Jan 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Chris Camire The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

One month after successfully lobbying for a bylaw focusing on power plants at Special Town Meeting, Jeanne Landers has set her sights on inserting the issue into the upcoming town election.

Landers, a Town Meeting representative, would like to put a nonbinding question on the ballot asking voters whether they support the construction of a 348-megawatt power plant proposed for North Billerica.

The move might not carry any legal power, but Landers hopes it will pack a political punch. She sees it as the best way to keep the issue on residents' minds.

"I would like to get it into the public sphere to get a sense of where the people stand on it," said Landers. "It would be good to get the attention of the people representing the town."

Landers said she would like to see the issue play a major part in the debate leading up to this year's town election.

One potential candidate for a seat on the Board of Selectmen, Andrew Deslaurier, a member of the town's Finance Committee, already has made it clear his opposition to the power plant will be a major part of his candidacy.

"I'd like to see the power plant take a front seat in the debate," said Landers. "It's a tremendously important issue, and it should be part of the discussion."

Landers made waves late last year when she asked selectmen to call a Special Town Meeting to consider a single warrant article to create a bylaw seeking to regulate power plants. The article passed in a 97-77 vote.

It states that various town departments must review 17 criteria before an electric generating power plant can be built in Billerica. The list includes impact on wildlife, noise pollution, public safety and air quality.

Landers now says she may bring the bylaw back to Town Meeting this spring to be amended, with hopes it can be made more powerful.

"Many of the comments I got from people were they wished it had more teeth," said Landers. "I want to add more numbers, more specifications."

While the bylaw still has to be approved by the state Attorney General, Town Manager Bill Williams said he has already begun thinking about what his role will be in implementing it.

"I'll be the point man," said Williams. "Whenever the issue comes before a particular board in town, I'll make sure that every other town board knows about it before hand so we're all on the same page."

The $200 million, 348-megawatt Billerica Energy Center, proposed for Billerica Avenue, has drawn opposition from a vocal group of local residents. In November, the state Energy Facilities Siting Board voted unanimously to draft a tentative decision to approve the facility with conditions.

The board is expected to reconvene soon to take a formal vote on whether to approve the decision. But those familiar with the process say it's unlikely the board will deny a permit.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs must also issue permits for the power plant. On the local level, the plant must go through the Board of Health, Conservation Commission and Planning Board.

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