Rutland Herald (VT)
August 7, 2012

Omya Project falls under PSB jurisdiction

   STAFF REPORT
The state Public Service Board has exercised jurisdiction over Omya's proposed liquefied natural gas storage facility at its calcium carbonate plant in Pittsford. The PSB issued its ruling last week affirming that it has jurisdiction over the project under Section 248, which gives the board authority over any "natural gas facility."

The board did not issue a decision on the project itself.

The ruling was in response to a request by Omya in February seeking a determination as to whether the board had jurisdiction.

Omya is proposing to build a 120,000-gallon liquefied natural gas storage facility comprising eight, 15,000 gallon tanks on 5,600 square feet.

In case of a spill, the storage area will be contained within a concrete impoundment area. A separate impoundment area will be built in the truck delivery area. The storage tanks will be insulated to maintain a temperature of minus 260 degrees.

To cut its energy costs, Omya wants to replace its existing use of fuel oil with less expensive liquefied natural gas. The company runs three boilers to heat the plant and six dryers that produce its powdered calcium carbonate product.

Omya produces both a dry and slurry product for use in a variety of industries.

The LNG will also be used to fuel the trucks that deliver marble ore from its Middlebury quarry to the plant in the Florence section of Pittsford.

Omya expects one to two deliveries a day from an LNG storage facility in Everett, Mass.

The PSB held a public hearing on the project in early June; no members of the public attended.