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Power Plant Proposal Grilled By Jessup Planning Commission

JESSUP — An energy company was on the hot seat Wednesday night as representatives answered questions about a proposed power plant in Lackawanna County. Th...

JESSUP -- An energy company was on the hot seat Wednesday night as representatives answered questions about a proposed power plant in Lackawanna County.

The Jessup Planning Commission held the meeting at the Jessup Hose Company to accommodate the large crowd.

The heat was turned up on representatives from an energy company as members of the Jessup Planning Commission grilled them on a proposed power plant for the borough.

“We have to protect, and again this board, in recommending something for the residents of Jessup borough,” said one board member. “I`ve got to live here for the rest of my life also.”

“Will this plant be able to take methane from a local landfill and run your plant with it?” asked another.

The company, Invenergy, wants to build a natural gas-fired power plant on an industrial site in Jessup that would generate electricity.

While borough officials say this proposal is still numerous steps away from the final approval stage, the plant has already divided this community.

“I just think it`s wrong, our property values are going to go down absolutely,” said Barbara Rossi.

“It`s going to boost our economy, number one, that`s what it will do to them. Second of all, it`s going to create jobs, jobs for the people, for everybody`s friend, relative, neighbor, whoever,” said Gino Arcurie.

The company says the plant, that would be called the Lackawanna Energy Center, would create hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in taxes and hundreds of jobs during the construction process.

Supporters of the plant brought signs saying “Jobs for Jessup,” however one board member pointed out most of them are union workers.

“You guys with the 'Jobs for Jessup' signs will work in Gouldsboro, you`ll work in Tunkhannock, you`ll work in any vicinity to build this plant if it wasn`t in Jessup.”

“Very much against it, plus what it will do to our town, the environment? Very much against it,” said Pat Castellani.

“It’s clean. It`s the cleanest thing around. It`s cleaner than coal or anything else,” said Arcurie.

The planning commission has 30 more days to review the company's proposal before making its recommendation to Jessup council.

However borough officials are hoping to extend that deadline in order to hold more public hearings on the power plant.

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