Massachusetts Hydro-Quebec Bill - URGENT!

Gary S. Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us)
Tue, 29 Jun 1993 14:33:21 -0500

I have just received the text of an appeal for public comment on a bill now
in committee in the Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that is very
relevant to the concerns of supporters of the Cree of James Bay that their
lands not be flooded to construct a new hydropower project (this project has
been described in previous postings to NATIVE-L, so you can search the
archives for more information if you need further documentation on the
situation). Following is the appeal, addressed primarily to residents of
Massachusetts, but potentially of interest to all who are concerned about
a potential tragedy in the making.

***** PLEASE NOTE THAT ACTION IS REQUIRED PRIOR TO 4 JULY 1993. *****

Gary

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Senate Bill 385 requires that any hydropower facility located outside of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts but expecting to provide power to the
Commonwealth must file an environmental impact report, before power from the
hydropower generating facility can be available for purchase in Massachusetts.

"Rather than singling out Hydro-Quebec alone, the legisltation appropriately
addresses the broader issue at hand: the applicability of purchases. It would
simply require that out-of-state power producers selling electricity to
Massachusetts power generators must follow" (Massachusetts Audubon Society
fact sheet, 1 February 1993).

On 9 June, 1993, the joint committee on energy reported S 385 out with a
favorable recommendation. S 385 is now in the Massachusetts Senate's Ways and
Means committee.

Please take the time (preferably before 4 July) to write to the chair of the
Ways and Means committee. Your letter should say:

I would appreciate it if you would send Senate Bill 385 on to the
Senate for a full vote. This bill received a favorable report from
the joint committee on energy. Please inform me of your response.

Please call/write your own state senator and ask him/her to contact the chair
and members of Senate Ways and Means to send the bill on to the Senate.
Address your letters to the State House.

Passage will put Massachusetts on record as a state that recognizes the impact
of our electricity purchases upon intra- and trans-boundary concerns; will
prevent an inadvertent acceptance by us of trade which unintentionally
violates basic human and environmental rights; and will aid us to better
assess the impacts of large hydroprojects.

--
    Gary S. Trujillo                            gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us
Somerville, Massachusetts              {wjh12,bu.edu,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst