The Charlotte Amalie Class of 1995 will hold an emergency meeting at the Palm Courts Harbour View Hotel.
For more information call any of the class officers.

July 2, 2002 – The Public Services Commission's next mandatory rate investigation, of the Water and Power Authority, will be delayed while the PSC seeks a new hearing examiner.
In an executive session on Monday, the commission excused the designated examiner, St. Croix attorney Ronald E. Russell, at Russell's request, PSC chair Desmond Maynard said.
WAPA officials had earlier protested the naming of Russell to serve as hearing examiner, saying there was a conflict of interest because he has a pending lawsuit representing a private client against the utility.
Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director, said on Monday that Russell reported having difficulty obtaining some of the information required from the utility in order to carry out the rate investigation. "It's on hold based on WAPA's refusal to give information due to the fact that [Russell] has a pending suit against WAPA," Joseph said.
Also, Joseph said, "We just received some information that Russell is going to run for the Senate."
Russell, contacted on Tuesday, said he has not yet submitted his request to be removed from the investigation in writing and was surprised to learn that the PSC had already acted. "I am going to make the request to remove myself from the process, but I have not written the formal letter yet," he said.
He confirmed that he plans to run for the Senate but said "it's not the main reason" for his seeking to be excused as hearing examiner. "I.am removing myself from the process, and I think it's in the best interest of the community, the PSC and WAPA at this point," he said.
Legislation calling for biennial rate investigations of WAPA, the local telephone company and the two exclusive-franchise commuter ferry services — all of the industries regulated by the PSC — was passed last year.
The public hearings for the first rate review, of Innovative Telephone, were completed last week; the report prepared by a team of technical consultants was submitted to the commission on Monday.
The investigations are intended to give the PSC regulators a basis for making decisions on rates based on allowable company earnings. Findings could support lower rates, higher rates or no change in rates.
Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg's longtime efforts to look into the telephone company's finances led to the Senate approving the bill mandating every-other-year investigations of all regulated public utilities.
Joseph said Monday that he expects the Innovative rate investigation to be completed by the Sept. 30 deadline. However, he said, given the need to find a new hearing examiner, the WAPA investigation will not be delivered to the Senate on schedule, and the board will have to ask for an extension.
He added that finding a new examiner for the Water and Power Authority probe may be difficult "because so many people have actions against WAPA."

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 2, 2002 – The Public Services Commission's next mandatory rate investigation, of the Water and Power Authority, will be delayed while the PSC seeks a new hearing examiner.
In an executive session on Monday, the commission excused the designated examiner, St. Croix attorney Ronald E. Russell, at Russell's request, PSC chair Desmond Maynard said.
WAPA officials had earlier protested the naming of Russell to serve as hearing examiner, saying there was a conflict of interest because he has a pending lawsuit representing a private client against the utility.
Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director, said on Monday that Russell reported having difficulty obtaining some of the information required from the utility in order to carry out the rate investigation. "It's on hold based on WAPA's refusal to give information due to the fact that [Russell] has a pending suit against WAPA," Joseph said.
Also, Joseph said, "We just received some information that Russell is going to run for the Senate."
Russell, contacted on Tuesday, said he has not yet submitted his request to be removed from the investigation in writing and was surprised to learn that the PSC had already acted. "I am going to make the request to remove myself from the process, but I have not written the formal letter yet," he said.
He confirmed that he plans to run for the Senate but said "it's not the main reason" for his seeking to be excused as hearing examiner. "I.am removing myself from the process, and I think it's in the best interest of the community, the PSC and WAPA at this point," he said.
Legislation calling for biennial rate investigations of WAPA, the local telephone company and the two exclusive-franchise commuter ferry services — all of the industries regulated by the PSC — was passed last year.
The public hearings for the first rate review, of Innovative Telephone, were completed last week; the report prepared by a team of technical consultants was submitted to the commission on Monday.
The investigations are intended to give the PSC regulators a basis for making decisions on rates based on allowable company earnings. Findings could support lower rates, higher rates or no change in rates.
Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg's longtime efforts to look into the telephone company's finances led to the Senate approving the bill mandating every-other-year investigations of all regulated public utilities.
Joseph said Monday that he expects the Innovative rate investigation to be completed by the Sept. 30 deadline. However, he said, given the need to find a new hearing examiner, the WAPA investigation will not be delivered to the Senate on schedule, and the board will have to ask for an extension.
He added that finding a new examiner for the Water and Power Authority probe may be difficult "because so many people have actions against WAPA."

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 2, 2002 – The Public Services Commission's next mandatory rate investigation, of the Water and Power Authority, will be delayed while the PSC seeks a new hearing examiner.
In an executive session on Monday, the commission excused the designated examiner, St. Croix attorney Ronald E. Russell, at Russell's request, PSC chair Desmond Maynard said.
WAPA officials had earlier protested the naming of Russell to serve as hearing examiner, saying there was a conflict of interest because he has a pending lawsuit representing a private client against the utility.
Keithley Joseph, PSC executive director, said on Monday that Russell reported having difficulty obtaining some of the information required from the utility in order to carry out the rate investigation. "It's on hold based on WAPA's refusal to give information due to the fact that [Russell] has a pending suit against WAPA," Joseph said.
Also, Joseph said, "We just received some information that Russell is going to run for the Senate."
Russell, contacted on Tuesday, said he has not yet submitted his request to be removed from the investigation in writing and was surprised to learn that the PSC had already acted. "I am going to make the request to remove myself from the process, but I have not written the formal letter yet," he said.
He confirmed that he plans to run for the Senate but said "it's not the main reason" for his seeking to be excused as hearing examiner. "I.am removing myself from the process, and I think it's in the best interest of the community, the PSC and WAPA at this point," he said.
Legislation calling for biennial rate investigations of WAPA, the local telephone company and the two exclusive-franchise commuter ferry services — all of the industries regulated by the PSC — was passed last year.
The public hearings for the first rate review, of Innovative Telephone, were completed last week; the report prepared by a team of technical consultants was submitted to the commission on Monday.
The investigations are intended to give the PSC regulators a basis for making decisions on rates based on allowable company earnings. Findings could support lower rates, higher rates or no change in rates.
Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg's longtime efforts to look into the telephone company's finances led to the Senate approving the bill mandating every-other-year investigations of all regulated public utilities.
Joseph said Monday that he expects the Innovative rate investigation to be completed by the Sept. 30 deadline. However, he said, given the need to find a new hearing examiner, the WAPA investigation will not be delivered to the Senate on schedule, and the board will have to ask for an extension.
He added that finding a new examiner for the Water and Power Authority probe may be difficult "because so many people have actions against WAPA."

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 2, 2002 – Police are warning businesses throughout the territory to be on the lookout for forged checks and falsified identification documents by individuals seeking to negotiate them.
On Friday, Abbe Richardson, 27, and her husband, Marlon Richardson, 26, were arrested on St. Croix after they deposited a check for $25,000 at the Frederiksted branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia and another check in the same amount at the bank's Christiansted branch. They were charged with forging checks and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Deputy Police Chief Angel Santos said police obtained a warrant to search for computer evidence and other paraphernalia at the Richardsons' home, but found nothing incriminating.
Santos said there is no evidence connecting the Richardsons to the arrest of Augustin Angol, 23, of Smithfield on similar charges earlier last week.
Angol also was charged with committing forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses. Police said he used a personal computer and banking software to fabricate checks that were circulated to businesses throughout the territory. In move that police said was linked to Angol's arrest, Trudy Williams, 19, of Lorraine Village was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. Williams cashed a check at Electric Avenue in Barren Spot.
Santos said the investigation is ongoing and advised merchants to examine closely all checks and identification documents presented. "Employees should become familiar with the various types of identification used by customers in the territory," he said. Drivers' licenses, voter registration cards and I.D. from some local employers including Hovensa and Bechtel "have been forged," he said.
He said the largest stores are particularly at risk because of the large volume of transactions handled, and that Kmart and Pueblo are among those that have been hit with forged checks. He said he recently received a call from an insurance company official on St. Thomas "who wanted to make us aware of attempts to use forged checks on that island."
"We just want you to be alert, but don't become alarmed in conducting business." Santos said. "We don't know how many people are involved, so our investigation will continue."

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 2, 2002 – Police are warning businesses throughout the territory to be on the lookout for forged checks and falsified identification documents by individuals seeking to negotiate them.
On Friday, Abbe Richardson, 27, and her husband, Marlon Richardson, 26, were arrested on St. Croix after they deposited a check for $25,000 at the Frederiksted branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia and another check in the same amount at the bank's Christiansted branch. They were charged with forging checks and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Deputy Police Chief Angel Santos said police obtained a warrant to search for computer evidence and other paraphernalia at the Richardsons' home, but found nothing incriminating.
Santos said there is no evidence connecting the Richardsons to the arrest of Augustin Angol, 23, of Smithfield on similar charges earlier last week.
Angol also was charged with committing forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses. Police said he used a personal computer and banking software to fabricate checks that were circulated to businesses throughout the territory. In move that police said was linked to Angol's arrest, Trudy Williams, 19, of Lorraine Village was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. Williams cashed a check at Electric Avenue in Barren Spot.
Santos said the investigation is ongoing and advised merchants to examine closely all checks and identification documents presented. "Employees should become familiar with the various types of identification used by customers in the territory," he said. Drivers' licenses, voter registration cards and I.D. from some local employers including Hovensa and Bechtel "have been forged," he said.
He said the largest stores are particularly at risk because of the large volume of transactions handled, and that Kmart and Pueblo are among those that have been hit with forged checks. He said he recently received a call from an insurance company official on St. Thomas "who wanted to make us aware of attempts to use forged checks on that island."
"We just want you to be alert, but don't become alarmed in conducting business." Santos said. "We don't know how many people are involved, so our investigation will continue."

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 2, 2002 – Police are warning businesses throughout the territory to be on the lookout for forged checks and falsified identification documents by individuals seeking to negotiate them.
On Friday, Abbe Richardson, 27, and her husband, Marlon Richardson, 26, were arrested on St. Croix after they deposited a check for $25,000 at the Frederiksted branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia and another check in the same amount at the bank's Christiansted branch. They were charged with forging checks and obtaining money under false pretenses.
Deputy Police Chief Angel Santos said police obtained a warrant to search for computer evidence and other paraphernalia at the Richardsons' home, but found nothing incriminating.
Santos said there is no evidence connecting the Richardsons to the arrest of Augustin Angol, 23, of Smithfield on similar charges earlier last week.
Angol also was charged with committing forgery and obtaining money under false pretenses. Police said he used a personal computer and banking software to fabricate checks that were circulated to businesses throughout the territory. In move that police said was linked to Angol's arrest, Trudy Williams, 19, of Lorraine Village was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses. Williams cashed a check at Electric Avenue in Barren Spot.
Santos said the investigation is ongoing and advised merchants to examine closely all checks and identification documents presented. "Employees should become familiar with the various types of identification used by customers in the territory," he said. Drivers' licenses, voter registration cards and I.D. from some local employers including Hovensa and Bechtel "have been forged," he said.
He said the largest stores are particularly at risk because of the large volume of transactions handled, and that Kmart and Pueblo are among those that have been hit with forged checks. He said he recently received a call from an insurance company official on St. Thomas "who wanted to make us aware of attempts to use forged checks on that island."
"We just want you to be alert, but don't become alarmed in conducting business." Santos said. "We don't know how many people are involved, so our investigation will continue."

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 1, 2002 – Over strenuous objections by Water and Power Authority officials, the company proposing to build and operate a new waste-to-energy processing system to handle the territory's trash won the approval of the Public Services Commission on Monday.
By a vote of 6-1, PSC members granted certification for Caribe Waste Technologies Inc. to build three small power production plants, one on St. Thomas and two on St. Croix.
The commission, meeting on St. Thomas, also rejected a motion from WAPA seeking protection from having to purchase power from CWT that will be a byproduct of its chemical treatment of waste. That vote was 5-0, with two members abstaining.
WAPA's motion was dismissed "without prejudice," meaning its concerns could be raised again before the PSC when the parties return to argue whether the proposed plants are suited to deliver natural gas products through interconnected gas lines.
In granting CWT certification, the PSC endorsed the findings of hearing examiner Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine, who said the applicant met the criteria for certification as a small power supplier. The criteria, she said, were having a fixed address, meeting federal guidelines for distances between the proposed energy plants, and meeting the standards for production capacity.
Examiner: Concerns can be raised anew later
Ballentine told the commission there will be time to revisit any concerns regarding CWT when the company presents its applications for interconnectivity to WAPA. Issues raised by WAPA, she said, were valid, "but they are not relevant issues at this stage of the proceedings. It is not a complex proceeding. The complexity point comes when the small power producer seeks to interconnect with the utility."
WAPA's lawyer, Samuel H. Hall Jr., warned the PSC members that by giving CWT the go-ahead they were buying a cat in a bag. "We are pleading that CWT is an entity that owns no waste disposal equipment, does not own any generating equipment, owns no land in the Virgin Islands and has no finances," he said.
Hall also challenged Ballentine's assertion that there had been cases on the U.S. mainland where waste-to-energy plants similarly were certified prior to construction. Because CWT is pitching the use of technologies never seen before in the United States, Hall said, there is no comparison.
"The hearing examiner says there are facilities that have been approved on paper on the U.S. mainland, but the facilities were for conventional technologies, not thermoselect in combination with these particular diesel engines," he said.
But commissioner members told Hall that while they may share some of his concerns, they the law directs them to grant certification to qualified applicants.
"I"m not asking you to violate the law. I'm asking you to exercise the discretions given to you under the law," Hall responded, but to no avail.
Attorney Adriane J. Dudley, representing CWT, said she had heard Hall's arguments over and over for nearly two years and was glad the commission stuck to the fact that her client had met the certification requirements. She also derided WAPA concerns about CWT's ability to produce clean power by burning municipal trash.
"It is utterly ironic that WAPA, which is one of the worst polluters today — which it must be because it uses fossil fuels — is complaining about a system that would reduce [pollution]," she said.
But while consensus among the voting PSC members appeared strong, contention also was apparent at Monday's meeting. One of the two non-voting members from the Legislature, Sen. Emmett Hansen II, said the decision was based on a report by the hearing examiner that was loaded with supposition.
Commissioners acted on the recommendation of the hearing examiner, Hansen said, and, "it's clear the hearing examiner's interpretation is not predicated in the law."
PSC members' trip to Germany rankles colleague
Verne David, the one dissenting commissioner with a vote, criticized the secrecy surrounding a visit by three of his colleagues to a gasification plant in Germany which is reportedly a prototype of the proposed Virgin Islands plants. David asked why the rest of the commissioners were not given a chance to join in on the trip, and why they were not told about it until after the visiting members returned.
PSC chair Desmond Maynard said the matter had been raised at a PSC meeting held on St. Croix prior to the trip, but it was announced as a trip to Japan, where another gasification plant operates. The plans changed, Maynard said, when he learned that the plant in Japan was not comparable because it processes industrial waste. Maynard, an attorney; Jerris Browne, a deputy Police commissioner; and Alric Simmonds, the governor's deputy chief of staff, were the PSC members who made the June 4-11 trip. They did not take any technical experts with them.
Hall asked why the PSC members were given free access to the German municipal waste-to-energy plant while WAPA's engineer in repeated telephone calls could not get his counterpart at the plant to answer his questions. "I have to wonder why they were willing to see you and not willing to see him," the attorney said.
Hansen expressed similar concerns. But the other non-voting PSC member, Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, assured him he would have a chance to visit the German plant when it was time for the Legislature to conduct its own fact finding with the matter before them.
There also were questions about whether all of CWT's partners and investors were known to the board and whether any of them have stateside or Virgin Islands connections. Ballentine said she did not explore the matter because she did not consider it part of the criteria laid out for determining certification.
After the meeting, Dudley said all of the matters raised over the last two years concerning the gasification plant would get a thorough airing before the Legislature. Meanwhile, she said, she is glad the lengthy process before the PSC ended in her client's favor.
"What this means," Dudley said, "is that we can go out and make a deal with Payne Webber to get financing and go back to the V.I. government, where we are engaged in a contract negotiation to build a facility." Talks with WAPA on the issue of buying power from CWT can go on, she said.
All PSC members were present: voting members Browne, David, Valencio Jackson, Maynard, Luther Renee, Simmonds and Alecia Wells; and non-voting members Cole and Hansen.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 1, 2002 – Over strenuous objections by Water and Power Authority officials, the company proposing to build and operate a new waste-to-energy processing system to handle the territory's trash won the approval of the Public Services Commission on Monday.
By a vote of 6-1, PSC members granted certification for Caribe Waste Technologies Inc. to build three small power production plants, one on St. Thomas and two on St. Croix.
The commission, meeting on St. Thomas, also rejected a motion from WAPA seeking protection from having to purchase power from CWT that will be a byproduct of its chemical treatment of waste. That vote was 5-0, with two members abstaining.
WAPA's motion was dismissed "without prejudice," meaning its concerns could be raised again before the PSC when the parties return to argue whether the proposed plants are suited to deliver natural gas products through interconnected gas lines.
In granting CWT certification, the PSC endorsed the findings of hearing examiner Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine, who said the applicant met the criteria for certification as a small power supplier. The criteria, she said, were having a fixed address, meeting federal guidelines for distances between the proposed energy plants, and meeting the standards for production capacity.
Examiner: Concerns can be raised anew later
Ballentine told the commission there will be time to revisit any concerns regarding CWT when the company presents its applications for interconnectivity to WAPA. Issues raised by WAPA, she said, were valid, "but they are not relevant issues at this stage of the proceedings. It is not a complex proceeding. The complexity point comes when the small power producer seeks to interconnect with the utility."
WAPA's lawyer, Samuel H. Hall Jr., warned the PSC members that by giving CWT the go-ahead they were buying a cat in a bag. "We are pleading that CWT is an entity that owns no waste disposal equipment, does not own any generating equipment, owns no land in the Virgin Islands and has no finances," he said.
Hall also challenged Ballentine's assertion that there had been cases on the U.S. mainland where waste-to-energy plants similarly were certified prior to construction. Because CWT is pitching the use of technologies never seen before in the United States, Hall said, there is no comparison.
"The hearing examiner says there are facilities that have been approved on paper on the U.S. mainland, but the facilities were for conventional technologies, not thermoselect in combination with these particular diesel engines," he said.
But commissioner members told Hall that while they may share some of his concerns, they the law directs them to grant certification to qualified applicants.
"I"m not asking you to violate the law. I'm asking you to exercise the discretions given to you under the law," Hall responded, but to no avail.
Attorney Adriane J. Dudley, representing CWT, said she had heard Hall's arguments over and over for nearly two years and was glad the commission stuck to the fact that her client had met the certification requirements. She also derided WAPA concerns about CWT's ability to produce clean power by burning municipal trash.
"It is utterly ironic that WAPA, which is one of the worst polluters today — which it must be because it uses fossil fuels — is complaining about a system that would reduce [pollution]," she said.
But while consensus among the voting PSC members appeared strong, contention also was apparent at Monday's meeting. One of the two non-voting members from the Legislature, Sen. Emmett Hansen II, said the decision was based on a report by the hearing examiner that was loaded with supposition.
Commissioners acted on the recommendation of the hearing examiner, Hansen said, and, "it's clear the hearing examiner's interpretation is not predicated in the law."
PSC members' trip to Germany rankles colleague
Verne David, the one dissenting commissioner with a vote, criticized the secrecy surrounding a visit by three of his colleagues to a gasification plant in Germany which is reportedly a prototype of the proposed Virgin Islands plants. David asked why the rest of the commissioners were not given a chance to join in on the trip, and why they were not told about it until after the visiting members returned.
PSC chair Desmond Maynard said the matter had been raised at a PSC meeting held on St. Croix prior to the trip, but it was announced as a trip to Japan, where another gasification plant operates. The plans changed, Maynard said, when he learned that the plant in Japan was not comparable because it processes industrial waste. Maynard, an attorney; Jerris Browne, a deputy Police commissioner; and Alric Simmonds, the governor's deputy chief of staff, were the PSC members who made the June 4-11 trip. They did not take any technical experts with them.
Hall asked why the PSC members were given free access to the German municipal waste-to-energy plant while WAPA's engineer in repeated telephone calls could not get his counterpart at the plant to answer his questions. "I have to wonder why they were willing to see you and not willing to see him," the attorney said.
Hansen expressed similar concerns. But the other non-voting PSC member, Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, assured him he would have a chance to visit the German plant when it was time for the Legislature to conduct its own fact finding with the matter before them.
There also were questions about whether all of CWT's partners and investors were known to the board and whether any of them have stateside or Virgin Islands connections. Ballentine said she did not explore the matter because she did not consider it part of the criteria laid out for determining certification.
After the meeting, Dudley said all of the matters raised over the last two years concerning the gasification plant would get a thorough airing before the Legislature. Meanwhile, she said, she is glad the lengthy process before the PSC ended in her client's favor.
"What this means," Dudley said, "is that we can go out and make a deal with Payne Webber to get financing and go back to the V.I. government, where we are engaged in a contract negotiation to build a facility." Talks with WAPA on the issue of buying power from CWT can go on, she said.
All PSC members were present: voting members Browne, David, Valencio Jackson, Maynard, Luther Renee, Simmonds and Alecia Wells; and non-voting members Cole and Hansen.

Publisher's note : Like the St. John Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.

July 1, 2002 – Over strenuous objections by Water and Power Authority officials, the company proposing to build and operate a new waste-to-energy processing system to handle the territory's trash won the approval of the Public Services Commission on Monday.
By a vote of 6-1, PSC members granted certification for Caribe Waste Technologies Inc. to build three small power production plants, one on St. Thomas and two on St. Croix.
The commission, meeting on St. Thomas, also rejected a motion from WAPA seeking protection from having to purchase power from CWT that will be a byproduct of its chemical treatment of waste. That vote was 5-0, with two members abstaining.
WAPA's motion was dismissed "without prejudice," meaning its concerns could be raised again before the PSC when the parties return to argue whether the proposed plants are suited to deliver natural gas products through interconnected gas lines.
In granting CWT certification, the PSC endorsed the findings of hearing examiner Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine, who said the applicant met the criteria for certification as a small power supplier. The criteria, she said, were having a fixed address, meeting federal guidelines for distances between the proposed energy plants, and meeting the standards for production capacity.
Examiner: Concerns can be raised anew later
Ballentine told the commission there will be time to revisit any concerns regarding CWT when the company presents its applications for interconnectivity to WAPA. Issues raised by WAPA, she said, were valid, "but they are not relevant issues at this stage of the proceedings. It is not a complex proceeding. The complexity point comes when the small power producer seeks to interconnect with the utility."
WAPA's lawyer, Samuel H. Hall Jr., warned the PSC members that by giving CWT the go-ahead they were buying a cat in a bag. "We are pleading that CWT is an entity that owns no waste disposal equipment, does not own any generating equipment, owns no land in the Virgin Islands and has no finances," he said.
Hall also challenged Ballentine's assertion that there had been cases on the U.S. mainland where waste-to-energy plants similarly were certified prior to construction. Because CWT is pitching the use of technologies never seen before in the United States, Hall said, there is no comparison.
"The hearing examiner says there are facilities that have been approved on paper on the U.S. mainland, but the facilities were for conventional technologies, not thermoselect in combination with these particular diesel engines," he said.
But commissioner members told Hall that while they may share some of his concerns, they the law directs them to grant certification to qualified applicants.
"I"m not asking you to violate the law. I'm asking you to exercise the discretions given to you under the law," Hall responded, but to no avail.
Attorney Adriane J. Dudley, representing CWT, said she had heard Hall's arguments over and over for nearly two years and was glad the commission stuck to the fact that her client had met the certification requirements. She also derided WAPA concerns about CWT's ability to produce clean power by burning municipal trash.
"It is utterly ironic that WAPA, which is one of the worst polluters today — which it must be because it uses fossil fuels — is complaining about a system that would reduce [pollution]," she said.
But while consensus among the voting PSC members appeared strong, contention also was apparent at Monday's meeting. One of the two non-voting members from the Legislature, Sen. Emmett Hansen II, said the decision was based on a report by the hearing examiner that was loaded with supposition.
Commissioners acted on the recommendation of the hearing examiner, Hansen said, and, "it's clear the hearing examiner's interpretation is not predicated in the law."
PSC members' trip to Germany rankles colleague
Verne David, the one dissenting commissioner with a vote, criticized the secrecy surrounding a visit by three of his colleagues to a gasification plant in Germany which is reportedly a prototype of the proposed Virgin Islands plants. David asked why the rest of the commissioners were not given a chance to join in on the trip, and why they were not told about it until after the visiting members returned.
PSC chair Desmond Maynard said the matter had been raised at a PSC meeting held on St. Croix prior to the trip, but it was announced as a trip to Japan, where another gasification plant operates. The plans changed, Maynard said, when he learned that the plant in Japan was not comparable because it processes industrial waste. Maynard, an attorney; Jerris Browne, a deputy Police commissioner; and Alric Simmonds, the governor's deputy chief of staff, were the PSC members who made the June 4-11 trip. They did not take any technical experts with them.
Hall asked why the PSC members were given free access to the German municipal waste-to-energy plant while WAPA's engineer in repeated telephone calls could not get his counterpart at the plant to answer his questions. "I have to wonder why they were willing to see you and not willing to see him," the attorney said.
Hansen expressed similar concerns. But the other non-voting PSC member, Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, assured him he would have a chance to visit the German plant when it was time for the Legislature to conduct its own fact finding with the matter before them.
There also were questions about whether all of CWT's partners and investors were known to the board and whether any of them have stateside or Virgin Islands connections. Ballentine said she did not explore the matter because she did not consider it part of the criteria laid out for determining certification.
After the meeting, Dudley said all of the matters raised over the last two years concerning the gasification plant would get a thorough airing before the Legislature. Meanwhile, she said, she is glad the lengthy process before the PSC ended in her client's favor.
"What this means," Dudley said, "is that we can go out and make a deal with Payne Webber to get financing and go back to the V.I. government, where we are engaged in a contract negotiation to build a facility." Talks with WAPA on the issue of buying power from CWT can go on, she said.
All PSC members were present: voting members Browne, David, Valencio Jackson, Maynard, Luther Renee, Simmonds and Alecia Wells; and non-voting members Cole and Hansen.

Publisher's note : Like the St. Croix Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.