WHYY Interviews Amy Roe - Lack Of Newark Government Transparency Over TDC's Power Plant Proposal A Concern

(NewsWorks) Shirly Min reports ~ Uproar over proposed data center in Newark

“Initially we received a lot of pushback from city officials that they were not going to have a public meeting until final plans had been submitted to the city. And clearly, if final plans are submitted where is there opportunity for the public, or neighbors, to have a voice in shaping those plans,” asked Amy Roe, an activist with the Sierra Club here in Delaware. Roe says it's hard to say if plans for the data center are objectionable because very little information has been made publicly available, but "it’s the power plant that’s causing concern.”

TDC, based in West Chester, PA, develops data centers that can process large quantities of information, meeting companies' IT demands. Building a self-sufficient power plant alongside, TDC says, provides uninterrupted off-grid power to run the data system. In Newark's case, the power plant would be powered by natural gas.
Roe worries about the environmental risks associated with a 248-Megawatt natural gas plant. Although cleaner burning than coal, Roe says natural gas has the potential to produce sizeable amounts of hazardous air pollutants, like nitrogen oxides, precursors to ozone. Other Newark residents worry about noise pollution created by the power plant. 

Those concerns were magnified, Roe says, by the city's seeming lack of transparency throughout this entire process.  “I’m worried about the silence from the city on this project," Roe said. “To learn that your town government has been negotiating for a year for this and none of the neighbors know is very worrisome.”
Newark's Community Affairs Officer Dana Johnston says the city has nothing to share since plans have not been officially submitted. Johnston says the city is simply providing publicity and a space for Tuesday's meeting, where TDC will provide more substantive answers.
Emails sent to TDC asking how much the proposed project will cost and when final plans will be submitted have yet to be returned.
Residents who are not able to attend, can review The Data Centers' responses to questions as well as all documents presented at the meeting on Newark's website at www.cityofnewarkde.us or obtain copies of the same from the City Secretary's Office soon after the session. 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, the City of Newark has nothing to share? No plans from TDC were OFFICIALLY SUBMITTED? Then how in the hell did the city manager, under Mayor Vance Funk and as far as we know without consent or knowledge of the City Council, manage to send a letter to Alan Levin and DEDO - - - a letter which is a requirement of the grantee in the granting process as proof of local government backing - - - in support of state infrastructure grants for TDC without having had plans submitted for review? It doesn't fly.

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