Landfill Proposal Roils Franklin
    By DAVID OWENS And
    DANIEL E. GOREN
    Courant Staff Writers
    March 27, 2008

    FRANKLIN -- -- When Russell Beisiegel
    learned the state trash authority planned
    a press conference in nearby Norwich
    Wednesday morning to announce the site
    where it wants to dump 300,000 tons of ash a year, he made it a point to be there.

    Franklin had been considered for such a landfill in the late 1980s, when Beisiegel was
    the town's first selectman. "I was suspicious," Beisiegel said. "Why else would they come to Norwich?"

    Beisiegel was right.

    The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority has selected a 350-acre swath of land in the northern
     part of town, behind the old Franklin Farms mushroom farm, as the potential new location for an ash landfill. The site, between Route 32 and the
    Shetucket River, could eventually take the place of the Hartford ash landfill, which will reach capacity and close in December.

    CRRA plants burn 2 million tons of trash a year from 110 Connecticut cities and towns at four trash-to-energy plants -- in Hartford, Wallingford,
    Bridgeport and Preston. The Franklin landfill would accept ash from Hartford, Wallingford and Preston.

    Some people in Franklin expressed immediate concern about toxins and threats to their drinking water. Others complained that the proposal -- along
    with some existing facilities -- was turning eastern Connecticut into the state's "dumping ground."

    Beisiegel, who now serves as a selectman and whose home is near the old mushroom farm, said it's too early in the process to determine whether the
    plan is good or bad for the town. An estimated $1.5 million a year in revenue from the landfill could reduce property taxes by one-third, based on the
    current town budget, he said.

    "I'm very interested in that tax revenue, no doubt about it," Beisiegel said. "But I need to get more information." There's a large aquifer in that part of
    Franklin, and "we need to be concerned about that," he added.

    "I am opposed to it," said Susan Allen, another mushroom farm neighbor who battled the farm and the stench it caused for years. "This is not ash from
    my wood-burning stove. This is toxic waste ash, as far as I can see it. I am definitely already opposed to it."

    Thomas D. Kirk, the president of CRRA, said Wednesday at a press conference in Hartford that the authority spent three years looking at 77 potential
    sites throughout the state before making its decision. A study the authority commissioned tapped the Franklin site as the best in the state, CRRA officials
    said. A similar study done in the late 1980s by the state Department of Environmental Protection also pointed to the Franklin site as being good for a
    landfill, authority officials said.

    "This is far and away the best site in the state of Connecticut, and we think it is appropriate for the use we intend here," Kirk said. "That said, there is still
    work to do."

    Before moving forward, the authority will spend the next year testing the property to make sure it conforms with all environmental requirements, he said.
    If no flaws with the land are found -- Kirk said he does not anticipate any -- the authority will go through an extensive process of obtaining permits before
    construction, he said.

    The authority does not anticipate opening the landfill for ash until 2011 at the earliest, officials said.

    There are three owners on the site who were being contacted Wednesday about entering into negotiations on the land, authority officials said. CRRA
    would not release the names of the landowners, although Beisiegel identified the Nasin family as the owners of a significant piece of the property. The
    Nasin family, through an entity called Franklin Nasin LLC, owns a 172.5-acre parcel previously considered for the ash landfill. The same limited liability
    company owns another 362 acres near the old mushroom farm. Sand and mining operations now exist on much of the land.

    JoAnn V. Nasin of Mystic, whose name is listed in Franklin Nasin LLC records on file with the secretary of the state, could not be reached for comment
    Wednesday.

    Kirk said it will cost approximately $40 million to purchase the land and properly engineer and construct the landfill. During the anticipated 30-year life
    of the landfill and the subsequent 30-year post-closing monitoring and maintenance of the site, Kirk said the authority expects to spend about $350
    million.

    In addition to performing tests on the land, Michael A. Pace, the chairman of the CRRA board, said the authority will spend considerable time
    explaining the project to the public, particularly the people of Franklin.

    "The openness we intend to have with the town and any subgroups within, we hope will fully bring this project along," Pace said. "It is why it is
    important for us to go public with this today so that it is out there."

    "Whether it is a small interest group or a large town meeting, we will go there and present our case."

    The authority plans to hold public meetings in Franklin in the near future, although none has been scheduled.

    There would be a financial benefit to Franklin for hosting the landfill, Pace said, because state law requires CRRA to pay $5 per ton of ash disposed of
    at the site to the town. That translates to about $1.5 million a year for a town with a total annual budget of $5.7 million.

    Beisiegel said a windfall that large would significantly reduce property taxes, perhaps by as much as a third.

    About 60 trucks a day would deliver ash to the landfill via Route 32 from the south. CRRA estimates that 300,000 tons of ash would be delivered to the
    landfill each year.

    CRRA said the ash is moist and has the consistency of damp cement. It consists primarily of the non-combustible materials in household garbage, such
    as dirt, glass and metal. It also contains lime and activated carbon that are used in the pollution control equipment of the trash-to-energy plants.

    The ash contains heavy metals. A liner would prevent runoff from affecting the aquifer, CRRA officials said.

    Like most communities in Connecticut, Franklin struggles to balance its taxes with residents' ability to pay. The town lost its largest taxpayer and about
    380 jobs when the mushroom farm shut down in 2006 and moved its operations to Pennsylvania
    , where electricity is less expensive.

    Not all in Franklin were sorry to see the farm go. The medium that was used to grow the mushrooms created an unbearable stench.

    "It was absolutely a nightmare," Allen said.

    The proposed ash dump, which CRRA officials promise will not smell, is just the latest affront to the region, Allen said.

    Rural eastern Connecticut, Allen said, seems to have become the state's dumping ground.

    "I feel like the state of Connecticut picks out the small, not well-resourced towns in eastern Connecticut and uses them as a dumping ground," Allen
    said, citing a plant in Sterling that burns shredded tires to produce energy, as well as trash-to-energy plants in Lisbon and Preston.

    She said she plans to begin collecting information about the planned landfill today so that she can actively oppose it.

    She's not alone. State Sen. Edith G. Prague, D-Columbia, and state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D- Montville, said that despite the financial benefit to Franklin,
    the project needs to be looked at "very carefully."

    Prague went one step further, saying she "wouldn't do it if they gave me $10 million. I can tell you I'm not in favor of it."

    Beisiegel and Jessie Laudette, two of Franklin's three selectmen, said the proposal has to be given careful consideration.

    "There certainly are two sides to it," he said.

    Beisiegel said an additional 60 trucks on Route 32 does not worry him because traffic on the road is already heavy.

    Prague said the traffic concerns her.

    "I don't think 60 trucks going on Route 32 is what I would want for my town," she said. "I don't think it is a good idea. There is a lot of pollution from
    those trucks. And 32 is only a two-lane highway. I don't like it. I just don't like it. I think it is terrible."

    "I think we need to wait and see what their proposal is and how it's going to affect all of us as townspeople, as consumers, as people paying taxes,"
    Laudette said. "If it's good for Franklin and helps alleviate some of our taxes, it would be wonderful. We've put up with so much with Franklin Mushroom.
    It was just awful, and I think people are scared we're going to get that again."

    The CRRA recently agreed to increase its tipping fee for its 70 member towns, starting July 1, from about $61 a ton to $72 a ton.

    The reason for the increase, the authority said, was because it will need to start hauling ash out of state at greater expense after the Hartford landfill
    closes later this year.

    Officials said that fee would go back down if CRRA can open a new ash landfill in Franklin.

    CRRA has established a website that people can visit for more information: www.ctsafeashlandfill.com.

    People can also call 800-495-1826 with questions, CRRA officials said.

    Contact David Owens at dowens@courant.com.
Proposed Ash Landfill
Creating a stir in the
Quiet Corner.
News Around the State
Dump The Ash Dump
Hartford Courant
By DAN UHLINGER
Courant Staff Writer
May 08, 2008 11:57 AM

A bill that would have
barred the Connecticut
Resources Recovery
Authority from building a
dump for ash residue in
Franklin died late
Wednesday when the
legislature's 2008
session ended.

Last week, the Senate
unanimously approved
the bill and sent it to the
House for immediate
action.

But shortly before
midnight, the bill ran into
trouble in the House as
several representatives
questioned the wisdom of
the legislature intervening
in a decision on where the
dump should be built. No
vote was taken on the bill.

    EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

    Latest Articles Below:



    THE HARTFORD COURANT

    NORWICH BULLETIN

    PRESS Releases from Edith Prague:

    April 25, 2008

    Prague Testifies Before Legislative Forum on Proposed Franklin Ash Dump
    State Senator Edith G. Prague (D-Columbia) testified today before a special informational forum she arranged
    to examine details and viability of an ash dump proposed by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority
    (CRRA) for Franklin.  Senator Prague told the Environment Committee and the Planning and Development
    Committee the proposal is unsuitable for Franklin and she asked her fellow legislators to intervene, if possible.

    CRRA has proposed dumping a reported 300,000 tons of ash per year at a 350-acre site in Franklin that some
    say would threaten the area aquifer and a nearby river. CRRA's existing ash dump is almost full and expected
    to close later this year. Senator Prague said the plan's potential environmental cost compounds the
    incompatibility of large, ash-laden dump trucks on rural roads in and around Franklin.

    "It's my opinion this proposal for a huge ash dump in Franklin is as unworkable as it is undesirable and it is my
    sincere hope we can still enact legislation this session to stop this idea in its tracks," Senator Prague said. "The
    entire legislative delegation, the chief elected officials of many area towns, and residents are united in their
    opposition to the prospect of this dump and testified to that effect at today's special forum."

    CRRA officials testified they are negotiating with the three separate, private owners of the parcel for its
    purchase. The prospect of seizing the land under provisions of the state's eminent domain policies was on the
    mind of many at the hearing.

    "I'm working with the Chairman of the Planning and Development Committee to see if we can still amend a
    bill at this late date to protect that property and save Franklin residents from getting a new neighbor that is an
    ash dump that would foul their water and air," Senator Prague said. "I'm also working with the state Department
    of Environmental Protection to see how we might stop this project with the help of that regulatory agency."


    May 1, 2008

    Prague Wins Senate Passage of Bill Designed to Prohibit Franklin Ash Dump
    11th Hour Amendment Rushed to House For Action
    State Senator Edith G. Prague (D-Columbia) today arranged for an entirely separate Environment Committee
    bill to be amended and won Senate approval for the new language, which was drafted to prevent the
    Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) from siting an ash dump in the towns of Franklin and
    Windham. Senator Prague has said repeatedly in recent weeks the proposal is unsuitable for the area and
    vowed to intervene, if possible.

    CRRA has proposed dumping a reported 300,000 tons of ash per year at a 350-acre site in Franklin that some
    say would threaten the area aquifer, from which many Franklin residents draw water through private wells, and
    the nearby Shetucket River, which supplies drinking water for the nearby town of Sprague. Senator Prague said
    the plan's potential detrimental effect on the regional environment is compounded by the incompatibility of
    dozens of large, ash-laden dump trucks making repeated, daily trips along the rural roads in and around
    Franklin.

    "I'm so grateful for the support and cooperation of Senator Ed Meyer, co-Chair of the Environment Committee,
    without whom I could not have advanced this legislation so far so fast," Senator Prague said. "Franklin
    residents are overwhelmingly opposed to the idea of this ash dump and the threat it represents to their quality
    of life--I know the vast majority of the town's 1,900 residents have signed a petition in an effort to protect their
    water supply."

    CRRA has been negotiating with the three separate, private owners of the parcel identified for the ash dump;
    the prospect of seizing the land under provisions of the state's eminent domain policies has also come up with
    regard to the property and any effort to acquire the property is specifically banned by Senator Prague's
    amendment.

    "I'd like to acknowledge Senator Prague's quick thinking and prompt legislative action to stop this proposal
    from jeopardizing the quiet, rural nature of these eastern Connecticut towns and their environmental integrity
    and I commend Senator Meyer's flexibility and willingness to provide the legislative vehicle for this initiative,"
    Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams (D-Brooklyn) said. "I know CRRA had already identified
    about a dozen other potential sites for a new ash residue disposal area, one of which I'm sure is less
    environmentally sensitive and less intrusive to regional water supplies."

    Senator Prague said the amended bill will advance directly to the House of Representatives for its
    consideration. She said the House members who represent Franklin and Windham are in full support of the
    amended bill and will work to win final approval in the final days of this year's legislative session.
Edith Prague Testifies
Feb. 13, 2009, April 25th and
May 1st, 2008