How do you suck the wind out of opposition to your biodiesel plant? If you're CT Biodiesel, you go to a public forum with almost two dozen architects, engineers and representatives and bore the angry public for three hours. That's the take of one person who was at the meeding and sent in a letter to the editor to the local paper harshly criticizing CT Biodiesel's representatives for, in-effect, filibustering the public meeting. He wrote:
No one in the audience, whether for or against the proposal, could have been happy with the process in which this "public hearing" was held. The commission allowed CT Biodiesel to speak for three hours, from 7 to 10 p.m. Then, appropriately, commission members were given time for question and answers. It was 11 p.m. before the public was afforded the opportunity to speak, effectively creating a mini-filibuster.
The controversy is over CT Biodiesel's proposal to build a huge biodiesel production plant in Suffield, Connecticut. About 300 people attended the meeting, which was a zoning and planning commission meeting. The local newspaper reported that some citizens shouted at the CT Biodiesel reps, telling them to "Get out of our town" while passing out fliers against the plan. Opposition is headed up by Know Bio and argues that the plant "will bring truck traffic, pollution and potentially large-scale fires to town" while the supporters "feel that it would diversify the town's tax base," according to the Courant. There will another public hearing later this month.
[Source: Courant]
No one in the audience, whether for or against the proposal, could have been happy with the process in which this "public hearing" was held. The commission allowed CT Biodiesel to speak for three hours, from 7 to 10 p.m. Then, appropriately, commission members were given time for question and answers. It was 11 p.m. before the public was afforded the opportunity to speak, effectively creating a mini-filibuster.
The controversy is over CT Biodiesel's proposal to build a huge biodiesel production plant in Suffield, Connecticut. About 300 people attended the meeting, which was a zoning and planning commission meeting. The local newspaper reported that some citizens shouted at the CT Biodiesel reps, telling them to "Get out of our town" while passing out fliers against the plan. Opposition is headed up by Know Bio and argues that the plant "will bring truck traffic, pollution and potentially large-scale fires to town" while the supporters "feel that it would diversify the town's tax base," according to the Courant. There will another public hearing later this month.
[Source: Courant]
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue