Housatonic Railroad Seeks

To Increase Waste Transport

By Andrew Gorosko

The Housatonic Railroad Company, Inc, is seeking to expand operations at its Hawleyville rail terminal by increasing the amount of demolition/construction debris and contaminated soil that it ships out of Hawleyville on trains for disposal at landfills out-of-state.

In a pending application with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the railroad seeks approval for shipping via train from its Shepaug Terminal in Hawleyville up to 2,000 tons of such waste daily. Until now, the railroad has handled approximately 450 tons of such waste daily, according to the DEP application. Trucks would bring the waste to the rail terminal for reloading onto trains.

Besides solid waste handling, the rail terminal is used for the transfer and storage of building materials, including lumber. The terminal at 30 Hawleyville Road has operated since 1995. It has handled solid waste since 2004.

Because it is a railroad, the Housatonic Railroad is not subject to municipal regulation by local land use agencies.

Under the terms of a recent federal law, the railroad is required to seek a permit for such waste handling from the DEP in terms of the “health and safety” aspects of the operation, according to Colin Pease, the railroad’s vice president for special projects.

In its application, the railroad explains that it would construct a new building and a building annex on the site. The new building would be used for handling construction and demolition debris; the annex would be used for handling contaminated soils.

DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said DEP staff members will review the railroad’s permit application, after which they would make recommendation on the proposal. A 30-day public comment period would then occur.

A minimum of 25 petition signatures by residents would trigger a requirement for a public hearing on the permit application, he said. A hearing officer would then make a recommendation on the application.

“There’s ample opportunity for public input and public comment,” Mr Schain said. There is no fixed schedule for DEP’s review of such an application, he said.

Concerns

Town Land Use Agency Director George Benson expressed concerns about increased operations at the railroad’s Hawleyville terminal.

Noting that the railroad is regulated under federal law, Mr Benson said the town is having its attorney research what rights the town has regarding the railroad’s pending DEP application.

Mr Benson said creating a 2,000-ton-per-day limit on the solid waste shipped out of Hawleyville via train would mean increased heavy-truck traffic in the area with more trucks bringing additional waste to the rail terminal for reloading onto railroad cars.

“We [town] have no control now…We will seek a public hearing” on the DEP application, he said.

Neighbors of the railroad terminal have lodged complaints concerning the noise generated by the railroad, site lighting, and blowing dust in the area, Mr Benson said.

Mr Benson noted that the railroad has been cooperative in the past when problems were brought to its attention.

“I’m just worried about the future,” he said.

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Chairman Lilla Dean said, “It’s unfortunate that P&Z has no say in this matter.

“I don’t expect that people would be happy with the prospect of more truck traffic,” she added.

Ms Dean said it is good that the railroad plans to conduct its waste handling within a building into which railcars would travel.

Ms Dean said it should not pose problems if the railroad limits its waste handling to the items listed in its application. But it would pose vermin problems for the neighborhood if the railroad should eventually seek to handle household garbage at the site, she said.

Mr Pease said the railroad has typically handled between 300 tons and 450 tons of solid waste daily at the terminal in Hawleyville. That work has typically occurred on Mondays through Fridays from 6 am to 6 pm, and sometimes on Saturday mornings, he said. The construction/demolition debris that is handled at the rail terminal is generated in southwestern Connecticut.

The railroad plans to improve the efficiency of its waste-handling operations, Mr Pease said, noting its proposal for indoor waste handling.

Loading would occur more quickly inside a building within which waste would be easier to contain and equipment noise would be isolated, he said.

Mr Pease said that hazardous waste would not be handled at the facility, nor would municipal solid waste, otherwise known as household garbage.

Handling more waste tonnage at the terminal would mean more truck traffic, he said.

If 20 trucks transport about 450 tons of waste daily to the terminal, roughly 80 trucks would be needed to transport 2,000 tons of waste daily, he said.

Mr Pease added that the truck traffic traveling to the rail terminal largely comes from Exit 9 of Interstate 84, which lies a relatively short distance on Hawleyville Road (Route 25) from the terminal.

Mr Pease said he expects that future waste handling operations would run from 6 am to 6 pm Mondays through Fridays, and possibly on Saturday mornings. Railroad trains, however, operate around the clock, seven days a week.

“The filing of a permit [application] does not change the market,” he said, noting that the amount of waste that would be shipped by train from Hawleyville would be based on market conditions.

Conducting waste transfer operations inside a building instead of outdoors would create a better situation for nearby properties, he said. “We work very hard at being good neighbors,” he said.

The railroad hopes to increase its transportation business by shipping out contaminated soil for disposal at out-of-state landfills, he said. The railroad has shipped very little contaminated soil in the past, he said.

Mr Pease said that moving cargo by rail is more efficient than moving it by truck.