FRANKLIN - Officials from the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority have decided to suspend indefinitely its plans for a proposed ash landfill in Franklin.
August 28, 2009
CRRA SUSPENDS PLAN FOR ASH LANDFILL
By David Hinchey, Staff Writer
FRANKLIN - Officials from the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority have decided to suspend indefinitely its plans for a proposed ash landfill in Franklin.
News of the suspension has been met with cheers from opponents, but CRRA officials said this morning it is only a suspension of the proposal while they search for other alternatives.
While opponents said the landfill would pollute local waterways and pristine woodlands - not to mention increase truck traffic in the region - the CRRA said it was the best possible location to dispose of its ash.
The CRRA board of directors met Thursday and said, based on directives from state officials, it would suspend its efforts “indefinitely” and focus on other options.
“Based on its understanding of the directives received from state leaders, CRRA will suspend its efforts to develop an ash landfill in the state of Connecticut indefinitely and … immediately focus on consideration of environmentally sound options for long-term disposal of ash residue from its resource recovery facilities, including disposal at other in-state and out-of-state landfills and other options that the CRRA finds beneficial,” reads the resolution, which passed unanimously Thursday.
While the resolution was passed, CRRA officials aren't crossing the proposed Franklin site off the list just yet.
“All we're doing is suspending it. We're not completely closing the door on it,” said CRRA spokesman Paul Nonnenmacher this morning.
Nonnenmacher said the next step for CRRA is:
Nonnenmacher said all of those alternatives would result in higher trash costs for municipalities, however.
The proposal was for CRRA to locate an ash landfill in Franklin that would likely be between 90 and 95 acres entirely in Franklin. It would also need to purchase between 400 to 500 acres of land in Franklin and South Windham.
The proposed location would have been off Route 32, adjacent to the former Franklin Mushroom Farm and near the Shetucket River.
The CRRA's plan called for 60 dump trucks each day traveling Route 2 and using Route 32 to access the site, bringing a total of 300,000 tons annually.
Franklin would have received as least $1.5 million in fees, as state law requires the CRRA to pay at least $5 per ton for the site.
CRRA officials said, after a three-year study of the entire state, they felt Franklin was the best site and best met the DEP's strict regulations.
CRRA conducted a 16-month, $1.5 million on-site study that confirmed the location was best suited for the proposed ash landfill.
Nonnenmacher said, in the meantime, CRRA will continue to use a Wheelabrator Technologies-operated ash landfill in Putnam, as the CRRA has a three-year deal with Wheelabrator.
He said the CRRA is seeking long-term proposals to deposit ash because the Putnam facility at its current rate would reach capacity in June 2018.
However, Nonnenmacher said if the CRRA could get a 20-year contract at a “decent rate” to deposit ash, then it would “increase the likelihood” of the CRRA not pursing the Franklin site.
CRRA said previously it would enter an agreement if it cost less than constructing and operating its own ash landfill.
According to a CRRA news release, since CRRA stopped using the Hartford landfill in December 2008, it has sent the ash to Putnam, which drove up the cost of trash disposal by 14 percent.
Nonnenmacher said the tipping fees at a proposed CRRA ash landfill in Franklin would be $9 per ton less in Franklin than in Putnam.
Opponents of the plan - including high-level state officials - rejoiced upon hearing news of the suspension.
“This is tremendous news,” said Gov. M. Jodi Rell in a statement this morning. “I am extremely gratified that the CRRA listened to our concerns and the concerns of the people in Franklin.”
“I am hopeful that the trash authority will find an alternate site that best suits its needs,” Rell added.
State Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal, was happy to hear the news.
“It's just wonderful,” Prague said, adding the proposed landfill “would have changed the whole ambiance of Franklin.”
“It's just so exciting,” Prague said.
“It's just pristine, beautiful property,” she said of the land that was considered for the proposed landfill.
Prague said the land slated for the proposed landfill should stay as is, but the people who should decide what happens to the area are the residents of Franklin.
“We don't need another landfill,” Prague said, adding the CRRA should go to the Putnam facility. “It's where they need to go. Period.”
Susan Allen, a Franklin resident and a member of two citizen groups opposing the project, used “thrilled,” “excited” and “over the moon” to describe how she felt after hearing the news.
Allen said she found out about CRRA's plans after she received a call from Prague. She said she proceeded to thank Prague “profusely.”
“I feel like that piece of property dodged a bullet,” Allen said. “I'd love to see it protected for future generations.”
Allen also thanked the CRRA for listening to concerns from the public and state officials.
Franklin First Selectman Richard Matters was less euphoric on the news. “We may have won the battle, but not the war,” said Matters. “It doesn't solve the problem.”
Matters said the state needs to rethink its solid waste disposal policies and “we need to push recycling.”
He said the good part about CRRA suspending the proposal is the Town of Franklin doesn't have to spend funds on engineers, lawyers and experts.
Across the Franklin border, Windham officials were happy with CRRA's decision as well.
“I was just ecstatic,” Windham First Selectman Jean de Smet said. “What a relief.”
De Smet said from the start, she believed the state needs to shift its focus on how it deals with its solid waste. “We need to look at the big picture,” she said, which includes recycling.
De Smet said the land in South Windham, which would have been encompassed in the landfill proposal, should be preserved.
She said she believed all towns in the area shared the vision of greenway protection along the region's rivers, including the Shetucket River.
State Rep. Susan Johnson, D-Windham - who co-sponsored a bill with Prague and state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, to block the CRRA from acquiring the land and building in Franklin - was also happy.
“I was very, very, very pleased,” Johnson said, adding, from the start of the proposal, she didn't understand why eastern Connecticut should be a “dumping ground” for the entire state.
“We are the last green valley,” she said, adding the area is home to plants and wildlife. “We need to preserve our open spaces.”
Johnson said the state's focus should be on cleaning up brownfields and not creating them, adding officials should look into recycling the ash into building materials, such as concrete.
The ash landfill proposal has gone through numerous stages since it was unveiled to the public on March 26, 2008.
Those stages including a referendum on the issue, where Franklin residents, by a 4-1 margin, approved the non-binding question asking if the landfill should be opposed. The vote total was 498 voters saying “yes” - or 39 percent.
There were 97 “no” votes, or votes in support of the landfill.
State legislators also attempted to block the proposal via legislation, but that bill was vetoed by Rell.
While Rell vetoed the bill to block CRRA from acquiring the land, she also said she does not believe Franklin is a suitable site.
Recently, CRRA sent out form letters to all of the other Connecticut towns, asking if they would be interested in hosting a landfill. As expected, most - if not all - have said “no.”
Opponents of the landfill also held a rally in Hartford earlier this week, which was attended by opponents and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who also voiced concerns about the proposal.