State OKs Omya waste treatment plant
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By Bruce Edwards Herald Staff - Published: December 4, 2007
PITTSFORD — Omya Inc. received an Act 250 permit to build a $10 million treatment facility to deal with its marble waste. Still unresolved, however, is the final disposition of the calcium carbonate company's chemically tainted waste, or tailings byproduct, at its Florence plant.
The District One Environmental Commission on Friday issued an Act 250 permit for the dewatering facility, which includes two 40-foot-high, 380,000-gallon storage tanks, a 75-foot in diameter circular "thickener" that separates the solids from the water, a 4,500-square-foot dewatering processing building and a 1,500-square-foot storage area for the tailings.
Omya said the facility would remove 90 percent of the process water from the marble waste, which would then be pumped back into the plant for reuse. The remaining "thickened" tailings would be sold or disposed of at a tailings management area on the company's property.
The dewatering facility is seen by the company and the state as a way to address public concerns about possible health and environmental effects associated with its tailings, which have been dumped in settling ponds for more than 20 years.
Neighbors have complained about the possible effects of the waste on drinking water supplies. Omya officials, though, have steadfastly maintained that the tailings, which contain an assortment of chemicals, pose no threat to human health or the environment.
The company disposes between 100,000 to 150,000 tons of marble waste each year.
In its decision, the District One Environmental Commission noted that the Agency of Natural Resources supports the dewatering facility as an improvement over the existing settling pond system.
"The construction of a new dewatering facility would enable better water conservation in the reclamation of the process water, and may in the future, provide better options for waste management and/or options for sale of the product, thereby removing the tailings from the waste stream," the commission wrote, referring to ANR's position.
Tied to Omya's effort to build the dewatering facility is a pending decision by ANR on the company's application to have its existing tailings site receive solid waste certification.
During the Act 250 hearing in September, the three-member commission deferred judgment on the potential impact of the marble waste on neighboring water supplies until ANR issues a decision on Omya's solid waste certification application.
In its decision, the commission wrote that it "does not rule on the issue of the effect, if any, of the deposition of waste materials on adjoining neighboring wells. That review will be conducted at such time as the Agency of Natural Resources completes its review of the facility for solid waste certification."
Omya spokesman James Hamilton said Monday that approval of the dewatering facility is closely tied to the company effort to obtain solid waste certification.
"We've applied for (solid waste) certification with the state for our tailings management facility and we're interested in working with the state and our stakeholders on a suitable outcome," Hamilton said.
Annette Smith, who represents Residents Concerned About Omya, said there remains unresolved issues.
"There is a general consensus that this facility is important and needs to move ahead," Smith said Monday. "On the other hand, we still don't have a resolution to what happens to the waste."
Smith added the plant's neighbors continue to have concerns.
She said an ongoing environmental review of Omya's site discovered a previously undiscovered chemical in Omya's process water called aminoethyl-ethanolamine, or AEEA. The chemical is found in the flotation reagent that's used to separate the tailing from the calcium carbonate product.
"It is in groundwater on site and it's gotten off site into a spring," said Smith, who also heads Vermonters for a Clean Environment.
In a Nov. 5 letter, the Department of Environmental Conservation informed the state Health Department of the discovery of AEEA. The DEC noted that two unpublished reports concluded that the chemical causes birth defects in laboratory animals and likely would cause similar defects in humans.
In its response to the DEC letter, Omya said it has since revised its handling of the process water to reduce the amount of water containing AEEA. The company also said it was working with its supplier to reduce the amount of the chemical in its flotation reagent. The company noted that AEEA is widely used in shampoos, fabric softeners and fuel oil additives.
"We're not aware of any threat to human health or the environment from this compound," Hamilton said.
He said the company will continue its policy of working with the state and neighbors to address any concerns.
Neighbors of the plant have also complained about noise levels and said that the dewatering facility would only add to the problem. However, in its decision, the commission concluded that noise from the dewatering facility "would not constitute an adverse impact …" The commission said it would retain jurisdiction in the matter and will consider revisiting the issue again at a later date should Omya receive solid waste certification for its waste disposal.
Contact Bruce Edwards at bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com.
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