Risk vs. Reward

Since the presentation by Chestnut Hill Bio-Energy Company to the Waterbury Environmental Control Commission back on the 26 of March, I have been carefully weighing the positives and the negatives of the proposed food-waste to electricity plant. In my last post I mentioned that I was supportive of the concept, but uncertain about this particular project. As usual, the devil is in the details, and the more I learned about this plant, and the company behind it, the less thrilled I was about what was before me.

During the public hearing, much was made about the concerns of odor from the plant. This concern was based on the reputation Chestnut Hill had when it took over a composting plant in New Jersey. Originally I did not share the concerns, as an anaerobic digester is drastically different from a composting facility.

However, these concerns prompted those of us on the Commission to look at the DEP records from New Jersey regarding the composting facility. As I looked over these number I was disappointed to see over 50 violations of "Discharging pollutants to the waters of the State without a valid NJPDES permit issued by the department." This lengthy list of problems, and the fact that the site is located next to the Naugatuck River, gave me pause.

Furthermore, though the folks from Chestnut Hill seemed willing to answer our questions at the public hearing, they have been less then forthcoming with information since we adjourned on 3/26.

I understand that they may not want to get bogged down in repeatedly answering the same questions for every commission and community group. However, as our commission is specifically focused on the environment, I would have figured that the folks from Chestnut Hill would want to answer our questions. Especially since, the more of our questions they answer, the less questions they would have to face from other groups.

Lastly, I have never been completely comfortable with the fact that this plant would be the biggest such plant in the world. Though there seem to be several such power plants that handle 100,000 tons of waste per year, no one could tell me of any power plant that crossed the 200,000 ton/year threshold.

Also, this plant would be the only one I could find that would be located in the middle of an urban area was disconcerting. Every other plant that has been built, or proposed, has been located on the outskirts of a city, or in a rural area. Without a precedent to point to, how can we be certain that this is a good fit for Waterbury?

With all of these in mind, I find that I am no longer able to give the Chestnut Hill project my full support as it is currently proposed. I still feel that the technology is solid, and could provide the City of Waterbury with jobs that it desperately needs. However, I feel that my concerns have not been addressed to my satisfaction.

I realize that it is not good government to simply reject a proposal without giving possible alternatives. Therefore, I offer the following options to the folks at Chestnut Hill if they truly wish to help the City of Waterbury.

1) Reduce the size of the plant. If this proposal was for a plant that would consume 50,000 tons of food waste per year I would have fewer concerns. Instead of 54 trucks on our streets, six days a week, we would only be looking at 14 or 15 trucks a day. Furthermore, there would be less concerns regarding the breakdown of trucks, or breakdowns in the plant itself.

2) Move the plant to a location on the outskirts of Waterbury. The people from Chestnut Hill mentioned that the WDC showed them other sites within the city of Waterbury. If the power plant was located on a smaller site, away from the center of our population, many of the odor concerns would be alleviated. Also, there are several empty industrial sites near the on and off ramps of either 8 or 84.

3) Work with the sewage treatment plant. In Milwaukee, WI there is a plan to build the same anaerobic digesters that are proposed for the Chestnut Hill site near the sewer treatment site. In Milwaukee the digesters would take the waste directly from the sewage treatment plant and produce the same products of methane and carbon dioxide. This would have the dual benefit of generating electricity for the city and the state, while helping clean up the sewer treatment plant.

These are my thoughts on the plant, and do not reflect any party, or even the official position of the Environmental Control Commission. The ECC will be voting on 5/28 regarding the plant, and I encourage you to attend. As always, I welcome your comments.