So what would that mean for Madison County?
Several Madison County residents voiced concerns at a public forum Dec. 22 in Elberton held by Citizens for Public Awareness, a group that is opposing the project.
James McCay of Madison County wondered about trash trucks carrying waste through Madison County. The estimated traffic flow at the facility is 128 trucks per day.
“Will Elbert County be liable for any truck spills in surrounding counties such as mine?” asked McCay, who pointed out that heavy trash traffic will run from I-85 to Hwy. 98 to Hwy. 72 if the proposal is approved.
Madison County High School science teacher and Elberton resident Andy Felt spoke of the potential negative health effects that toxins released from the facility could have on surrounding residents. He told Madison County residents that they are fortunate in the fact that wind typically blows east, meaning the incinerator toxins might be pushed away from the county. But he said the potential for severe pollution of the environment is very real.
“In one year, a similar waste incinerator in Charleston, S.C., (scheduled to close down in 2010) released over 700,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, over 4,000 pounds of lead and over 1,000 pounds of mercury into the air,” said Felt. “… Elements like mercury cannot be broken down into less toxic substances, but burning reduces the size of the particles so that they can be released into the air. These tinier particles are actually more dangerous, because they can be absorbed by the lungs and released into the bloodstream.”
Elbert County commissioners are considering a proposal by GreenFirst LLC for a $440-450 million trash incinerator, which would also create steam for electricity. They say they haven’t finalized a site for the project, but a proposed locale is on 220 to 250 acres owned by Holland Ware. The tract is accessed by an unpaved road off Hwy. 72, three miles from the Madison County line. According to a handout from the Citizens’ group, the site is “over a half mile from the Broad River.”
GreenFirst Chief Executive Officer Ernest Kaufman attended Tuesday’s meeting, fielding numerous questions from the audience.
Kaufman explained that his company is the permitting agency for the project and will not actually operate the business. Another company, possibly Covanta Energy, will run the facility.
He said opponents of plans such as his have the “chief objective of creating fear and uncertainty through rumor an innuendo.”
“What we submit, we’ll have to do line by line,” he said.
Kaufman said his company is environmentally conscious and pointed to a large stream buffer at the landfill recently opened in Meriwether, Georgia.
“It’s actually wrapped around the landfill,” said Kaufman, noting that the buffer project cost $10 million.
Terry Brown of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission said he was disturbed by the negative tone of Tuesday’s meeting. He said there was a lot of information presented that is “slanted and not factual.”
“A lot of this stuff is slanted in a direction to the negative, which I think is premature,” said Brown. “… I’m concerned about the tone of this meeting.”
Felt said he approached the proposal with an open mind. He said he was interested in the idea of converting trash to electricity.
“But this is not an electricity business,” said Felt. “It’s about trash. There’s very little positive about this business.”
Felt said there’s no “rumor or innuendo” in the fact that mercury and other toxins are harmful to the body. He added that the operators of the incinerator will only be tested by the Environmental Protection Division twice a year, leaving a real opportunity for manipulation of numbers.
A number of others at the meeting said they have a hard time believing Kaufman’s assurances that the facility will be safe, considering that GreenFirst won’t actually be responsible for running the business. They’ll obtain the permits for the project, then sell the incinerator to another company.
“How are you going to stick to the permits if you’re not going to operate the facility?” Madison County resident Kat Gilmore asked Kaufman.
Felt likened GreenFirst to those who profited from “flipping houses.”
“They’re flipping incinerators,” he said.
Madison County resident Doug Epps said Elbert County citizens should consider who their elected officials answer to — the citizens or GreenFirst.
Meanwhile, Madison County resident Ed Gilmore suggested that the citizens’ group push for an independent analysis of the proposal from a third party, pointing out that citizens have a hard time accepting safety assurances from a business driven by economic interests, while others may not accept the information presented by an opponents’ group.
“Why not get an independent firm to get honest, unbiased information?” asked Gilmore.
The proposed incinerator will bring in an estimated 50 jobs.
Rev. Dallas Martin said the economic benefit is not worth the environmental price.
“A plant is going to come in here with all this toxic waste and employ just 50 people?” asked Martin, drawing applause.
One opponent referred to the incinerator as “the dinosaur” of waste disposal — a “costly and inefficient” practice.
“If this is so good, why is no one else doing it?” one opponent asked.
A number of citizens voiced concerns about how fast the proposal is being pushed by Elbert County commissioners and how little public input has been sought.
The Elbert BOC is now waiting for a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) study to be completed by the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. The completion date is expected in mid January.
Kevin Lewis of Citizens for Public Awareness said he feels Elbert County leaders haven’t been forthright in presenting the proposal. He said information from those pushing the project is hazy and hard to trust, noting, for instance, that Kaufman assured the audience Tuesday that trash will not be taken to the facility by rail line. However, Lewis read a copy of minutes from a recent meeting between the EPD and GreenFirst. In that meeting, a GreenFirst representative told the EPD that trash would not “initially” be transported by rail line.
No commissioners offered opinions on the matter .
“We (the citizens’ group) have acted hastily because this is being slammed down our throats,” said Lewis.
Greenfirst/Greenbow/Kaufmann is only concerned with how it stands to profit and how Covanta Energy stands to profit, regardless of any promises being made to push the deal through. The citizens of Elbert and the surrounding counties will suffer the consequences and it will be too late. One only has to look at the experiences of municipalities all around the US to see that incinerators are a burden, economically and environmentally. This is not a smart or sustainable way for growth. Please contact your commissioners and tell them NO to the Elbert County incinerator.
As for the site,I say,build it,other wise we have to bury the trash and worry about drinking it later down the road.Also,if this is a burden,why would a company want to spend 400 to 450 million dollars to build this?
We have to create electricity from something right? Why not trash instead of OIL? Do you think that burning oil for power is any cleaner?I think not!
So, not only do you spew cancer-causing chemicals into the air you breathe with burning, they BURY the ashes after the burn, so after you create the carcinogens and put them into the air, you then put them into the ground where they pollute the water as well.
You could say with burning the waste you get all the negatives that come with a lanfill, PLUS you create extra carcinogens in the burn that wouldn't exist otherwise, AND you put those carcinogens into the air AND into the water.
2 wrongs don't make a right.