By Harlan Levy
Journal Inquirer
WINDSOR LOCKS — After all the explanations were done and the details revealed, not one of the 75 residents who attended Tuesday’s public hearing was persuaded to support Babylon Recycling Center’s request to expand its operations.
Babylon now accepts only construction materials; it is seeking to add municipal, commercial, and residential garbage. It filed a request with the state Department of Environmental Protection to modify its permit, increasing the 850-ton-per-day limit to 1,100. The extra 250 tons would include town, business, and residential garbage as well as construction waste.
The change does not require town approval.
An extra 28 or 29 large trucks would visit the site, which straddles the Windsor Locks-Suffield border off Route 159, every day but Sunday between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., Babylon Director of Operations Jonathan Murray told the crowd.
The materials would be treated inside the facility, Babylon consultant Mark Zessin emphasized, and the facility is required under the permit to move the compacted debris out within 48 hours.
The debris goes to a dozen railroad cars arriving adjacent to the plant or to trucks, both of which would have the loads tightly covered before transferring them out-of-state to disposal centers. The loaded rail cars would leave either the same day or the next day, Murray said. However, he said, when the treated garbage is offloaded to two or three large trucks instead, the trucks would leave immediately.
Residents expressed concerns about smelly garbage sitting in rail cars and said that the rail cars often noisily arrive at the plant after 11 p.m. and into early morning hours.
But those are just some of the objections, said plant neighbor Cornelius O’Leary of Town Line Road, who denied that the opposition is just a case of the “not in my back yard” syndrome.
“It shouldn’t be in anyone’s back yard,” O’Leary said. “This is the kind of a facility that should be located far away from a residential area.”
He cited the noise from the railroad cars and odor emanating from “garbage from households, from restaurants, organic garbage that can sit there in 100-degree heat up to 48 hours or longer on a holiday weekend.”
Murray said the train schedule is determined by Amtrak, not the company. “We’ve been talking to Amtrak to try to get them to let the cars through before 11 p.m.,” Murray said.
O’Leary also complained about water runoff that has washed out a stream in nearby woods, saying that silt is filling a basin there — “and it would be tremendously expensive to remediate that problem.”
Any water runoff is filtered, Murray said. He also said that the plant contains a sprinkler system that emits a perfume spray to mask the odor.
“I already have bird crap on top of my house, all over my driveway, and in my pool,” said Brian O’Kane of Seymour Road, one street away from the plant. “It’s going to be three times as bad.”
As for noise, O’Kane said, “I can hear you guys backing up with the loaders at 2 in the morning. I can hear beep, beep, beep all night long. … and those cars coupling, they can wake you up from the dead.”
Garth Mickelson of North Main Street complained: “I already have a biker bar across the town line. I already have the prison there. C & S Wholesale Grocers is there, and Babylon Recycling is there. We have traffic 24 hours a day, and these trucks just pound the hell out of the neighborhood, and now they’re talking about 28 more trucks? Six o’clock in the morning the truck traffic starts, and some of these Dumpster trucks are like jackhammers.”
When Babylon was given its original permit 10 years go, First Selectman Steven Wawruck said, it specifically prohibited municipal solid waste, sludge, biomedical waste, liquid waste, smoldering or hot liquids, and hazardous waste.
“What can be derived as a benefit when we already have facilities in place that we can send our garbage to?” he asked.
“The region will benefit from having an additional site for trash,” Murray said.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Alan Gannuscio said there have been “consistent complaints of after-hours operation … for five years now.”
Gannuscio also handed out copies of a resolution the PZC adopted unanimously on Monday opposing Babylon’s application for the following reasons:
• The 20 percent increase in Main Street truck traffic would threaten efforts to revitalize Main Street by attracting businesses and increasing foot traffic.
• No plans to reduce odors.
• No provisions for increased screening and buffering.
• No assurance of adequate water supplies to fight fires on site.
• Exclusion of town site review process.
After the hearing, Murray and Zessin said they got what they came for: “To hear input,” Zessin said. “We will go back and have a discussion and decide how to move forward. We’ll take notice of the concerns and address them.”
Murray said he’s optimistic that the concerns can be addressed.
The DEP will hold a public hearing after it completes its technical review and makes a recommendation on whether the permit should be approved.
A final result could come in six months, Zessin said.
Babylon now accepts only construction materials; it is seeking to add municipal, commercial, and residential garbage. It filed a request with the state Department of Environmental Protection to modify its permit, increasing the 850-ton-per-day limit to 1,100. The extra 250 tons would include town, business, and residential garbage as well as construction waste.
The change does not require town approval.
An extra 28 or 29 large trucks would visit the site, which straddles the Windsor Locks-Suffield border off Route 159, every day but Sunday between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., Babylon Director of Operations Jonathan Murray told the crowd.
The materials would be treated inside the facility, Babylon consultant Mark Zessin emphasized, and the facility is required under the permit to move the compacted debris out within 48 hours.
The debris goes to a dozen railroad cars arriving adjacent to the plant or to trucks, both of which would have the loads tightly covered before transferring them out-of-state to disposal centers. The loaded rail cars would leave either the same day or the next day, Murray said. However, he said, when the treated garbage is offloaded to two or three large trucks instead, the trucks would leave immediately.
Residents expressed concerns about smelly garbage sitting in rail cars and said that the rail cars often noisily arrive at the plant after 11 p.m. and into early morning hours.
But those are just some of the objections, said plant neighbor Cornelius O’Leary of Town Line Road, who denied that the opposition is just a case of the “not in my back yard” syndrome.
“It shouldn’t be in anyone’s back yard,” O’Leary said. “This is the kind of a facility that should be located far away from a residential area.”
He cited the noise from the railroad cars and odor emanating from “garbage from households, from restaurants, organic garbage that can sit there in 100-degree heat up to 48 hours or longer on a holiday weekend.”
Murray said the train schedule is determined by Amtrak, not the company. “We’ve been talking to Amtrak to try to get them to let the cars through before 11 p.m.,” Murray said.
O’Leary also complained about water runoff that has washed out a stream in nearby woods, saying that silt is filling a basin there — “and it would be tremendously expensive to remediate that problem.”
Any water runoff is filtered, Murray said. He also said that the plant contains a sprinkler system that emits a perfume spray to mask the odor.
“I already have bird crap on top of my house, all over my driveway, and in my pool,” said Brian O’Kane of Seymour Road, one street away from the plant. “It’s going to be three times as bad.”
As for noise, O’Kane said, “I can hear you guys backing up with the loaders at 2 in the morning. I can hear beep, beep, beep all night long. … and those cars coupling, they can wake you up from the dead.”
Garth Mickelson of North Main Street complained: “I already have a biker bar across the town line. I already have the prison there. C & S Wholesale Grocers is there, and Babylon Recycling is there. We have traffic 24 hours a day, and these trucks just pound the hell out of the neighborhood, and now they’re talking about 28 more trucks? Six o’clock in the morning the truck traffic starts, and some of these Dumpster trucks are like jackhammers.”
When Babylon was given its original permit 10 years go, First Selectman Steven Wawruck said, it specifically prohibited municipal solid waste, sludge, biomedical waste, liquid waste, smoldering or hot liquids, and hazardous waste.
“What can be derived as a benefit when we already have facilities in place that we can send our garbage to?” he asked.
“The region will benefit from having an additional site for trash,” Murray said.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Alan Gannuscio said there have been “consistent complaints of after-hours operation … for five years now.”
Gannuscio also handed out copies of a resolution the PZC adopted unanimously on Monday opposing Babylon’s application for the following reasons:
• The 20 percent increase in Main Street truck traffic would threaten efforts to revitalize Main Street by attracting businesses and increasing foot traffic.
• No plans to reduce odors.
• No provisions for increased screening and buffering.
• No assurance of adequate water supplies to fight fires on site.
• Exclusion of town site review process.
After the hearing, Murray and Zessin said they got what they came for: “To hear input,” Zessin said. “We will go back and have a discussion and decide how to move forward. We’ll take notice of the concerns and address them.”
Murray said he’s optimistic that the concerns can be addressed.
The DEP will hold a public hearing after it completes its technical review and makes a recommendation on whether the permit should be approved.
A final result could come in six months, Zessin said.
The location of the Babylon Recycling Center adjacent to the Windsor Locks Canal and Connecticut River is detrimental to the wildlife that inhabit this natural community. The eagles, in particular, are very sensitive to industrial noise and other forms of man-made pollution and their ability to breed is negatively impacted. The eagles can be seen in Suffield in the summer and roost along the river and canal in winter. Another animal that is negatively affected by the noise is the Great Blue Heron, a very shy and absolutely beautiful bird, which was a very common visitor to the canal in past years. Heron and deer sometimes could actually be seen on the towpath. I'm not sure what the impact is on the osprey, Baltimore orioles, deer, turtles, river otter and dozens of other animal species that make the canal their home. Babylon never should have been permitted to build their facility along the canal and river. It seems to me that a good case could be made to revoke their current permit. We need to contact not only Connecticut DEP, but the federal agencies that have jurisdiction.
ReplyDeleteThe water in the canal and streams near the Babylon facility should be tested every few months by the town and private landowners to ensure that toxic substances are not entering these waterways due to stormwater run-off from the piles of construction debris on the Babylon site. The site has huge piles of debris near or adjacent to the canal. One of these debris mountains is clearly visible from the canal towpath. They can be easily seen online by going to Google Maps, typing in the address of the facility and then selecting either Satellite or Earth. Has anyone analyzed the content of these debris? I doubt it, but they need to be analyzed to determine if they contain asbestos or other hazardous materials.
ReplyDeleteCan Windsor Locks be saved? I am at work on a video documentary about Windsor Locks (currently in the script stage) and have been asking myself that question over and over again. I believe that nothing is impossible, but I am skeptical about the town's future. Decades of bad decision-making, cronyism, nepotism, indifference, neglect and machine politics have left an indelible mark on the town. You would need a core group of about 300-500 activist town residents as well as another 2,500 committed supporters to start to make positive changes in town.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I have trouble with is that when the first proposal of this transfer station, the town only approve it by only letting construction debris to be the only waste there. When you read the minutes the town specified that only construction waste would only be allowed, no household waste, bio waste, hazard waste, exc. How can DEP go against what the town first put in their approval for this business. Doesn't the town have any say for what they think is good for their community.I thought that this is America and the people have the right to protect their community. Big government stay the hell out of our business.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the Town of Windsor Locks has had very little clout with state agenies like the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation. Politics can sometimes be an ugly business. Of course, this all could change under a new Democratic administration.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, the Windsor Locks Economic and Industrial Development Commission has made some really bad decisions concerning development in Windsor Locks. They appeared to line up with whatever the Suffield EIDC wanted, to the detriment of the long-term interests of the Windsor Locks community. Perhaps the current Windsor Locks EIDC is experiencing a change of attitude. Perhaps they have learned from past mistakes.
By the way, does anyone know how the Suffield EIDC feels about Babylon's request to allow garbage at their facility? Are they opposed? And if they are not opposed, why not?
Another question: How much does the Town of Suffield get in tax revenues from the Babylon facility and how much does the Town of Windsor Locks get in tax revenues?
I urge everyone to take a look at the Suffield Economic Development Commission page on the Town of Suffield’s website. Click on Economic Development and then the Industrial Property and Transportation Advantages links. The Suffield EDC’s marketing of their industrial properties, almost all of which border Windsor Locks, places heavy emphasis on the closeness of these properties to Route 75 and I-91 and Route 159 and I-91 as well as the existence of a rail spur. They do not mention schools, cultural opportunities or other amenities in Suffield. It is apparent that they are not seeking hi-tech companies, financial services firms or other types of “knowledge” businesses, but rather facilities whose businesses depend on tractor-trailer trucks and rail cars, such as warehouses, trash haulers, etc. And that is exactly what they have gotten. Whether their tax incentive programs have made this a good deal for the Town of Suffield is questionable.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the impact of these facilities will not be felt by the Town of Suffield, but by the Town of Windsor Locks and it seems to me that their industrial development policy has been designed to do just that.
I went to the Town of Windsor Locks website and had a difficult time even navigating to the Economic Development page. Apparently, the EIDC is on Facebook. I will try the website again to see if the EIDC has a coherent program for economic development in Windsor Locks.
I strongly suggest you read the Windsor Locks Board of Finance Minutes for January 26, 2010 increasing the EIDC consultant’s hourly rate from $60 to $75 per hour, and allowing the consultant to hire an individual from Ferraro Hickson, the firm that had done the Main Street study, to assist him. The EIDC consultant also works full-time for the Town of Suffield’s Economic Development Commission. The link for the minutes is www.windsorlocksct.org/site/files/bof_1-26-10mins.doc. If the link doesn’t work do a Google search for Town of Windsor Locks Board of Finance January 2010 Minutes.
The decision by the Windsor Locks EIDC and other town officials to hire an individual who was already working full-time for another town is highly questionable, especially when there obviously would be a conflict of interest for that consultant. How can Town of Windsor Locks officials expect the consultant to truly work in the best interests of the community when he doesn‘t have sufficient time to perform his work and he has a conflict of interest? Something is very wrong with this picture.