Turning Up The HEAT—

Group Forms To Monitor Railroad’s Waste Transfer Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

An ad hoc group of concerned Hawleyville area residents has formed to study the implications of the Housatonic Railroad Company’s proposal to more than quadruple the amount of solid waste that it transfers from heavy trucks onto railcars at its Hawleyville rail terminal for shipment for disposal at out-of-state landfills.

The new organization is known as HEAT, an acronym that stands for Hawleyville Environmental Advocacy Team.

The nucleus of the group contains members of another ad hoc group known as The Committee to Save The Hawleyville Post Office. The post office group worked to have the US Postal Service keep postal facilities in Hawleyville after the closure of the Hawleyville Post Office at 28 Hawleyville Road.

The USPS plans to relocate its Hawleyville postal facilities to new retail space now under construction at 23 Barnabas Road.

At the helm of HEAT are Hawleyville area residents Ann Marie Mitchell and Dave Broughton. Both residents attended a recent open house event at the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company’s Hawleyville Road firehouse where they discussed the new ad hoc group’s formation.

The firehouse abuts the railroad’s Shepaug Terminal where the solid waste reloading occurs. A broad driveway serves both the firehouse and rail terminal.

Ms Mitchell said the new group plans to monitor the railroad’s application to expand its solid waste handling and trans-shipment as the application is reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Federal legislation that took effect last October, known as the 2008 Clean Railroads Act, allows the DEP to review the health and safety aspects of such waste reloading. Until then, the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction over railroad activities.

Although the town has no jurisdiction over the railroad, local land use officials say they plan to monitor the DEP’s review of the railroad’s application for expanded solid waste handling in Hawleyville.

Among local concerns are the prospect of greatly increased heavy-truck traffic in Hawleyville that would occur with increased solid waste handling.

HEAT plans to review the railroad’s solid waste expansion proposal from all perspectives, according to Ms Mitchell.

While the group wants the railroad to be a viable business, it also wants environmental safety, she said.

In its pending DEP application, the railroad seeks approval for shipping via train from its Shepaug Terminal up to 2,000 tons of solid waste daily. Until now, the railroad has handled up to 450 tons of such waste daily. Heavy trucks 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.

Mr Broughton said that recently about 15 Hawleyville area residents met to discuss the implications of the railroad’s waste expansion proposal. HEAT wants to make the public aware of the situation, he said.

Mr Broughton of Currituck Road expressed concerns about the increased noise stemming from increased waste handling at the rail terminal.

HEAT members say they are concerned about possible environmental problems caused by the rail terminal’s proximity to wetlands.

HEAT’s attention will focus on public health and safety, clean water, clean air, and traffic safety issues, according to Ms Mitchell.

According to its pending application to the DEP, the railroad will need storage facilities for almost 8,000 tons of solid waste.

The waste transfer facility would be located on the northern five acres of the railroad’s 13.3-acre site.

Materials that would be shipped out of Hawleyville by rail would include construction/demolition debris, contaminated soils, used casting sand, coal fly ash, dredge spoils, ash from resource recovery plants, sludge ash, treated woods, and scrap tires in the form of crumbed tires, shredded tires, and whole tires.

The expansion project would involve the construction of a new spur line of railroad track on the railroad property. Also, a 10,000-square-foot building, plus a 625-square-foot building annex, would be constructed. The facilities would be used for the indoor sorting, processing, and/or loading of waste materials onto railcars.

The new building would be used for handling construction/demolition debris. The annex would be used for the direct reloading of contaminated soils and other wastes.