Rutland Herald

OMYA Act 250 review up soon

December 15, 2002
By BRUCE EDWARDS Herald Staff

Plans by OMYA Inc. to stockpile tailings from its calcium carbonate operations are scheduled for a hearing before the District 1 Environmental Commission this week.

The review of OMYA’s Act 250 permit application will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at 9 a.m.

The day begins with a site tour at the company’s property in Pittsford followed by a hearing at the Asa Bloomer state office building on Merchants Row.

OMYA is seeking a state permit to stockpile the tailings at its old Dolomite quarry. The quarry is nearly filled and the company wants to dump the waste from its calcium carbonate operation on top of the quarry, which company officials say would extend the life of the dump by 10 years.

According to the proposal, the project site would encompass an area 2,000 feet long, 700 feet wide, and 20 to 80 feet high. The footprint would expand from the current 8 acres to 30 to 40 acres.

OMYA describes its tailings as “natural mineral impurities separated from calcium carbonate ore.”

The Agency of Natural Resources reviewed the project and concluded that the tailings “do not pose a threat to public health and safety, the environment, or will cause a nuisance.”

At a hearing held by OMYA in October to explain its plans, some neighbors expressed concerns about water runoff from the site and the impact on drinking water.

OMYA tried to reassure residents explaining that any runoff would be recaptured.

While ANR has found no potential health problem, an environmental group is skeptical that the project doesn’t pose a potential hazard to water supplies.

“I would like to see a lot more proof that the chemicals are bound and will not migrate,” said Annette Smith, executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment.

But Thomas Sawyer, OMYA’s environmental health and safety manager, said extensive testing hasn’t detected any chemicals that exceed federal or state standards, or that would “pose a threat to human health.”

Sawyer asks anyone who plans to attend the site tour to call OMYA so the company has enough hard hats and company escorts on hand. Sawyer can be reached at 770-7600.