PROVIDENCE If members of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council thought they d put the contentious hearings three years ago on a liquefied natural gas plant in Providence behind them, they were wrong.
Providence resident Andrew Poyant, who testified at the LNG hearings, brought the issues to the fore, accusing Jennifer Cervenka, an environmental lawyer who has chaired the council since 2017, not only of unprofessional conduct but of racist behavior by treating speakers of color unfairly at the hearings.
Cervenka denied the charge which was tied to an incident with one person at one of the three hearings.
“It was at times a chaotic meeting,” Cervenka said. “And there was a particular speaker who started yelling at the council members and we had to take a break and cool off.”