Email Drive Seeks Signatures Supporting HEAT

Kendra Bobowick

Check your inbox.

“Now is the time to act!” and “Let your voice be heard,” prompts an email message from the Hawleyville Environmental Action Team (HEAT) members this week. Included in the grassroots group’s message is a link to its recent petition seeking signatures opposing the Housatonic Railroad’s proposed expansions at its 30 Hawleyville Road transfer station.

“We sent it out to people who requested to be kept informed,” said one of HEAT’s cofounders, Ann Marie Mitchell. “We’ll keep pushing it.” She has seen some politicians’ signatures on the petition, and welcomes them all to put their name to the document. “We want the job done. We invite [all] politicians to make a public, written commitment … it’s about protecting our town.”

A click on the link that urges “Sign the petition” brings readers to a brief background story: the railroad company has applied to the Department of Environmental Protection for a Permit for Construction of a Solid Waste Transfer Facility and Volume Reduction Plant. The preface asserts that the property contains wetlands, is located within the primary recharge area for the Pond Brook aquifer, and is adjacent to a pond and stream.

Regarding the hours, materials, and volume of proposed operations per information in the petition, HEAT charges, “Materials handling and truck traffic would add to noise, diesel emissions, and dust in the Hawleyville neighborhood.” The group also is concerned with public health and safety.

Past weeks have seen an outcry for compliance with wetlands regulations, for one, an appeal to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and an overall campaign to stop the railroad’s expansion activities and site preparation “prior to receiving any state or local permits.”

Again appealing to town and state officials and residents who support HEAT’S efforts, Ms Mitchell added, “We want people to take initiative. We can’t wait — that’s what the petition is about, how to be proactive.”

Scrolling down the page brings viewers to the petition’s opening paragraph: “It is the fundamental human right of every child and adult to breathe clean air, drink clean, fresh water and live in a community where every individual’s health and safety are equally protected.” (See related story this week.)

Accompanying the 263 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon are comments available for view.

Writes Al Gonzalez: “Why let a big business, RR, be allowed to pollute our town which our children will have to suffer and fix 20 years from now.”

Judy Dougherty: “It is important for not just Hawleyville but also all of Newtown and all of the state to preserve our environment. The Housatonic Railroad has no concern about the citizens of this area.”

Diane Tenk: “I would like my children and their children to grow up with a clean environment.”

Ms Mitchell said Tuesday, “We haven’t even started a real drive yet, we’re seeing [first] what initiative is being taken.”

Stirring the public’s attention to activities at the railroad’s transfer station was its permit application filed with the DEP in April, as required by a new Clean Railroads Act of 2008. While still before the DEP for review, the town has in the meantime issued a Wetlands notice of violation.

Housatonic Railroad General Counsel Edward Rodriguez said Tuesday that he was not aware of a petition circulating. Invited to respond to the petition, he forwarded a letter sent September 21 to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal addressing the railroad’s position. In one paragraph he indicates that while “it may not be possible to agree upon proper interpretation and application of legal authority, it should be relatively easy to agree upon a course of action that respects all environmental and other legitimate state and local concerns …”

Although disagreements regarding authority exist concerning the railroad’s activities, Mr Rodriguez writes, “Housatonic shares the interest … in the protection of wetlands resources and believes that it is more productive for all parties to work together to try to resolve all wetlands issues.”

Also this week, the DEP has issued a notice of violation for illegal activities on the site. (See related story.) According to Mr Rodriguez’s letter, the transfer of construction debris continues, original loading methods and locations have been restored, and construction activities including track extensions have been suspended.

A link to the HEAT petition may be found at DontWasteHawleyville.com.