Tire-burning plan finds little favor
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David Tier of Middlebury was one of hundreds of protesters who showed up to protest International Paper’s proposal to burn tires across Lake Champlain in Ticonderoga, N.Y. Sas Carey (right) represents “Grandmas for Safe Milk.” VYTO STARINSKAS / RUTLAND HERALD |
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By ED BARNA Herald Correspondent - Published: August 19, 2005
MIDDLEBURY — A plan to burn shredded tires at the International Paper plant in Ticonderoga, N.Y., found little support among the 200 or more people gathered here Thursday night.
Most of those people also took part in a protest rally before the meeting at the VFW hall in Middlebury.
As TV crews recorded, the protesters carried signs saying things like "IP Don't Tread on Me," "Hillary: Smoke But Don't Inhale," and "Good Neighbors Don't Pollute." They also sang "Breath by Breath," written to the tune of "One by One" by Salisbury resident Brennan Michaels.
Michaels said that even in Salisbury, people can smell the paper mill across Lake Champlain when the wind is blowing right.
Others at the rally said the same thing, and many said they were deeply concerned about the health of their children if tires become 10 percent of the plant's fuel mix.
Seven-year-old Autumn Sombric of Bridport asked at the meeting, "Why aren't we allowed to burn our trash in our barrels when they're allowed to burn tires?"
So far, IP has only applied to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for a permit to do a test burn. Jeffrey Wennberg, commissioner of Vermont's DEC, said another meeting will be held in the fall, when people can make comments that will be summarized and sent to New York as part of Vermont's input on the proposal.
Representatives of all three members of Vermont's congressional delegation came to the meeting, which was organized by Vermont's DEC. Several local legislators were on hand, as was Assistant Attorney General Erick Titrud.
Two years ago, Gov. James Douglas told the Attorney General's Office to explore all legal options for Vermont regarding the tire burning, Titrud said.
As an "affected state," Vermont has the right to send comments to the New York DEC within 60 days of the application, which was early July.
Asked what could be done once a permit is issued, Titrud said, "There are a couple of options." Pressed for details, he said it wouldn't be a good idea to reveal strategies ahead of time.
"You can be assured we're following this very closely," he said of the Attorney General's Office. "We've done our legal research and we're prepared to oppose this."
Addison County residents have formed two groups to challenge the test burn: People for Less Pollution and Moms for Safe Milk. Both have taken the position — repeated at the meeting — that they do not completely oppose the test burn, but want IP to install an anti-pollution device called an electrostatic precipitator.
Pediatrician Jack Mayer told the rally he had been a researcher at Columbia University's School of Public Health from 1987-91, studying chemicals and cancer in children. Research has shown that the smallest particles of pollution are carried through the air, settle in lungs, and affect children even more than adults, he said.
IP's pollution-control equipment does not remove these, and their proposed test does not measure them directly, Mayer said.
IP spokesmen at the meeting agreed there would be no direct measurement. But they said that by getting a figure for all particles and using computer models based on past tests of tire burning, they could see if the emissions met New York and federal standards.
The IP representatives said it was not a simple thing to add a multi-million-dollar piece of equipment to a plant that already has the highest production costs of any that IP owns. Also, it is a very small plant compared with other IP paper mills, they said, and it has very high energy costs compared with their plants in the South.
"We are working very hard to stay here and stay viable," said spokesman Thomas Jorling. "We are struggling in a difficult economy."
The company is facing new international competition, to the point where it is now downsizing by up to one-half and is moving its last New England administrative headquarters to Memphis, Tenn.
There are about 40 paper mills around the country that use tire-derived fuel, Jorling said. "I'm sure we can do that in a very responsible way, from an environmental standpoint."
The Vermont Public Interest Research Group came to the meeting with a display that said its research showed the Ticonderoga plant was one of the most polluting of its kind in the nation, and rated an "F" in several categories.
But Jorling said that making tires 10 percent of IP's fuel use would add very few particles to Vermont's air compared with automobiles and other forms of combustion. And if New York's environmental regulations are not strict enough, he said, "that is not IP's problem, it's a problem for your legislators."
Residents who spoke at the meeting disagreed, and insisted that true environmental safety means using the best possible pollution-control equipment. IP's bottom line isn't their problem, they said, but the health of their children is.
Hundreds of protesters and other interested people showed up for Thursday’s meeting on International Paper’s tire-burning plan.
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