now. It’s time to get serious about climate change, and that means that New York simply cannot bring any more fossil fuels onto the grid,” said the No Astoria NRG Plant Coalition, a group of eight progressive organizations, including Food and Water Watch.

The group also said that a vast majority of New Yorkers who testified at public hearings last month spoke against the project — only 12 of the 156 speakers supported the project, according to the report.

The state's Department of Environmental Conservation, or NYSDEC, did not confirm these numbers, but said that the agency received more than 9,000 comments on the project.

NYSDEC staff, along with the governor, have 45 days to figure out next steps on the project, which could include a final decision on NRG's application, or a referral for a hearing. A summary of all comments received during the public comment period will be included in any final permit issued by the agency.

On NRG's part, the energy company's spokesperson Dave Schrader told Patch that "more than 1,200 letters and comments from citizens, including union members, trade organizations, small business owners, and community leaders" were sent in support of the project on the basis that it would reduce greenhouse gases, improve grid reliability, and boost the economy.

After the first hearing, however, the Queens Post reported that more than 50 advocates, including elected officials and neighbors, spoke strongly against the project. In addition to worsening locals' health and climate change, many said that the plant doesn't comply with the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), a law that mandates carbon emissions reductions over the next few decades.

State Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents northwest Queens and helped pass the CLCPA, agrees with critics. He is one of many elected officials — including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Senator Chuck Schumer — who has spoken out against the NRG plan.

Schrader, by contrast, said that opponents, "misrepresent the science associated with the Astoria Replacement Project," which he maintains is consistent with the CLCPA.

At the end of August, NRG got approval to build test piles and a temporary office trailer for eventual construction of a power plant, Patch reported.

At that point, Schrader told Patch in a written statement that the preliminary work permit is part of the energy company's next steps towards "actively preparing the site for the start of [the Astoria Replacement Project's] construction."

Both the NYSDEC, and the city's Department of Buildings, which approved the permit, told Patch that the permit doesn't allow NRG to operate its proposed power plant.

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