On Jan. 11, 2023, Superior Court Judge O’Shea ruled against a citizen case brought to enforce the wetlands bylaw and protect our water
PineGate’s $32 million project, lawyers and experts convince court there can be no harm to the drinking water from CCA poles or the massive solar and battery project 52 feet from a residents
Judge O’Shea ruled with PineGate and the Carver Conservation Commission saying they followed the wetlands law by allowing PineGate to replace the toxic arsenic solar poles with concrete poles without amending the permit.
The Commission cut the public out. It issued an enforcement order telling PineGate to remove the poles and also letting the company replace the poles with concrete. This decision allows solar developers to continue to sidestep our laws, spending huge sums on money on hired gun experts and big law firms. This undermines an open and transparent process when it comes to approving industrial solar in residential area.s
Lawyers for the public interest and the local resident fought as hard as possible against this travesty. We will continue to monitor this debacle of a project — promoted and supported by our Department of Energy Resources and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. This project is solar gone wrong – threatening our food supply, water and community.
See some of the legal filings and PineGate’s hired gun reports here:
Plaintiff’s request to the court to enter a decision in Plaintiff’s favor
PineGate’s expert affidavit saying there is no risk to water or food
Ocean Spray refuses to accept cranberries from the two Pine Gate toxic pole sites. Yet the state DOER continues to promote “dual use” solar on cranberry bogs.
The Pull the Poles Campaign continues to advocate for transparency and accountability for the Carver arsenic solar poles debacle.
Residents demand answers:
1. What is the status of the Pine Gate 3,500 CCA poles at the two sites in Carver? In the Summer of 2022, during the drought they were being irrigated. Are they harvesting cranberries from the pole sites? Some of the poles were being removed. Rumors are that the plan to replace the CCA poles with concrete has been abandoned. What is the new plan?
Where are the testing results for the soil, groundwater and cranberries at the CCA PineGate sites. Please consider this a public records request.
2. AD Makepeace Swan Holt bog/Renewable Energy Partners 1-mile of CCA poles to mount solar panels on a cranberry bog irrigation canal that is a channelized river and Water of the United States (WOTUS) under the Federal Clean Water Act.
Rumor is that the original CCA poles are being used, and the outside layer of CCA chemicals simply being shaved off. Is this what is happening? We want reports from engineers for the project, Beals + Thomas and Weston Sampson about this decision. For the Carver Conservation Commission, did this require a notice of project change? Where are soil and water testing and all information to justify the decision to simply reuse the 1 mile of toxic solar poles.
What is the cost to taxpayers and ratepayers in dollar amounts of this dual use solar project?
As to the cost of potential damage to our sole source aquifer, do we remediate damage?
August, 2022, during a drought: PineGate Renewables irrigating a cranberry bog under toxic CCA poles, Carver MA. Were these berries harvested for Ocean Spray?