Cement Plant Opponents Gain Momentum
by Alix Gerosa
Scenic Hudson, Inc. and other opponents of the massive cement plant proposed for the Town of Greenport in Columbia County will have their day in court thanks to a recent decision by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
In December DEC administrative law judges Helene G. Goldberger and Maria E. Villa granted party status to the Hudson Valley Preservation Coalition in permit proceedings for the plant. Formerly the Community Preservation Coalition, the Hudson Valley Preservation Coalition was founded by Scenic Hudson and 12 local, regional and national organizations.
Legal Challenges Mounted
In their initial rulings the judges acknowledged that this is a massive project with an array of negative impacts that are not adequately addressed in St. Lawrence Cement Co.'s draft environmental impact statement. In granting party status to the coalition and other key stakeholders, they also have ensured a full, public vetting of the issues related to the plant, including noise, visual impacts, economic impacts, riverine habitat and air quality.
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Pictured here is the St. Lawrence Cement Co. plant in Greene County. The proposed Columbia County facility would be one of the largest coal-fired cement plants in the country, sprawling 1,800 acres and culminating in a 400-foot smokestack. |
As the permit proceedings continued, Scenic Hudson, Friends of Hudson and 12 Town of Greenport residents mounted a legal challenge to overturn a deal signed in September between the town and St. Lawrence Cement. In the agreement the town agreed to cease opposition to the plant in return for financial compensation from the company. Filed in January, our lawsuit against the town and company alleges that the agreement violates the state's Environmental Quality Review Act, which makes it illegal for either party to enter into an agreement before the DEC has accepted a final environmental impact statement for the project.
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DID YOU KNOW? "Inhaling even relatively low airborne concentrations of dust can cause lung disease such as asthma or emphysema and is associated with premature death."
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Industrial Monstrosity
As proposed the plant would mar the bucolic landscape of the Hudson Valley and do irreparable harm to the region's revitalizing economy. Unprecedented in size and scope, the facility would be one of the largest coal-fired cement plants in the United States. The company's plans call for a sprawling new 1,800-acre industrial compound, including a 1,200-acre mine, 20 skyscraper-sized buildings, a smokestack rising 400 feet, two miles of conveyor belts and a dock facility for 750-foot barges.
Health and Other Hazards
The plant will emit 20 million pounds of air pollution per year within one mile of an elementary school, hospital, nursing home, cancer treatment center, reservoir, cemetery and densely populated residential neighborhood.
The impacts of this brightly lit, 24-hour complex would be far-reaching. Locally it would set a precedent for industrial sprawl. The neighboring City of Hudson, and in particular its Warren Street Historic District, would be directly affected by the noise and odors created by diesel truck traffic that would overwhelm area streets.
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| FACT: The medical staff of Columbia Memorial Hospital voted 35-to-1 to oppose the cement plant because it poses "a serious risk to our community's health." |
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Regionally it would tear at the Hudson Valley's historic fabric and spread hazardous air pollutants as far as Massachusetts and Connecticut. Visually it would negatively impact both the Catskill-Olana and Columbia-Greene scenic areas of statewide significance. The rain of cement dust, toxic airborne particles, mercury, lead, arsenic and fly ash would cover fields, woods, historic sites and homes for miles. The plant is a clear threat to our health, quality of life, water, air, farms, tourism and second-home market, a fast-growing and lucrative new segment of the burgeoning regional economy.
In line with our commitment to protect and enhance the scenic, natural, historic, agricultural and recreational treasures of the Hudson River and its valley, Scenic Hudson is preparing for an intense battle to challenge the permitting of this ill-conceived industrial plant. |
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| Signs can be seen all over Columbia County reflecting opposition to the proposed cement plant. |
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