Cement project should R.I.P.

Editorial Poughkeepsie Journal April 24 , 2005

The state's sweeping rejection of a proposed cement plant in Columbia County is a clear victory for those who have a more aspiring vision for the mid-Hudson Valley.
The gigantic plant would have been alarmingly out of scale with other business endeavors in the region and totally out of sync with other efforts to revitalize Hudson River communities and waterfronts.
Nonetheless, for years now, St. Lawrence Cement Co. has wanted to close an old plant in Catskill, Greene County, and build a much larger facility across the Hudson River in the City of Hudson and Town of Greenport. Retrofitting the old plant under strictly enforced environmental controls is a better option, and the company should pursue it.
Under the company's plan, the new plant would be located about eight miles north of the Dutchess-Columbia county line -- and just a few miles away from a key Hudson Valley historic site: Olana, the former home of famed 19th-century landscape artist Frederic Edwin Church.
But the New York Department of State's Division of Coastal Resources has just issued a stinging rebuke of the proposal. Throughout its 20-page evaluation, the state poignantly harped on how riverside communities are converting their waterfronts from old industrial sites to a healthy mix of restaurants and stores, residential and recreational uses. In doing so, the state not only rejected this project but offered some broad-reaching principles and a sound vision for Hudson River communities to follow. Specifically, the state said the plant would:
- Compete with the revitalization of Hudson's waterfront and surrounding area.
- Lead to 24-hour loading and unloading operations at a dock that would directly conflict with the public use of neighboring parks.
- Produce a plume that would affect historic resources and visual quality of the area.
And the list goes on.
Appeal would likely be fruitless
The department's unequivocal criticism of this project is profound in a number of ways. The Department of State was charged with addressing whether the proposal would conform with New York's coastal management program. More stringent environmental reviews await St. Lawrence Cement if it foolishly opts to pursue this project. The company has 30 days to appeal the Department of State's decision.
From many aspects, the company's plan is a loser. The $353 million facility would give the company about three times the capacity that it has now, but there would be no net gain in jobs from the move. Moreover, plant opponents range from environmental groups to officials in neighboring states who fear the facility could harm regional air quality across state lines. While a new plant using modern equipment would reduce some emissions of several pollutants, it would actually raise others, especially those that create ozone pollution linked to lung disease. That alone is ample reason to kill the project.
Even without final environmental reviews, the plant project has been deemed unacceptable by the state. St. Lawrence Cement should give up this fight for the good of the community -- and for the health of the region.
Copyright © 2005, Poughkeepsie Journal .

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