Clean up English Station

UIL acquired Connecticut Energy Corp., parent company of Southern Connecticut Gas Co., CTG Resources Inc., parent company of Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. and Berkshire Energy Resources, parent company of the Berkshire Gas Company for 1.296 billion dollars in October 2010 after announcing a stock offering in September 2010 to help fund the purchase. The deal is to be finalized the first quarter of 2011.

English Station is an abandoned power plant that was built from 1924 to 1929 in Fair Haven, CT on the Mill River, and operated until 1992, first as a coal burning facility and then converted to burn residual fuel oil, the dirtiest oil available. Through various maneuvers, UI has avoided cleaning up the site and it is now designated as a Brownfield.

“New Haven's Dirtiest Fight Yet”
This is the first in a series of articles about the state of the city's environment and the toxic sites located within its borders. Ct Business Journal 2002

”…With deregulation on the horizon in 1998, UI was required to divest itself of all interests in energy generation and all its generating plants were sold within months - except for English Station, one of the dirtiest plants in the U.S., according to Michael Mitchell, president of CCEJ….

…Despite three proposals from buyers who wanted to convert the site to “renewable energy ventures,” UI transferred ownership of English Station to the fledgling Quinnipiac Energy (QE) whose principals were proposing to use #6 fuel oil. The only thing filthier than #6 oil to burn is coal. QE was established in 1999 as a Delaware limited liability company (LLC) for the sole purpose of acquiring English Station. Its original principals were Mark Mininberg, Ralph DeGeeter and Joseph Camean. After QE's proposal was approved by the Department of Public Utilities Control (DPUC), QE reformed, dropping Joseph Camean and adding Scott DeGeeter and Jeffrey Mannis.

According to New Haven's EJN, Mark Mininberg, who owns the controlling interest in QE, is an environmental attorney who has represented clients in the state who were being sued for waste disposal violations. One of the defendants he sued is John “Jack” Betkoski III, a commissioner on the Connecticut DPUC whose term expires June 30, 2005, according to CCEJ officials.

New Haven has 33 designated brownfield sites, 13 of which are in Fair Haven.

environmental lawyer Mark Mininberg....He was paid $4.25 million by UI to take English Station off its hands; full conversion to natural gas could require $100 million to as much as $200 million.”

Also:
http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/ui_move_blasted/
Blumenthal said UI’s obligation to clean up the mess at English Station didn’t stop when they sold it.
“UI has an obligation to deal with English Station. They have at least a moral obligation and we may assert a legal obligation,” he said.