By Russ Choma
Staff Writer
rchoma@yourneighborhoodnews.com

HOPKINTON – While a final conclusion in the Bio Energy-Hopkinton lawsuit remains tied up in court, town officials are trying an alternate strategy in their ongoing battle with the company.

Town officials said they have been lobbying the state Attorney General’s office to enforce a law that gives the Contoocook River protected status, and may prohibit the operation of a reopened Bio Energy facility.

With the path of the Contoocook River looping around two sides of the entire Bio Energy facility, the waterway flows within as little as 20 feet from parts of the operation’s outbuildings. Under the River Protection Act, a law designed to protect New Hampshire’s rural waterways, no solid waste storage or treatment facility can be placed within 250 feet of protected rivers.

In a Sept. 28 letter to Jennifer Patterson, the assistant attorney general for environmental protection issues, the town formally requested word from Concord on whether this act can, or will, be enforced.

“We’ve been working with the Attorney General’s office –providing information to help them make the right decision,” Town Administrator Ed Wojnowski said.

Patterson said she could not say what, if any, action would be taken by her office.

“There’s an awful lot going on with Bio Energy right now, and our office is just starting to get involved with it right now,” she said. “But it would be pre- mature to say anything about where we’re going with this.”

In a possible complication of the issue, the larger facility known as “Bio Energy” is actually made up of a number of different properties – all under different ownership.

Although the area generally considered as Bio Energy may fall within 250 feet, it is possible that crucial parts of the operation are outside the setback area, and thus are exempt from the law.

Wojnowski said regardless of any possible divisions of the facility made on paper, the actual overall operation is what matters.

“The plant is the plant is the plant – (under the River Protection Act) it isn’t segregated into pieces,” Wojnowski said. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s 1 inch or 100 feet from the river. The state says you can’t have it.”

Owners of the wood-burning power plant have received several permits from the state – including one allowing them to emit up to 2.64 tons of lead and another to handle solid waste onsite – allowing their plans to reopen the facility, burning a fuel of crushed construction and demolition debris.

Although, the company’s proposals call for the debris to be crushed at a separate facility in Henniker, Wojnowski said there would still be treatment of the fuel at the Hopkinton facility. That, he said, strengthens the town’s case that the attorney general can enforce the 250-foot setback.

Bio Energy representatives had no comment at press time.

New town attorneys
Coinciding with the new strategy that focuses on state environmental law, town officials announced they have hired another lawyer to advise selectmen.

To date, only attorney Russ Hilliard, the town’s general legal counsel, has worked on the Bio Energy issue. However, Don Lane, chairman of the board of selectmen, said the town has recently hired attorney Barry Needleman to work on the case. Needleman, who specializes in environmental issues, is an attorney with the the McLane, Graf, Raulerson and Middleton law firm.

Lane said Needleman was brought on to help the town with the environmental law issues, which is a specialized field.

Lane said the legal costs generated by the town’s legal battle with Bio Energy are beginning to add up.

At the Town Meeting in March, voters approved budgeting $25,000 for legal fees, and another $25,000 in a special extra fund.

“We’re beginning to eat into that (second fund) as well,” Lane said. “The legal fees are significant, but not out of control. It is a concern. We have to use that money wisely.”

Wojnowski confirmed that more than $47,000 of the funds earmarked for legal fees have been spent. With several months left in the fiscal year, he said he would begin looking to other areas of the budget for surpluses that can be used.