Agreement reached on PSEG plan

The deal between PSEG and the city, along with Connecticut Fund for the Environment, the New Haven Environmental Justice Network and the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, is the culmination of three months of negotiations.

The agreement calls for PSEG to make changes in the way it runs New Haven Harbor Station that will reduce emissions from that plant so that when the peaking generator the company wants to build goes online, there will be no net increase in air pollution. In return, the city and other parties would agree not to oppose PSEG's plans for the $140 million generation unit on the grounds of New Haven Harbor Station.

"This is a good outcome for everyone involved," said Mike Jennings, a PSEG spokesman.

The agreement will be included is PSEG's filing to the Connecticut Siting Council, which will be submitted next week, Jennings said. The company also needs approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection for the peaking generator.

Roger Reynolds, a senior attorney for Connecticut Fund for the Environment who was involved in the negotiations, said the outcome of the talks "is a victory for the East Shore neighborhood and the state, something that is unprecedented in Connecticut."

The agreement, he said, is the first negotiated under the 2008 state environmental justice law, which includes a provision that requires utilities that want to site facilities in low-income areas to negotiate with elected officials to mitigate air pollution.

The agreement between the parties calls for PSEG to begin using more natural gas at New Haven Harbor Station instead of the low sulfur oil it now burns to generate electricity. Additionally, the utility has agreed to reduce idling time from 14 hours to 12 hours every time the plant powers up for use, Reynolds said.

Rob Smuts, the city's chief administrative officer, said the operational changes called for in the agreement are "very significant."

The third and final component of the agreement calls for PSEG to contribute $500,000 to the new East Shore Air Quality Account, to be used to further reduce pollution in the area through a series of initiatives determined by the city and neighborhood groups.

If the plan is approved, construction would begin the middle of next year, with generators scheduled to begin operating in 2012, Jennings said.

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