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Monterey Herald August 25th, 2003
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Incinerator sparks debate Monterey, Santa Cruz counties clash over idea to build trash burning site By DAN LAIDMAN Burning garbage could end up burning bridges between Monterey and
Santa Cruz Opposition is brewing in North Monterey County to a plan to generate power by burning solid waste at a site in Moss Landing. Although there is no specific proposal on the table, the Santa Cruz County Public Works Department is studying the possibility, with the blessing of that county's Board of Supervisors. A Bay Area environmental group has started going door to door in Moss Landing to build opposition. The group, Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice, plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday in Santa Cruz. The attention has prompted Lou Calcagno, the Monterey County supervisor from the Moss Landing area, to oppose the plan. " At this point I'm not looking favorably at that type of use for the site," he said Friday. Calcagno stressed that the waste incineration idea did not come from Monterey County. No local officials have been involved in the process, he said. " For a neighboring county to put it on their agenda and talk about something that's going to be in the neighboring county without at least conferring with some officials in the neighboring county, I have some problems with that," he said. Santa Cruz County Supervisor Jeff Almquist, who brought the proposal before his board in May, did not return calls seeking comment Friday. Patrick Mathews, Santa Cruz County's waste and recycling manager, also could not be reached for comment. The incineration study stems from Santa Cruz County's fear that its Buena Vista Landfill could reach capacity in 12 years. " Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties should consider beginning work on the feasibility of development of a state-of-the-art solid waste reduction power plant," Almquist wrote to his colleagues in April. Almquist went on to suggest that the site of the former National Refractories plant, which is adjacent to the Duke Energy power plant at Moss Landing, could "conveniently serve the tri-county area." The letter suggested the county study waste-to-energy options, communicate with officials in Monterey and San Benito counties, and then revisit the issue in February. The Board approved a study at its May 6 meeting. At a typical garbage incineration facility, solid waste is burned and the heat creates energy. Remaining solid materials are sorted from the ash and the gas is cleaned and then released into the air. Bradley Angel, executive director of San Francisco-based Greenaction, said his group is primarily concerned about the gases. No amount of cleaning can remove all of the harmful elements, he said. " Dioxin is emitted from every incinerator in the world, period, end of discussion," he said. Dioxin is not just immediately harmful to humans, he said, but it can pollute the food chain. " Talking about an incinerator in a heavily agricultural area is dangerous from a health perspective and dangerous for the well-being of the agricultural economy," he said. Local waste-to-energy advocate A.E. Robertson is not worried. " Why would they oppose the study on something that eliminates landfills, protects the leaching of the groundwater, is recycling the materials that are burned, and basically would cut the cost of garbage disposal?" asked Robertson, a Salinas resident and radio talk show host. Robertson was first exposed to waste incineration by his son-in-law, who worked for American Ref-Fuel. The New Jersey company burns more than 5 million tons of garbage each year at numerous facilities that produce enough energy to power 350,000 homes. Until recently, Duke co-owned the company. Angel, of Greenaction, said his group is determined to block any incinerator plant in the tri-county area. So far, he said, the locals he has talked to seem to agree. " In the last few days, Greenaction has been going door-to-door in Moss Landing to inform people," he said. "And I can assure you the people are not pleased the supervisors of Santa Cruz County are proposing an incinerator for Monterey County." ©2003 Monterey Herald |