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Power Plant Issues
Lawyer proposes ambitious plan for Somerset Station redevelopment
By Jo C. Goode, Herald News Staff Reporter
July 26, 2012
SOMERSET —
Once included on the “Filthy Five” list of the worst-polluting plants in the state, a proposed redevelopment plan for Somerset Station could transform the facility into a state-of-the-art biomarine research and development center and overhaul the town’s waterfront.
Attorney Jan Schlichtmann will present his ambitious vision for redeveloping the shuttered coal-burning power plant on Riverside Avenue at a public meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Amvets Hall, 659 Brayton Ave., in Somerset.
“This is going to be a 21st-century reuse for our future and it’s one of those things that can’t happen unless everyone wants it to happen,” Schlichtmann said.
Schlichtmann’s idea for a privately funded, for-profit project would create the Oceanic Research and Innovation Center at Mount Hope Bay.
He said the pre-permitted fresh and saltwater management and bioscience research facility — that includes a proof of concept platform for industry, government and research and educational institutions — would be the first facility of its kind in the world.
A nonprofit component called the Mount Hope Bay Oceanic Institute will be created to partner with Somerset, Fall River and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to promote programs like job training and certification in water management and biosciences, Schlichtmann said.
According to Schlichtmann, development on the property includes three major components.
The proposed research center would be located where the brick and stone plant exists now. A visitor attraction facility and wet lab research platforms would be created.
The pier area, where coal was once stored, would feature commercial retail and a harbor walk, and a revamped pier would provide boat access that could attract ferry travel or even cruise ships, he said.
A third site, where the power plant’s fuel tanks are located by County and James streets, would house mixed-use commercial and retail development, including space for a hotel and an assisted living facility.
Schlichtmann said the plan could potentially include the 70-acre Weaver’s Cove parcel across the Taunton River, land once proposed for a liquified natural gas terminal. The Fall River property, owned by Hess Corporation, is up for sale.
There have been no formal talks with corporate executives, however Schlichtmann said he reached out to a local Hess representative and is hopeful to have an opportunity to talk in the very near future.
The Somerset property, once known as Montaup Power, is currently undergoing demolition and cleanup for redevelopment by crews from New Jersey-based Asset Recovery Group Inc., which purchased the property in February.
The 21.5-acre plant site, with an additional 17 acres across Riverside Avenue, was closed by previous owners NRG Energy in January 2010 after a state mandate forced the company to either install a cleaner energy-producing method or shut down.
Calling the Somerset Station site “an industrial dead zone” and “a barrier to the sea,” Schlichtmann said he hopes residents of Somerset and surrounding communities will embrace the plan and help move it forward.
“Every community that reconnects to the sea finds its soul,” Schlichtmann said.
Somerset resident Connie Brodeur of the local organization Coalition for Clean Air said the group has met with Schlichtmann and said her group is “cautiously opitimistic.”
“It’s very broad but it’s exactly the kind of project we’re looking for,” Brodeur said. “It’s green and it will bring our town up to date and out of the dark ages.”
Town Selectman Arastou Mahjoory, who chairs a committee that explores potential reuse of the property, said the proposal brings major advantages to the town, like green industry, jobs, returning the waterfront to residents and the recovery of tax revenue the town lost when Somerset Station closed.
“The way it looks right now, bringing in a biotech facility could mean tax revenues the same or a little higher than the power plant,” Mahjoory said.
A Beverly-based plaintiff attorney, Schlichtmann received national attention in the 1980’s when he represented eight Woburn residents against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods for contamination of the Woburn city water supply. The civil action case was chronicled in the 1995 book “A Civil Action” by Jonathan Harr and made into a film starring John Travolta as Schlichtmann.
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