Norlite open to tax option
But financial impact statement is disputed
A week after the City Council discussed levying a special hazardous waste tax on the Norlite aggregate plant here, the head of the facility ’s parent company said they are open to the idea.
“We do believe an assessment would be a transparent and reliable option for the city,” Jeff Beswick, the U.S. CEO of Tradebe Environmental Services said in a Dec. 10 letter to Mayor Bill Keeler.
Other parts of the letter, though, contested Keeler’s statement that Norlite’s operations have had a “significant financial impact,” on the city.
Beswick also noted that Norlite which has been in the city since 1956, pays about $157,000 annually in city property and school taxes.
Additionally, he said the 70-employee firm has recently invested $30 million in environmental control equipment at the plant.
Plans for a hazardous waste tax stemmed from the costs and work involved in the city ’s response to news last winter that Norlite had incinerated 2.5 million pounds of hazardous firefighting foam from fire departments and the federal Department of Defense.
The incineration, which has since been banned under state law, was legal and Norlite wasn’t legally obligated to inform the city of the burning. It came to light as part of a lawsuit against the incineration of such substances.
The firefighting foam Aqueous Film Forming Foam, or AFFF is of concern because it contains PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds. Known as “forever chemicals” for their strong molecular bonds and slowness to decompose, they have raised health concerns.
PFAS are associated with illnesses such as thyroid disorders, cancers and other ailments, mostly in people where the public water supplies have been contaminated. Most Americans are believed to have at least some minimal amount of PFAS in their bloodstreams, since the chemical, which is also used in nonstick surfaces like Teflon, is ubiquitous.
While mostly associated with tainted water, the worries here have focused largely on emissions from the AFFF’S incineration.
The assessment or tax proposed in Cohoes, was initially suggested as 4 percent on the gross amount that Norlite gets for accepting hazardous waste. It wasn’t immediately clear how much that would be.
Norlite produces aggregate from rock mined on the site. The rock in then processed in a kiln that is fired with hazardous wastes such as solvents or used paints. Only a handful of similar facilities nationwide still incinerate AFFF.
During a discussion of the potential tax earlier in the month, some city residents and activists said they believe the plant should be closed. But Keeler said he didn’t believe that was realistic.