Douglas, Sorrell vow to fight tire burn at New York paper plant
By David Gram, Associated Press Writer | September 11, 2006
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Gov. Jim Douglas and Attorney General William Sorrell said Monday they would continue their legal battle to stop International Paper from burning tire-derived fuel at its mill in Ticonderoga, N.Y.
"No tires will be burned without a fight -- a big fight," the Democrat Sorrell said as he joined the Republican Douglas in denouncing the tire-burning plan.
Douglas noted Vermont offered to help pay for up-to-date anti-pollution equipment, which he said would enable the mill to burn tire chips without threatening to release pollution containing cancer-causing chemicals to areas downwind, especially Vermont.
"IP has refused to engage in serious discussions about our concerns," the governor said. Monday's news conference by the Vermont officials coincided with two deadlines. They said the state would make the deadline for appealing a New York court decision permitting the tire burn. And they said Monday also was the deadline for the federal Environmental Protection Agency to make a formal objection -- if it chose to do so, and it was not expected to -- to the proposed tire burn.
The Connecticut-based IP is expected to get a final permit, possibly as early as this week, from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, to run a two-week test burn with tire chips at its Ticonderoga mill.
The company first proposed in 2003 to use tire-derived fuel in place of fuel oil to run its main boiler, which generates both electricity and steam for plant processes. IP spokeswoman Donna Wadsworth said the company would conduct a rigorous test and would shut it down immediately if emissions "even approach" limits for specific pollutants.
Sorrell said IP's application to the New York environmental agency had listed 21 chemicals of concern expected to be emitted from burning tires, including lead, cadmium and other heavy metals. He said eight were regarded as "seriously" carcinogenic and eight more as "moderately" carcinogenic.
Wadsworth said later, "That is not an accurate picture." She said the company, after talks with Vermont and New York environmental officials, had come up with a list of 21 pollutants for which it wanted to test. "That doesn't mean we expect to see all of them," she said.
Douglas has maintained since IP first announced its plan to use tire fuel that he did not want to see that happen until the company installed modern anti-pollution equipment on its stack. The governor said his concerns would be largely alleviated if IP installed the equipment. "I'm not opposed to the proposed tire burn," he said. "I'm opposed to the proposed tire burn without the state-of-the-art pollution control equipment."
Wadsworth said, "We're not reluctant to add pollution control devices to this power boiler if it makes environmental sense to do that."
She said the electrostatic precipitator that Vermont officials have said they want IP to install is used mainly to clean emissions from burning coal. She argued that IP needs to do the two-week test burn in part to determine what sort of anti-pollution device would be the best fit.
Sorrell and Douglas outlined four legal avenues open to them:
-- Appealing a New York court order that cleared the way for the tire burn to an intermediate appellate court in the New York state judicial system.
-- Filing a protest with the federal Environmental Protection Agency if it declines to raise an objection to the tire burn. That would not stop the two-week tire burn test the company wants to do, but could be a hurdle for IP if it eventually moves to use tire-derived fuel permanently.
-- Filing a new lawsuit in New York state courts over the expected issuance of the permit.
-- Suing in federal court.
Douglas and Sorrell said any of the three court actions likely would be accompanied by a request that no tire burning occur while the cases were pending.
Other Vermont elected officials, including the three-member congressional delegation, have come out strongly against the tire burn. On Monday, state Sen. Matt Dunne, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, called for a boycott of IP.
"I applaud the work of Attorney General Sorrell and Gov. Douglas to pursue a legal strategy against this tire burning," Dunne said in a statement. "However, until a legal remedy is achieved, every Vermonter and their state government can use the power of their pocketbook to send this message."
Wadsworth said IP's products "are a good choice from a quality standpoint and they're a good choice from an environmental standpoint. ... Our environmental stewardship is solid."
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