Dear Editor:

The Christmas Eve announcement in the LaGrange Daily News of a new 50 megawatt biomass electrical generator to be built here raises many unanswered questions.

(1) Although it will be fueled with biomass, how much carbon dioxide and other smoke related pollution will it emit?

(2) What pollutants will it release to our air and water? What will happen to the resultant ash?

(3) Who will be in charge of monitoring?

(4) Water vapor releases cause smog. How much will this plant produce? How many more smoggy days can we expect?

(5) Why is it being built in LaGrange, while the electricity it produces will be used by the customers of Georgia Power and Oglethorpe energy?

(6) While the article talked about how much money it would make for LaGrange, there was no mention of how much we will be paying to land it here. What concessions are we making?

(7) Will there be any public hearings for the neighbors and other interested members of the public to ask questions and voice comments?

(8) What will be the source of the biomass that will be burned?

(9) What will be the consequences of the the transportation needs for hauling in the raw material and removing the waste, if it will be removed?

(10) Where will the transmission lines be built, and will the land for them be taken by eminent domain?

Jeannine Honicker

LaGrange Sierra Club, co-chair