Dive Brief:
- Voters in Putnam, CT authorized the city to execute an amended ground lease with Wheelabrator Putnam Inc. that would allow for an expansion of the ash landfill between the Quinebaug River and River Road. The new lease would allow Wheelabrator to build a permanent metal reclamation facility; it would be done, the company says, by the time the permit for the existing temporary facility expires in 18 months.
- Moderator William St. Onge said the permanent facility will need several state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection permits and city zoning changes.
- The new agreement would require Wheelabrator to give $147,000 in PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funds annually to the town.
Dive Insight:
While the metal reclamation facility will eventually prove to benefit the Putnam, CT area, Wheelabrator must be careful to address concerns of voters.
Wheelabrator General Manager Donald Musial said landfill hours won't change and truck traffic would not be permitted outside the current hours. Also, plans have been made to build an underpass or overpass at the site for pedestrians going to and from the future YMCA nearby.
However, not everybody is convinced that these plans will work. Ernest Cotnoir, a lawyer in Putnam, said, "I have real questions about whether or not what's proposed is authorized. I wasn't aware that a metal reclamation facility was permitted at all in that area."
