A Senate hearing Tuesday on the pros and cons of proposed waste-to-energy and petroleum-coke-powered electric plants was biased in its setup, V.I. Water and Power Authority Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. said Thursday. At the end of a WAPA board meeting, Hodge took several minutes to "get on a soap box," as he put it, and say what he really thought of how the hearing process went.
"You had a hearing where Sen. Barshinger said he felt ‘the project is dead,’" Hodge said. "Now, the chairman of a committee is supposed to be unbiased."
Private citizens who oppose the plan were somehow chosen to sit in the well and testify all day next to career experts, while other private citizens had to wait until the end to get a brief statement in, Hodge said.
"It concerns me that someone whose credentials consist of being a Vietnam veteran is testifying on dioxins and is treated as if they have the same credibility as someone with 40-plus years of experience," he said. "I mean, I go on the internet myself, but it takes more than that to be considered an expert."
Each of those who opposed the plan were given nine minutes to expound, on the reasoning they had PowerPoint presentations, while he, the utility’s director, was given five minutes and had to ask to borrow time from another testifier just to make his case, Hodge said.
"I’m at a loss as to how I get to speak five minutes and someone who has two PowerPoint slides gets nine minutes," he said. "If I had been told I would get twice as much time to talk by showing PowerPoint slides, I’m sure I could have found two slides to show," he said.
The loudest opponents of the plan may be financially better off than many residents and may not represent the real public view of the plan, he said, adding that the Alpine Energy Group petroleum coke and waste-to-energy plan will save ratepayers money, especially the next time oil prices shoot up.
"I hear commentary asking why the plan will only give a 10 percent discount, but I have been saying over and over again it is a minimum of 10 percent," he said. "And while 10 percent might be minimal for some, it is very significant for others. Parents who are trying to put meat on the table, pay to send a child on a school trip, buy new school books and clothes … that 10 percent makes a difference to them."
AEG’s leases come before the full Senate March 8 and 9, and a decision needs to be made, he said. "The leases passed unanimously out of the Rules and Judiciary Committee 10 months ago and then it was tabled," he said. The lease approvals, he feels, are not the venue for decisions about the environmental impact.
"There seem to be a lot of misconceptions about what these hearings are for," he said.
"The lease has to come first, before the professionals at CZM (Coastal Zone Management) and the EPA get to tell you what their position is on your permits," he said.
As to complaints there should have been more public input at every stage of the process, Hodge said there should be transparency and proper environmental review and permitting but "you cannot have a negotiation with 102,000 participants [i.e., all V.I. residents]."
Hodge had some choice words for some of the other senators, too.
"There seems to be an unwillingness to go on the record," he said. "Back in the day, with Ruby Rouse and Earl B. Ottley, you never had to guess their position.… They seem to be guessing everyone’s votes. Well, I hope you are guessing correctly, because if you guess wrong, it becomes painful in November."
When done venting, Hodge made light of himself, saying "Well that’s it, I’ll step off my soap box now," and the meeting was adjourned.