Neighbors want action to prevent new blazes and PCB releases
GHENT–Three and a half months after the huge industrial fire at the TCI of New York in West Ghent, local residents continue to plead with the town officials to consider holding the transformer recycling plant more accountable.
The August 1 and 2 blaze at the TCI building and the ensuing plume of smoke and that led to pollution warnings in three states has resulted in the rise of many concerns among the public, ranging from the possibility of exposure to PCBs and the controversy surrounding the testing for hazardous materials done by the state Department of Health to concerns with TCI’s plans to rebuild. Residents have been persistent in attending Ghent Town Board meetings, requesting the town to cite TCI for violations alleged by members of the public. At last month’s board meeting, Town Attorney Ted Guterman advised the town not to cite TCI, saying it is unclear what the company’s original permit allowed it to do and the town does not have enough information to know whether the company violated any codes.
A representative of TCI, a company that recycles and disposes of old electrical transformers, said by email this week that the company has complied with local, state and federal laws and regulations. He also said the company has had new owners since 2006.
At last week’s monthly meeting, Ghent resident Patti Matheney told the Town Board that she had received over 400 pages of TCI documents from the state Department of Environmental Conservation by requesting them through the statebFreedom of Information Law (FOIL). She said the documents were requests by TCI to the DEC for permits to expand a new business. According to Ms. Matheney, these requests by TCI began in June of this year.
“Four-hundred pages, and it started in June?” said Ms. Matheney. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Ms. Matheney told the board that the situation reminds her of when TCI sought approval to build an incinerator at the site in the late 1980s. “They got all their permits from DEC for the incinerator before they came to the town for any permits,” she said. “This is what they did before.”
Board member Richard Sando recalled the night before the fire, when TCI came before the Planning Board to request an expansion of office space. He said that when company representatives were asked the reason for their request that night, they replied that it was to move office staff out of the plant. After hearing Ms. Matheney’s comments, he said he wonders whether TCI was trying to make room for a new business. “This doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Mr. Sando.
In an email to the Columbia Paper on Monday, TCI Vice President of Operations Brian Hemlock wrote in a statement that “the permit requests we have filed seek to renew existing permits or to exchange an existing federal permit for a state permit, per state requirements.” Mr. Hemlock also wrote that that there is no furnace in the company’s plans.
Resident Mark Johnson made a plea to the board to consider the reasons behind the public’s concern about TCI. He presented each board member with a copy of a 1986 letter written by the then-chairman of TCI and addressed to the Ghent Planning Board, pointing to a line that reads: “We will not accept any material that has been manufactured as Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) equipment.”
Along with the letter Mr. Johnson distributed was a sheet of paper that listed a few reasons why some residents feel TCI should be cited. One of the reasons referenced the 1986 letter, focusing on a sample that showed elevated levels of PCBs at the fire site. An inventory report submitted to the federal Environmental Protection Agency by TCI August 2 on what may have been at the site during the fire listed three transformers containing high PCB concentrations. The inventory also listed six bushings, each with 15 gallons of oil contaminated with PCBs.
In TCI’s email sent Monday Mr. Hemlock called attention to the fact that the current ownership and management of the company had only begun in 2006. That is when the current ownership bought the assets from the prior company, TCI Inc.
“It is important that our operations not be confused with previous management,” Mr. Hemlock wrote. “We have nothing to do with the plans, permits and operations undertaken by the prior owners.”
Mr. Hemlock said this includes the previous company’s pursuit of permission for an incinerator in the late 1980s, which ultimately was denied.
The list provided by Mr. Johnson also included the concern about sodium stored at the fire site. The August 2 inventory prepared for the EPA showed sodium was being stored there by TCI’s partner company, Power Substations (PSS).
West Ghent Fire Chief Jim Cesternino said during a previous meeting that he was unaware of the presence of the sodium, a substance that reacts violently with water. He said that 50 or more firefighters could have died that night if it hadn’t been for a TCI employee who was present to warn them about the sodium.
TCI had provided all the documentation required by law.
Mr. Sando commended Mr. Johnson for his preparation. “This is exactly the type of interaction that we need,” said Mr. Sando. “That’s why we have public hearings. We want to know what the people think.”
The night before last week’s Town Board meeting, TCI attended the Ghent Planning Board’s application night to present the company’s application to rebuild the facility. According to an audio recording of their presentation recorded by Chris Bishop of public radio station WGXC, the company applied for basically the same building that was lost in the fire, with the exception of changes to add a new fire suppression system as well as a few alterations due to new code requirements.
According to the audio, one Planning Board member told TCI, “One of the things I think will be very key to know is precisely what goes on.” The board member said they will want a detailed description of what goes on at the site, including the processes, the chemicals used, and chemicals stored onsite.
“We’re going to have to find a mechanism to know in advance,” said the Planning Board member. “Not afterward, but in advance what’s there.”
In TCI’s email, Mr. Hemlock stated that TCI’s business will not change, but that the new building will be improved with the new fire suppression system as well as “cutting edge energy conservation engineering.” The cleanup of the site is nearly complete, and Mr. Hemlock says the company plans on sharing the closure report after the DEC declares it final.
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EDITORIAL: What can we say?
By PARRY TEASDALE
YOU CAN IMAGINE STEWART HUNT whether you knew him or not. I imagine he smiled a lot. Liked to help other people. It makes sense that he would be a volunteer firefighter in Columbia County.
He died June 15 while responding to an emergency call. He had an emergency of his own. He was 37.
There’s an obituary from the Peck & Peck Funeral Homes on Page 19 of our June 22 issue. It says that other emergency personnel could not revive him. Those are the facts of his death as we have them. The facts of his life include his commitment to public service as a firefighter in three different volunteer fire companies (twice with the Ancram Fire Department) and as an emergency medical technician for the Community Rescue Squad. His father served on the Ancram Fire Department before him.
Stewart Hunt was a motor equipment operator for the county. You get the idea that he might be considered a regular guy, spending time with his wife Stephanie Shumsky-Hunt and their young son, Zachary.
He was that. But he clearly was more than regular. Much more. The people of this county of roughly 60,000 depend on neighbors like him to save our homes and our lives if it comes to that.
We casually expected Stewart Hunt to fulfill our expectations. He was doing that job when he lost his life.
For the last few days I’ve been wondering how to say goodbye and thank you to a person I may never have met. Certainly a contribution to the fund that the Ancram Fire Department is setting as a college fund for Zachary. Mail a check to the AFD and write “Zachary’s College fund” in the memo line.
Thank You Stewart Hunt.
County Recovery Kitchen celebrates volunteers
HUDSON – The Columbia County Recovery Kitchen held a volunteer appreciation dinner on Tuesday evening November 15. It was a big event as there are many volunteers for this organization that provides fresh cooked locally sourced meals at no cost for county residents in need.
The dinner was held in the community room of Christ Church Episcopal, the kitchen of which serves as the facility where the meals are prepared by chefs Jamie Parry, whose team cooks in the first part of each week, and Tommy Carlucci, who is the chef for the second part of the week.
Known as CCRK, the project was started by Pam Kline and Carole Clark in 2020, just as the world was sinking into the first wave of the Covid pandemic. They saw the need to make high quality nutritional meals available for people who experience food insecurity. Referrals currently are made by county social service organizations, public school social workers and the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement.
Statistics recounted at the evening’s celebration include over 1000 meals each week delivered to 26 towns in the county by over 100 volunteers, who also provide services like graphic design, tech support, fundraising, organizing and of course the cooking by chefs and kitchen staff. There is a list of 14 local farms that provide fresh produce, dairy, fruit and meat.
Major funding has been provided by grants from the Berkshire Taconic Community Fund and the Hudson River Bank and Trust Foundation.
Anyone interested in contributing or volunteering can contact CCRK: https://columbiacountyrecoverykitchen.org
