NO City Council Approves Gas Plant Even After Entergy Hired Astroturf Actors, Enraging Residents
Sparks flew at a New Orleans City Council’s utility committee meeting on Valentine’s Day, compelling the committee to delay voting on [link:Sparks flew at a New Orleans City Council’s utility committee meeting on Valentine’s Day, compelling the committee to delay voting on a resolution that would scrap plans to rescind the permit for Entergy’s proposed $210 million natural gas power plant in exchange for a $5 million fine.
The contentious permit was awarded to Entergy, which provides power to the city, on March 18, 2018, but the city council's third-party investigation of Entergy found the allegations that the company took part in an astroturf campaign to influence the vote for its proposed New Orleans East gas plant to be true. The investigation concluded that the company was responsible for hiring paid actors, who were wearing t-shirts supporting the plant, to fill council chambers and speak in support of the project.
Opponents, including neighborhood groups and environmental activists, found out that the resolution to rescind the permit was pulled only a few days before the meeting. In its place, the committee would vote on a resolution allowing the permit to stand — with added guidelines and a $5 million fine that would be turned over to the city’s Sewer and Water Board for needed upgrades. |a resolution] that would scrap plans to rescind the permit for Entergy’s proposed $210 million natural gas power plant in exchange for a $5 million fine.
Councilmember Helena Moreno, the committee’s chairperson, tried to let down opponents of the power plant gently at the start of the meeting. She commended them for their efforts, saying their work played a role in the committee coming up with the new resolution that she believes offers the best outcome for the city. Moreno hailed Los Angles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s recent announcement that, in its move to shift entirely to renewable energy, the city will close three gas power plants, but she pointed out that the plants would operate for another decade. And while the committee is committed to moving toward renewable energy, New Orleans needs a solution for peak-demand outages now, she explained, saying Entergy’s proposed plant is the best solution available. Her statement drew heckling and led to over four hours of testimony, mostly against the plant.
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https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/02/19/entergy-new-orleans-natural-gas-plant-paying-actors-astroturf
