PROVIDENCE — Opponents of a proposed natural-gas project on Allens Avenue objected to the location and format of a public meeting as much as the the fossil-fuel project itself.
National Grid tried to keep the focus of discussion on contaminated soil and water removal work within the 42-acre site.
Most attendees, though, wanted to discuss the validity of the proposed gas liquefaction plant.
It started as a coal gasification plant in 1910, and has been used as a fossil-fuel storage and processing plant for decades.
The 175-foot tall, 2-billion-cubic-foot LNG storage tank was built in 1974.
Amy Willoughby, the project manager for National Grid, described “strict dust-control measures” such as water trucks and plastic sheeting that will contain polluted airborne dust during excavation.
She said groundwater would be pumped into holding tanks and eventually shipped to disposal facilities outside Rhode Island.
Carvalho noted online searches and public information listing National Grid’s history of violations and poor safety record.
The new LNG proposal doesn’t include plans to deliver LNG by ship.
Once converted into LNG through extreme cooling, the concentrated gas would be shipped by special tanker trucks to LNG storage tanks in the region.