Plans again in the works for Beech Hollow electric generation plant
At least since the early 2000s, a developer has repeatedly tried to follow through with plans to build a power plant next to the Champion Processing Inc. waste coal pile in Robinson Township.
While the Beech Hollow project has produced no power to date, it’s generated plenty of controversy over the years. Environmental regulators’ intent to grant the air-quality plan approval needed for the latest iteration of the proposal will be the subject of a public hearing July 12. Brief presentations by state Department of Environmental Protection officials and representatives for Robinson Power and a question-and-answer period will start at 6 p.m. at the Fort Cherry Junior/Senior High School auditorium. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m.
DEP officials said testimony “must be limited specifically to the application and conditions of this application.”
Robinson Power submitted its application in March 2016. The proposed natural gas-fired plant would have a 1,000-megawatt generating capacity.
Watchdog group the Environmental Integrity Project – which helps “level the playing field by giving communities the legal and technical resources they need to claim their rights under environmental laws,” according to its website – has been among those who’ve been vocal in raising questions about applications submitted to local and state officials during previous attempts to build a plant at the site.
“If things are done correctly, that’s what we’re hoping to see,” said Lisa Graves-Marcucci, state outreach coordinator for the group. “But there’s been a track record of missteps with the DEP’s review process of this project and with the applications in some cases.”
Ray Bologna Sr., whose family owns Robinson Power and Champion Processing, couldn’t be reached for comment.
DEP officials gave air-quality plan approval for a plant that would have burned waste coal from the gob pile – often described as the largest such site east of the Mississippi – in 2005. The agency invalidated that approval in 2010 after determining the company allowed construction on the plant to lapse for more than 18 months.
In 2011, it told township officials it planned to build a plant fired by waste coal and natural gas. Those plans never came to fruition, either.
Graves-Marcucci said EIP plans to review applications for the current proposal with an eye toward “full factual content, full transparency and full accountability to the rules and regulations.”
The DEP will accept public comment on the project through July 22.
For more information about reviewing documents related to the application or offering public comment, visit dep.pa.gov.