Economy/ Energy

Lobbying firm, Brayton Point near settlement

Suit alleged developer reneged on payment deal

By 0 Comments

A MESSY LEGAL dispute between the state’s top lobbying firm and the St. Louis company that bought and razed the coal-fired power plant at Brayton Point in Somerset appears to be coming to an end.

Court records indicate the lobbying firm of Smith, Costello & Crawford and Brayton Point LLC, a subsidiary of Commercial Development Inc. of St. Louis, have reached a settlement. The settlement, which is awaiting final approval from the parties, would mark the end of a lengthy court battle that has raised questions about the ethics of the company that is now in a battle with town officials and residents over the future use of the property. 

According to court filings, Brayton Point LLC hired Smith, Costello & Crawford in February 2018 to help develop the 308-acre property. The lobbying firm, which specializes in energy development, said it introduced Brayton Point to offshore wind companies, a gas power plant developer, and a solar developer. The firm says it also successfully lobbied for a $15 million state appropriation to dredge the area around the pier at Brayton Point to support future offshore wind development. 

Smith, Costello & Crawford said it was to be paid a monthly retainer of $5,000 plus 1 percent of any sales, leases, or other revenue from the property up to a cap of $300,000. 

“As the project finally reached the stage where third parties were in the process of advancing proposals to invest in or lease the property, Brayton Point LLC unlawfully cut Smith, Costello & Crawford out of the process and refused to honor its contractual obligation,” the original complaint states.

Brayton Point LLC denied the allegations and the two sides have spent the last several years preparing to go to trial, first in state court and then in federal court. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, and probably won’t be.

Meet the Author

Bruce Mohl

Editor, CommonWealth
Bio » Latest Stories »

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

Brayton Point LLC has come under fire in Somerset for sending mixed signals to the town, promising offshore wind development at the property and, when that didn’t materialize immediately, leasing space in mid-2019 to scrap metal and road salt operations that neighbors complained were dirty, noisy, and caused a lot of heavy truck traffic. 

The town and Brayton Point are now in court and residents have mobilized against the business, although one promising sign recently was the announcement by Mayflower Wind that it plans to bring ashore at Brayton Point electricity produced by any future offshore wind farms it constructs off the coast of Massachusetts. (Mayflower is currently moving ahead with one wind farm, but the electricity from that project is coming ashore on Cape Cod.) The Mayflower announcement could trigger development at Brayton Point, but there is no guarantee Mayflower will win future power contracts from Massachusetts. Even if Mayflower does, a project is unlikely to get off the ground for years.

Tagged in: