EXPRESS YOUR OPINION:
Click the TAKE ACTION button at right to send a letter to the Board of County Commissioners.
Click our Petition button to sign the petition.
MDE has extended the comment period for the three incinerator permits. They cited “significant public interest in this project” as an important reason for the extension.
Therefore, you may still submit written comments to the Maryland Dept. of Environment until May 20, 2013. Click TAKE ACTION at the right to find the MDE contact info.
NIA Presentation to Brunswick City Mayor and Council
NIA member Bruce Holstein, retired Comptroller of the Government Printing Office, discusses the financial issues and problems with the proposed Frederick incinerator.
Wheelabrator agrees to pay $7.5 million to resolve multiple
environmental violations
From Staff reports
May 02, 2011
Saugus —The following joint press release comes from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of the Attorney General
The operator of three Massachusetts municipal waste incinerators has agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve allegations that it emitted ash through holes in the roofs of two of its buildings, failed to properly treat and dispose of its ash, repeatedly dumped wastewater into a surrounding wetland, and failed to report a sudden release of hazardous material to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
Wheelabrator Saugus and Wheelabrator North Andover allegedly committed multiple violations of the Hazardous Waste Management Act by failing to properly treat and dispose of ash, and the Clean Water Act by failing to contain fugitive ash. Wheelabrator Millbury and Wheelabrator Saugus allegedly committed violations of the Clean Water Act and the Wetlands Protection Act by releasing ash contaminated water and ash sludge into waterways or wetlands.
“Corporate responsibility is paramount if we want to preserve our communities and maintain the beauty and safety of our Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley. “We are grateful to those who initially raised concerns with us about Wheelabrator, and are pleased that Wheelabrator has taken the steps needed to set its three facilities on a safe path for the future. Working together with MassDEP, we have reached a settlement that will ensure continuing environmental oversight of these facilities as well as a return of dollars to both state and local budgets and help for the affected communities.”
The Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force launched an investigation into violations by Wheelabrator in September 2009 after two individuals, one current and one former employee of Wheelabrator Saugus, approached the Attorney General’s Office over concerns about environmental violations at the Saugus facility. A third individual, an employee of Wheelabrator North Andover, brought additional information about violations at the North Andover facility to the attention of the AG’s Office in July 2010.
“Municipal waste collection is an important public service, but waste incineration triggers many important environmental regulations, and strict compliance with those regulations is required in order to ensure that the public health is protected,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “Wheelabrator fell far short of meeting some of the most basic requirements and the settlement today, which is the highest ever for a state case arising out of environmental violations, reflects the seriousness with which MassDEP takes this requirement. Protecting public health and the environment must be priority one for Wheelabrator from this day forward.”
Conservatives Speak Out Against WTE Incinerator – Hough, Mooney Disagree with Local Party Mates
Delegate Michael Hough and former state Sen. Alex Mooney consider themselves conservative Republicans, but neither sides with the all-Republican Board of County Commissioners on the proposed waste-to-energy incinerator project in Frederick County.
Both continue to publicly oppose the plan, with Hough writing to the Maryland Department of the Environment last week and Mooney using his radio show this weekend to highlight the problems with burning trash.
Top Ten Reasons to Oppose Frederick Incinerator
- The proposed trash incinerator plans are based on financial, technological, and environmental assumptions that are inaccurate, out of date, misleading, or false.
What Is the Trash Incinerator?
To deal with its trash (also called solid waste), Frederick County currently operates its own waste transfer station and landfill.
