BOSTON - As stockholders met inside a hotel conference room yesterday, a band of North Shore protesters braved the downpour on the street, urging the owners of the Salem power plant to clean up its act.

The protesters huddled in the pouring rain, clutching umbrellas and wearing raincoats. At one point, a gust of wind blew the sign out of a picketer's hand and onto a drenched sidewalk, ruining it.

Protesters yesterday vowed to fight for the environment, even when it seemed their environment was fighting them.

"This is what separates the committed from the really committed," said Cindy Luppi of Clean Water Action, a state environmental group.

About a dozen environmental activists braved the gloomy weather - and a trek from the North Shore to the bustling Hub - to occupy a brick sidewalk not far from Boston's South Station. Morning commuters whizzed by - a few beeped their horns - though most were probably unaware of the two groups on either side of Atlantic Avenue.

On one side stood the protesters, armed with signs with slogans like "Clean Energy Now."

On the other side was their target audience: stockholders from the Virginia-based Dominion, which owns two coal-fired power plants in Massachusetts, including the one in Salem. The investors had gathered for the company's annual shareholders meeting inside the Intercontinental Hotel.

"We're all here to urge them to be more of a climate leader and to shift to 21st-century energy solutions," Luppi said.

Among the roomful of Dominion investors sat a few of the activists who had been given proxies by other shareholders allowing them to attend.

During a question-and-answer session at the meeting, they asked Dominion directors how they plan to reduce pollution from coal power plants like the one in Salem, according to Jane Bright of HealthLink, a North Shore environmental group.

"They didn't say a single word about what they're going to do about the Salem power plant," Bright said. "They owe the taxpayers of Salem and the citizens of the North Shore some answers about what they're going to do for these communities that have supported the power plant for the last 50 years."

The environmental groups contend the Salem power plant and the Brayton Point power plant in Somerset - both owned by Dominion - are two of the dirtiest power plants in the Northeast and that the company should start investing in "smart energy solutions," such as renewable energy.

"The point is that long-term we have to get off coal, not look at ways to reuse coal," Bright said.

Officials at Dominion, however, say they're leading the fight for a cleaner environment.

Yesterday, the company took out a full-page newspaper ad touting its commitment to the environment. Instead of fighting federal emissions laws, the company has gone "above and beyond" requirements, it said. The company has also invested $3.4 billion in the environment over the years, it said.

"Dominion is very proud of its record on the environment," company spokesman Chet Wade said. "They've worked very hard to meet all the laws and regulations and to exceed standards."

Dominion has spent $600 million on equipment to control emissions in New England, Wade said.

"That's more than what we paid for all three of the stations we purchased," Wade said. "We're working with the communities. ... We believe we're doing the right thing."

But the environmental groups yesterday vowed to continue scrutinizing the company's practices, declaring a small victory.

"I think we made an impact," Salem's Pat Gozemba said, "because we got the word out to the board of directors that we're watching them."

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Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at 978-338-2526 or by e-mail at ccassidy@ecnnews.com.