Vermont officials are going to court and activists are threatening a boycott of the world's largest forest products company as a battle intensifies over a plan to burn old tires as fuel in New York state.
SHOREHAM, Vermont — Vermont officials are going to court and activists are threatening a boycott of the world's largest forest products company as a battle intensifies over a plan to burn old tires as fuel in New York state.
The actions follow three years of wrangling to try to stop International Paper Co. from going ahead with a two-week trial burn of up to 72 tons of scrap tires a day, which critics say would seriously pollute the pristine air of neighboring and environmentally conscious Vermont.
The company's plan moved a step forward Wednesday when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, issued a Title V air permit allowing the incineration to proceed as International Paper had requested at its Ticonderoga plant.
"All that's left now is the company needs to provide us with written notice 30 days in advance, stating when it intends to carry out the test," said DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers industrial tire-burning a largely efficient and safe way to reduce America's growing mountain of scrap automobile tires and has backed International Paper's proposal.
But environmentalists link tire burning to as many as 21 dangerous chemicals, including lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, eight of which they identify as "seriously" carcinogenic and eight more as "moderately" carcinogenic.
To capture these microscopic particles, opponents urged International Paper to install an electrostatic precipitator device on its 220-foot high boiler stack before the test, and Vermont's governor offered to bear part of the $15 million cost.
But International Paper has refused, saying it first wants to conduct a test to see if such safeguards are necessary.
POSSIBLE BOYCOTT
Vermont's top elected officials from all three major parties complain that westerly winds would blow dangerous toxins from the emissions into Lake Champlain, Vermont, farms and the Green Mountain National Forest, and ultimately to the Connecticut River and New Hampshire.
Vermont's attorney general announced Monday he had filed an appeal in New York State Supreme Court. But Vermonters say they may be running out of legal options.
A spokesperson for Connecticut-based International Paper said the company would conduct a "rigorous" test and would "shut it down immediately" if emissions for certain pollutants "even approach" worrisome levels.
The company says the test could enable International Paper to replace up to 10 percent of its standard oil, wood and bark fuel with discarded tires, saving $4 million a year in energy expenses.
"International Paper and the regulators have turned a deaf ear to the needs and feelings of Vermonters," said Joanna Colwell of the Addison County, Vermont-based group, Moms Making Our Milk Safe. "It's a shame the EPA doesn't protect the people or the environment."
With some political candidates calling for a possible boycott of International Paper products, members of a Middlebury-based citizens' group, "People for Less Pollution", said they have reached out to environmentally conscious companies such as Starbucks, Seventh Generation Inc. and Newman's Own Inc. to help pressure IP to accede to environmental and health concerns.
Meanwhile, New York officials from both sides of the aisle have backed International Paper. The 36-year-old Ticonderoga operation constitutes Essex County's largest employer, accounting for more than 1,200 jobs.
Both sides agree that approaching cold weather dictates that a two-week test burn probably would need to take place by late October or it would likely be postponed until next year.
Source: Reuters
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