MATEP, in short, is looking rather smug, and the NOMATEP coalition may be dwindling. According to one Harvard official, the coalition numbers no more than 50. "They claim to have the support of over 100 groups, but they don't even have 100 people," the official says. And Harvard spokesman Rosen notes, "One interesting fact about the NOMATEP coalition is that there's never been a national environmental or special interest group behind them. It hasn't been like Seabrook, for instance."

The group refutes Harvard's assertions about depleted numbers. "It's not a small handful of people on Mission Hill--the vast majority oppose the plants. There is opposition and there is active opposition," Ploss says. She adds that while a core of between 12 and 30 attend meetings regularly, they represent at least 9000 residents strongly against the plant, as well as several nationwide organizations which support the movement. NOMATEP members say they were pleased with the crowds at the plant the first and last night the diesel engines were brought in. While Harvard officials estimate that there were about 100 and nearly 25 respectively, Ploss and others say there were many more, and that the numbers were impressive because each crowd gathered on just a few hours notice.

But those aren't the only numbers with which the coalition may wrestle. Members say their legal defense funds will shrink as the battles in court drag on and as the effects of Proposition 2 1/2 are felt by the town of Brookline--which has spent more than $100,000 fighting MATEP in court. But Daniel J. Partan, chairman of the Brookline selectmen's ad hoc legal committee on MATEP, says, "Proposition 2 1/2 poses a problem for us, but the MATEP plant poses a problem also. We're committed to preventing damage to the community."

The feisty NOMATEP group says it plans to broaden its sources of financing so that it can continue to take some swings at Harvard in court. Fundraising events are in the works. But the legal fight is entering its final rounds. Both sides have moved to have the appeal of the DEQE approval of the engines sent to the state Supreme Court. If heard, the decision laid down should be final. The case, which some officials say may be heard by the end of the year, would leave both sides with no further outlet for appeal.

Another Harvard victory there would leave the opposing coalition with new and different responsibilities, NOMATEP members say. "When those avenues are exhausted, they're exhausted. There'll be no route to stopping the plant," Partan says. "Then it becomes our duty to police the plant."

Partan and others, while remaining optimistic about their chances in court this fall, nevertheless are preparing themselves for a new role as watchdogs. They remain convinced that MATEP will violate the pollution standards it has agreed to live by. "We can't wait for another Love Canal. Those people waited 20 years. I don't want to wait for that--I'll watch my people's health now," Ploss says, adding that she plans to closely monitor the health of her family and sue Harvard for any deterioration. "I don't want the money. I want my kids' health," she adds.

While MATEP opponents are beginning to brace themselves for the day, there is still a considerable amount of work needed before the first diesel fumes rise up the 315-foot smokestack. The November DEQE approval of the engines contained 32 operating conditions, many of which require the submission of plans concerning the testing and running of the diesels. Installation of a monitoring system designed to measure nitrous oxide levels in the surrounding community also is part of the explicit operating conditions. Nevertheless, officials believe the first diesel could be ready for testing by the end of the year. MATEP will then phase in the sale of electricity to the medical area, which has received steam and chilled water service from the plant since last summer, Rosen says.

With the regulatory and legal issues nearing resolution, Harvard financiers hope to turn the page on a fiscal venture which has been all red. No one knows how long it will take for the facility to show a profit. No one knows how the list of regulations tacked into the gameplan will affect the plant's intended cost-saving nature, originally anticipated to cogenerate fuel at a savings of nearly 30 per cent. But everyone will soon find out. Joe B. Wyatt, vice president for administration and chairman of the Harvard subsidiary which runs MATEP, anticipates no technical delays. "There's no reason for us to believe that the design of the plant is faulty," Wyatt says.

Harvard's general operating account--which has already "lent" MATEP $200 million--still may send more money across the river and down Brookline Avenue. But officials are not optimistic that the plant's thirst for funds is quenched. "In light of the fact that it now appears about a year away, we're really looking forward to the revenue, electricity and cogeneration," says Thomas O'Brien, the University's financial vice-president.

The court date in October and the one succeeding it could derail Harvard's cogeneration train. But even the opposition is readying itself for what some among them say is the inevitable opening of MATEP less than a year from now. If--and it appears to be when--the diesels start operating, the train will head on a new, uncertain and perhaps equally dangerous course. One resident of Brookline promises "a continued battle until they show they're concerned about this area. Unless they want this to go on forever, they have to show us they really care."