Rutland Herald

OMYA faces pollution probe

October 29, 2000
By JOHN DILLON
Staff Writer

WATERBURY - State environmental officials are pursuing an enforcement case against OMYA Inc. for alleged violations of water quality statutes.

OMYA, which mines marble at several sites around the state, allowed untreated waste water from one of its operations to flow into wetlands and into Smith Pond in Florence last December and again twice this spring, according to records at the Agency of Natural Resources.

The water contained powdered calcium carbonate - derived from crushed marble -and should not have been released into streams and wetlands under the terms of the company's discharge permit, the records show.

Gary Kessler, environmental enforcement attorney for the Agency of Natural Resources, said the case is still under investigation. "We typically don't make any comment on open cases," he said. "There really is not much I can say."

The state in April sent the Proctor-based company a "notice of alleged violation" of environmental laws after the company in March allowed waste water to bypass its treatment facilities and reach Smith Pond. The notice said OMYA violated its discharge permit and failed to tell the state of the problem within 24 hours, as required.

"The ... alleged violations are an unacceptable level of non-compliance," the state said.

OMYA letters on file with state show the company discharged the "white water" containing calcium carbonate in December, March and April. During the Dec. 8 incident, the wastewater flowed into a wetland and ultimately into Smith Pond for about 10 hours. A second release occurred from March 4 to March 21 when a berm failed in a settling pond. On April 24, wastewater again flowed into storm drains and from there to an unnamed tributary of Smith Pond, the records show.

Neal Jordan, OMYA's manager of environmental and regulatory affairs, said the company and the state are now negotiating a settlement, known as an "assurance of discontinuance," that will be filed with Vermont environmental court. He said the settlement would likely include a fine, although he would not say how much the company would have to pay.

Jordan said the calcium carbonate OMYA allowed to enter the wetlands and pond is not toxic and did not damage aquatic life. "There's no lasting, permanent environmental impact," he said. "I'm not sure there's any environmental impact outside of an aesthetic issue."

But Annette Smith, executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, an organization fighting a proposed OMYA quarry in Danby, said the company's record does not inspire confidence.

"They're having difficulty managing their water to such a great extent," she said. "That's of concern to all of us with concerns about water and fish. We want to see the water cleaned up, not more pollution."

Smith said she lives about a mile from the proposed quarry in Danby. Baker Brook, a tributary of Otter Creek, divides her land and could be damaged by spills such as those at OMYA's Florence quarry, she said.

"There's no reason to believe it couldn't happen here," she said.

The pending enforcement action is not the first time OMYA has paid fines for violating environmental laws, state records show. The company in 1996 filled a wetland and was required to pay $3,500 in penalties. In 1998, OMYA paid $2,300 after it admitted violations of air pollution control regulations.