PORTSMOUTH — R.I. Energy’s promise to reduce noise levels at its seasonal LNG facility on Old Mill Lane was met with skepticism by several residents during Monday night’s Town Council meeting.

The company formerly known as National Grid has been operating the facility, located within a residential neighborhood, during periods of peak loads in the winter after a severe outage on Aquidneck Island in January 2019. 

Initially, R.I. Energy said it planned to keep LNG at the seasonal facility for up to 10 more years. But last year, the utility announced it was seeking to use the Old Mill Lane facility as long as needed, and that it was the only viable option providing uninterrupted service of the natural gas distribution system on the island. Critics of the plan, including the council, say the utility should seek alternate methods to remedy its longterm gas supply needs.

The company owns a five-acre, triangular-shaped parcel along Old Mill Lane. The proposal is mainly under the jurisdiction of the R.I. Energy Facility Siting Board (EFSB). On Oct. 19, EFSB voted to request advisory opinions by April 5, 2023 from various state and municipal participants, including the council, Zoning Board of Review, Planning Board, building inspector and Department of Public Works in Portsmouth.

R.I. Energy was asked by the council to provide an update of the operations at the LNG site Monday after receiving a request by Steven MacDonald, who lives across the street from the site at 124 Old Mill Lane.

Jacques Alfonso, R.I. Energy’s external affairs manager for the East Bay and Aquidneck Island area and the liaison for the Town of Portsmouth, outlined the company’s longterm plan to relocate its wintertime operations further back onto the property off Old Mill Lane. This would help mitigate some issues that neighbors have been complaining about, chiefly noise and lighting, said Alfonso, noting that “quieter equipment” is being used this year. 

There will be two entrances to the facility, and an Ecoraster pervious pavement is being installed, along with a new eight-foot-tall solid wall with sliding gates along along Old Mill Lane, as well as a new eight-foot-tall chainlink fence, Alfonso said.

R.I. Energy is mobilizing equipment early to support a multi-day inspection by Algonquin Gas of gas transmission piping during the week of Oct. 31. Once the inspection is complete, R.I. Energy will keep the facility in place for winter operations and man it 24/7 when LNG is on site. Once the “winter” season is over in April 2023, all equipment will be removed, Alfonso said.

Noise issue

George Watson III, a lawyer for R.I. Energy, said the company is planning to submit an application for a noise variance to the Town Council either this week or next. The noise issue will also come up when the company applies for a special-use permit before the zoning board, he said.

It’s not clear, however, whether a variance will be needed since “they’ve changed the operation” on Old Mill Lane and noise levels may have gone down, Watson said.

Abutters weren’t having it, however. 

“They’ve been pulling this nonsense for three years; this is going on the fourth year,” MacDonald told the council.

The noise level during venting exercises has never been under the town’s acceptable levels of 55 decibels at nighttime and 65 decibels during the day, he said. When police are called, however, “they were never able to come out for the time when the noise was there,” MacDonald said.

MacDonald asked the council to notify police to go to the site and take noise readings when R.I. Energy activates the facility, and fine the company when it’s over the decibel limit.

“That’s the only way this company’s going to learn,” said MacDonald, his own voice filling the room with volume.

His wife, Lori MacDonald, said according to the company’s own projections, the noise issue will not be mitigated. “They kind of know this equipment isn’t going to work, and no one’s really talking about that,” she said.

Lawrence Silvia, who lives at 24 Old Mill Lane, said more oversight of R.I. Energy’s work at the site is needed.

“They’re running this show as though they don’t need permission,” said Mr. Silvia, noting that “a lot” of workers have been at the facility over the past six to eight weeks. “They’ve had enough people to build a four-story house. It looks like a small city there with lights. That’s what they’re building.”

Alfonso told the council that the equipment will be tested either this Friday or Saturday, and that he could help coordinate for police to come to the site to take decibel readings.

Wrong place

Council member Keith Hamilton reiterated points he’s made previously, that R.I. Energy’s proposal is not a sound one for Old Mill Lane. The longterm solution, Hamilton said, would be another gas transmission pipeline to loop in Aquidneck Island and Bristol. 

“I don’t think this is a good long-term solution. We’re not solving any issues, we’re creating a nuisance,” he said. “We shouldn’t be having an (LNG) facility in a residential area of that size.”

Representatives from R.I. Energy and council members made it clear that the public will have a chance to testify at upcoming local public hearings on the plan; the zoning and planning boards are expected to take up the matter in December, Alfonso said. There will also be a public hearing held by the EFSB in Portsmouth next year.