Notice of Public Hearing and Public Comment Period

April 20, 2016 - MATEP Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Facility Upgrade - Notice of Public Hearing and Public Comment Period on Proposed Air Quality Plan Approval and Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permit & Notice of Section 61 Findings

The MassDEP will hold a public hearing on the MATEP CHP Facility Upgrade Project as set forth below:

Date:                   Monday, May 23, 2016

Time:                    7:00 PM

Location:            Inn at Longwood

                           Longwood Hall Meeting Room

               343 Longwood Avenue

               Boston, MA 02215

Comments on the Project will also be accepted by the MassDEP until 5:00 PM on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, and must be sent to:

Edward Braczyk, Environmental Engineer

MassDEP – Northeast Regional Office

205B Lowell Street

Wilmington, MA 01887 

edward.braczyk@state.ma.us

The installation of a third turbine at the MATEP facility was reviewed and approved by State and City regulatory agencies as part of the 2001 process when MATEP’s planned installation of three gas turbines was reviewed for environmental impacts.  MATEP received approval for installation of the three turbines and installed two of them; installation of the third turbine was delayed due to lower than expected load growth.  MATEP is now proposing to install the third turbine.  That installation is currently being reviewed in light of the lapse of time since the 2001 approvals as well as changed State regulatory requirements.  In addition, the experience and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy have underscored for MATEP and its customers as well as the larger community, the importance of energy resiliency and service reliability, especially for MATEP’s mission critical customers (which include hospitals, biomedical research facilities, and educational institutions).  As a recipient of the 2013 Energy Efficiency Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Combined Heat and Power Partnership sponsored by EPA, MATEP is committed to efficient cogeneration/tri-generation operations and to serving its customers’ critical needs.

For more information regarding the air quality permits for the MATEP Combined Heat and Power Facility Upgrade Project, please see the sections labeled MATEP CHP Notice of Public Hearing, MATEP CHP Major Comprehensive Plan Approval, MATEP CHP Turbine PSD Permit and MATEP CHP PSD Permit Fact Sheet.  In addition, you can view the original Major Comprehensive Plan Approval and PSD Permit applications as well as the amendments to each under the sections MATEP CHP Major Comprehensive Plan Approval Application, MATEP CHP PSD Application and MATEP CHP Amendments to Major Comprehensive Plan Approval Application and PSD Permit Application.