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Omya at center of treated waste regulations debate

October 3, 2005

By Bruce Edwards Herald Staff

Neighbors of a mining waste site in Florence are expressing concern about new regulations designed to tighten the disposal of the chemically treated waste.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking public comment on its revised Solid Waste Management Rules, which includes a new section that specifically addresses mining waste.

But at the public hearing late last month in Rutland, the group Residents Concerned About Omya voiced its reservations saying the proposed new rules don't go far enough to prevent the possible contamination of water supplies.

Omya Inc. has been disposing of chemically treated marble waste, or tailings, from its Florence calcium carbonate plant for 25 years. The waste, which includes a variety of chemicals, is dumped in old quarries near the plant. Neighbors have complained the waste poses a health risk, an allegation the company has repeatedly denied.

Jarrett Duncan, a lawyer with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School, which recently filed a lawsuit against the company on behalf of neighbors, noted that there are — unlike a landfill — no minimum standards contained in the regulations for the siting of a mineral waste dump. That means, Duncan said, that a company could locate a dump near ground or surface water supplies.

Andrea Cohen, DEC's solid waste program manager who chaired the hearing, said the department opted not to include "specific minimum siting criteria like we do for landfills" because the department wanted to remain flexible and adopted a performance-based standard.

"We're still learning about this industry," Cohen said. "We're learning what makes sense and what doesn't and it's really going to have to be case by case."

But Linda Poro, who lives a mile from the dump site, wasn't satisfied with Cohen's explanation.

"I don't believe that it should be just per case, per case because it's been taken for granted and it's been taken for granted for years, and I think it needs to be in writing and it needs to be clarified," Poro said.

Under the rules, companies would be required to seek and receive approval for a mining waste facility certification.

However, residents expressed concern that companies could also apply for and receive categorical certification from the Agency of Natural Resources secretary. Categorical certification would exempt certain chemicals if the company could prove the chemical posed no harm to human health or the environment.

"… people who just add that chemical could be considered for a categorical certification," Cohen said. "It doesn't mean initially they'll get it because there are other things we have to look at."

But residents expressed concern that the categorical certification was too broad and gave too much discretion to the head of ANR, a politically appointed position.

Residents said that discretion would extend to whether a mineral waste dump would be required to be lined.

Cohen responded saying that a liner would be required unless the company could prove there was no danger the waste would leach into nearby ground or surface water.

James Reddy, executive vice president of Omya's North American operations, said the company is still reviewing the regulations. However, Reddy said that, in general, the proposed regulations are "a positive step forward."

The DEC is accepting comments on the rules until Tuesday.