To the editor,
Today while driving on the Oxford airport road, I saw a mature bald eagle in a field just off the road eating its meal. How fortunate I feel to live in an area where the air is clean and the waters support such life. At the same time, I am troubled by the prospect of having a large power plant being built in the same area where this eagle as well as thousands of people live. The image of a huge power plant spewing tons of toxic gasses and pollutants into the air 24 hours a day is in strong contrast to this purity of this bald eagle on the white snow.
Of concern to me is the impact that that the power plant would have on two of our scenic rivers, the Pomperaug and the Naugatuck. The power plant would consume millions of gallons of water from the aquifer that feeds the Pomperaug as well as thousands of people that rely on this aquifer for their drinking. On the other end would be the effects upon the Naugatuck River by the discharge of this water with its high temperatures and contaminants. How would this effect the beautiful Naugatuck River and the many green ways along its banks that are in progress and to be built.
I know there would be impacts to the farming in this area with poisonings chemicals falling to the soils that feed our community and provide food for our stores. Numerous farms exist in Oxford less than 5 miles from the proposed power plant. Thousands of people including hundreds at Oxford Greens residents live less than 5 miles from this proposed power plant. Our once clean air would be contaminated and thus would be our lungs and bodies that breathe in this air. The health costs to our community would be astronomical if this plant were to be built.
With its huge smokestacks and proximity to the airport, the power plant would be a navigational disaster waiting to happen. This is not a mere “storage unit” to be built, but a huge industrial complex with ramifications to our lives that we can’t begin to fathom or believe could happen.
Don’t be blinded or fooled by tales of clean energy, money and jobs. Most jobs created would be temporary, but what would remain would be the waste products and dangers to our environment and health that would last lifetimes. The risks are too high and the benefit most small. I ask all to ask themselves. Is it worth it?
John Munno
Southbury
