Letter: CPV Deal Environmentally Irresponsible and Lacking Transparency

Letter to the Editor,

My family and I moved to Oxford the summer of 2011. Had a power plant existed in town or had we known there was potential for a power plant to be built, we likely would not have considered moving here. However, we are here, and we love Oxford! I loved spending my college breaks back in this little town.

Therefore I am voting a solid “NO” in the upcoming referendum. I do not want CPV to think I support anything having to do with them.

Building a fracked-gas power plant in our town is environmentally irresponsible in a time when energy options are moving toward clean, sustainable resources. Such a power plant would be a regression since natural gas is a dirty, finite fossil fuel, comparable to coal or oil. Do not be fooled by the “natural” in the title – that does not ensure “clean” energy.

I fear such a power plant would lead to gas leaks or contaminated water and air, resulting in poor health among those, like my family, who would be near the plant. Why would we willingly bring this upon ourselves? Even if I lived across town, I would not wish such a fate on my neighbors.

Aside from environmental concerns, the whole process has left me frustrated, due to the lack of transparency. Everything associated with the company and the town meetings regarding building the plant have felt slimy. I have difficulty connecting the dots and seeing how we would benefit from CPV’s investment.

Large sums of money are used as carrots to seek cooperation from those among us who see budgetary needs in our town. However, succumbing to corporate power, like CPV, is shortsighted, and that money is dirty. In the long run, when we have to deal with cleanup or the medical costs of poor health, we will wonder if the money was worth it.

It’s not over till it’s over. People may say, “Why bother? The plant is inevitable.” I beg to differ. Please consider voting “NO” in the upcoming vote – we have to fight the good fight. This is our town, not CPV’s.

Thanks,

Madison Hayes

Oxford, Conn.