Under local and state scrutiny, a public letter from Norlite on its “community” website has attracted the attention of Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler.
Public housing complex Saratoga Sites sits next to the Norlite plant, which for years has been targeted by environmental activists concerned over toxic emissions from its smokestack.
Last month, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation gave Norlite 60 days to submit a plan to control fugitive dust leaving its property, install and operate new off-site air monitoring and increase recording, reporting and training requirements regarding fugitive dust. Norlite disputes the criticism and says it has been in compliance with regulations.
It all comes as the city pursues a purchase of the Saratoga Sites property.
Norlite’s web post claims “the residents are not being moved because of the presence nearby of our Norlite facility.”
Keeler’s office says he responded with his own letter March 3rd because he “felt compelled to reply for the record.”
“That's simply not true and I felt compelled to set the record straight," Keeler said. "I personally initiated the conversation with the Cohoes Housing Authority two years ago specifically because of the proximity of Norlite, you know, their next door neighbor, and because of fifty plus years of uncontrolled dust complaints and because of chronic violations related to Norlite’s incineration of hazardous waste. And Norlite had suggested that Housing Authority sell Saratoga Sites to the company so that they could use it for research pertaining to hazardous waste incineration. And that is not I'm looking for for Cohoes. We don't want to be guinea pigs. ”
Former EPA Regional Administrator and WAMC commentator Judith Enck sides with the first-term Democrat.
“So I believe Mayor Keeler did the right thing by sending this letter," said Enck. "Let's set the record straight. And more importantly, let's get the Hochul administration focused on this 30-year-old problem. And get this incinerator to stop burning hazardous waste in the middle of a city. In any other more affluent community this would have stopped years ago. I welcome the mayor's letter and we look forward to other public officials speaking out in a similar way. ”
Norlite responded to a request for comment by email, saying it “is committed to taking the necessary steps to address the concerns about dust raised by state regulators and members of the Cohoes community. We are an environmental company committed to protecting the environment, and our goal is to achieve best-in-class environmental performance. We already have submitted comprehensive plans to the state and will continue to work closely with the state and the community.”
Keeler isn't having it.
“For the past year Norlite has spent more time on presenting itself an environmentally friendly company than they have a covering their dust producing shale pile and their track record just doesn't match the rhetoric," Keeler said. "So I want to help Norlite become better neighbors. So I've asked them to cover the piles. I've asked them to you know convert to a clean fuel source. Only then can ‘Norlite’ and ‘good neighbor’ appropriately be used in the same sentence. ”
