Author: Clean Air Coalition

This important information was shared by Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics and Tracy Frisch, Chair, Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls in response to Congressman Tonko’s provision in the “Clean Future Act” allowing residential trash burning to be considered a “clean electricity source”.  It’s not and we must let him know!  Please share this email with your friends and lists.  

Here’s what you can do to ask Rep. Tonko to remove that provision in his bill:
1)  If you are an individual, call Rep. Tonko’s office at 518-843-3400 or 202-225-5076; or submit a written comment at TONKO CONTACT.  You can say and/or write the following:

Re: Amendment Requested to the CLEAN Future A

Dear Representative Tonko:
I appreciate your efforts in the CLEAN Future Act to begin addressing the climate crisis. This bill includes many strong waste provisions that will help address the plastic pollution crisis. Specifically, I applaud the provisions pausing the permitting of new plastics production facilities, requiring essential environmental justice protections, and supporting a national bottle bill. However, I respectfully urge you to remove the provision detailed in Title II, Subtitle A on page 39 of the bill, which would allow incineration of post-consumer municipal waste to be considered a clean electricity source.

2)  If you are an organization,  SIGN ONTO THIS group organizational letter:  

3)  Attend the virtual event below on Wed. March 31 at 6:45 pm with the  Saratoga League of Women Voters, Congressman Tonko, and student climate activists. The program is entitled “CLIMATE CHANGE – Solutions from the National to the Local Level.” 

Please register, attend and speak out about false climate solutions, including the incineration of recyclables, garbage, waste tires, or anything else. 
REGISTER HERE

Thank you!

To the Coeymans Town Board – regarding Draft Comp Plan for Coeymans:

Thank you for keeping the public comment period open on an issue as important as the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.  Our members are especially concerned with two important issues: the vision of the Town’s future that is proposed and the process by which that vision was agreed.  We also have a few questions about the what happens once the Comp Plan has been adopted.

The following letter lists our questions.  We are submitting them now, while the Public Hearing is still open and we will post a copy of this letter online, as well as sending it to local media.  I hope you will take these questions seriously in order to secure the trust and confidence of all residents of Coeymans.  

We thank you for your attention.

THE COMP PLAN’S VISION FOR THE TOWN

Expansion of Industry 

Industrial activity currently occupies 11% of the Town’s area, mostly near residential areas of Ravena and the Hamlet of Coeymans from Route 9W to the Hudson River.  Since 2000, population has declined as industry has expanded.

Existing 1960s zoning has large areas set aside for industry and industrial buffers. Much of that area is still wooded or undeveloped.  In 2006, people involved in the Comp Plan called for the expansion of business, but did not want more industry.  In 2020, most people surveyed for the Comp Plan said again that they did not want more industry in Town.  However, the draft Comp Plan calls for industry to expand along the Hudson River and NY Route 144.

Comp Plan says: on p. 13:  A significant opportunity in the Town is the growth and expansion of industry along the riverfront and along route 144.   The growth of the Port of Coeymans and the Coeymans Industrial Park, Lafarge North America, and the development of additional industrial parks along NY State Route 144 create numerous opportunities for employment and support for the local economy and school system.  (p. 13) 

Questions re industrial expansion

1. Where else does the Plan expect to see industrial expansion?
2. What type of industry is expected to expand in Coeymans?
3. How much of the industrial growth do you believe will be devoted to increasing waste management?
4. Has the Comp Plan considered reducing the area designated as industrial?

Balance industry, environment and public health

Comp Plan recommends, p. 14: ED6: Balance the protection of the environment and public health with the expansion of industrial development.

Question re balance of industry, environment & public health: 

1. What might be the impact of industrial expansion on where people are currently living? 
2. How do you plan to keep a balance between industrial development and people’s quality of life?
3. How do you plan to balance industrial development with environmental protection?
4. The Hudson River, Coeymans Creek and the surrounding natural areas along NY route 144 are valuable environmental, social and historical assets.   Why is industrial development targeted at this area? 
5. What is the Comp Plan’s vision for protecting the areas around the Hudson River, Coeymans Creek and local residents if industry expands on the Riverfront and Route 144? 

Challenges of industrial development

The Comp Plan recognizes there are challenges that come with industrial development, including increased truck traffic on residential streets, especially Church St and Main Street in Coeymans as well as Main St, Ravena, and north on Route 144.  In an hour and a quarter on a Wednesday morning in February, 52 large large industrial trucks went up Church Street, more than one every two minutes.  Over three days that week along Coeymans Main Street, 90 industrial trucks went by during 20 hours of observation, one every ten minutes.  Small delivery trucks and vans were not counted, only large dump trucks and semis. 

There is also the challenge of declining business activity on Main St in Ravena and Coeymans.

Questions re challenge of industrial development: 

1. How does the Comprehensive Plan propose addressing the challenges presented by significant industrial growth in the Coeymans Industrial Park, the riverfront and along NY Route 144?
2. To what extent did the process consider the impact of industrial expansion over the past 15 years?
3. What is the vision of the Comp Plan for eliminating industrial vehicles in residential and commercial areas? 
4. Is increased industrial activity and traffic expected to help restore small businesses in Coeymans, especially on the Town’s two Main Streets in Ravena and Coeymans?
5. How many acres of land does the Comp Plan believe will be converted to industrial activity?  What environmental protection will be required? 
6. What is the relationship between the vision for industrial expansion and the recent amendments to existing laws concerning Solid Waste management and Clean Air?  For Solid Waste Law, amended July 2020 and Clean Air Act, amended November 2020.
7. Industry has expanded but the population has declined. Did your process consider the possibility that more industry drove people out of the Town?

Additional questions on changes to the Solid Waste, Zoning & Clean Air Laws:

1. Why was the Solid Waste law was changed in July 2020?
2. Before the law permitted the Town to run a solid waste management, now the amended law permits anyone holding a permit from the Town to run a transfer station.
   • Why was this change made?
   • What kind of waste will this transfer station be permitted to take in? 
   • Where will it come from?
   • How much waste is involved?
3. Where would such a transfer station be located?
   • Where are you planning to put this transfer station?
   • Has the work on the transfer station began? Explain.
   • Are there permits in place?
4. What materials would be permitted to be imported into this transfer station?
   • How do we know that for sure?
5. Previous law did not allow any solid waste to be imported to any site in Coeymans.  Now the law permits that solid waste to be imported to a site permitted by the Town.  
   • Why did the Board make this change to the law?
   • Were you aware that the Town vigorously fought to prohibit the importation of solid waste into the Town?
   • Explain.
   • How is this changed law consistent with the expressed vision in the Comp Plan to balance the protection of the environment and public health with the expansion of industrial development? 

The Hudson River shoreline & community

According to the Comprehensive Plan, p. 19, Coeymans has approximately 4.4 miles of Hudson River shoreline which is identified as a tidal shoreline habitat.  This is considered a globally rare freshwater tidal habitat and is designated as a Significant Coastal Habitat by the New York Department of State.  The Comp Plan states that Environmental and economic resiliency are inextricably linked to one another.  Utilizing natural resources in a sustainable way ensures that those resources are available to the community for future generations to come. (p.20)

The Hamlet of Coeymans is the oldest settled part of the Town, with a history dating back over 300 years.   There is no mention of this history or a vision for the Hamlet in the Comprehensive Plan.

Questions re Hudson River shoreline & community: 

1. What is the Comp Plan’s vision for the water front?
2. How much of the 4.4 miles of Hudson shoreline will be dedicated to heavy industry?
3. What is the vision for protecting the Hudson shoreline as proposed in the Comp Plan?
4. What is the role of the Coeymans waterfront park?
5. What is the vision of the Comprehensive Plan for the Coeymans Hamlet community?
6. How does the Comp Plan envision the protection of historic resources in Coeymans, in the Hamlet and elsewhere?

PROCESS & PARTICIPATION IN DRAFTING THE COMP PLAN

The COVID pandemic made it virtually impossible for groups of residents to meet with the firm preparing the Comprehensive Plan.  However, surveys and information tables were used and five stakeholder groups were convened, separately, each for one hour.

Questions re process & participation:

1. What was the process for deciding that industry development along the riverfront and route 144 needs to be expanded?
2. As those most affected by recent industrial growth, were the residents of North Coeymans, the Hamlet and Ravena consulted and did they endorse industrial expansion?  
3. How many residents of Coeymans in total were consulted, by any method, during the drafting of the Comp Plan?
4. How many hours were spent in discussions with residents?
5. How many people in the stakeholder groups were residents from the Hamlet of Coeymans or North Coeymans or Ravena north of Main St? 
6. How often did M.J. Engineering meet with the Town Board to discuss the Comprehensive Plan?
7. How many hours were spent in discussion with the Town Board, or members of the Town Board?
8. How were participants in the Stakeholder groups selected?
9. Did the participants come from the different geographical areas of the Town and different social groups?
10. How would you describe the balance of representation from business and industrial interests, versus the representation of residents and voters in Coeymans? 
11. Given the emphasis on industrial development, what are the plans for conducting a Study of the Cumulative Impact on Industrial Development since 2006?  Such a study is needed before the Town adopts this comprehensive plan.
12. If there are no plans to do a Cumulative Impact Study, why not?

NEXT STEPS

We understand that the Comprehensive Plan provides a vision of the Town’s future.  However, a vision needs to be implemented and that will include new zoning.  There is currently a 6-month moratorium on zoning, to allow time to finish and approve the Comprehensive Plan.  

What happens next before the moratorium ends and afterwards?

Questions re next steps:

1. What redrafting might be done before the Comp Plan is voted on by the Town Board?
2. What other approvals are needed from NY State or Albany County before this plan can be adopted?
3. When will discussions and work begin on revising the zoning?  
4. Who will draft the new zoning map, definitions, and rules?
5. What opportunities will there be for public participation in the zoning discussions?

Thank you for your attention to these questions.  We look forward to your answers and to a brighter future for everyone living in Coeymans. 

WHEN? 6pm, Thursday, MARCH 11

Why you should bother to speak:
A Comp Plan should be a vision of our shared future in Coeymans.

The draft plan for Coeymans endorses more industrial development on the Hudson River & Route 144.  If approved, this area will become
a BIG waste management & incineration business.

This plan benefits the Port of Coeymans and other industries, but…  
our residents and river will bear the burden.

Air pollution damages children and everyone who breathes that air.  Industrial trucks on Main St discourage small businesses.  People in North Coeymans, Ravena, and the hamlet know what industrial development means.

Tell the Board what YOU think is a good future in Coeymans.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
Phone Town Hall at 6pm,
518-756-6006, ext 3

MORE TALKING POINTS FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING

A Comp Plan should be created by residents for residents

This Plan was drafted by a consulting firm, without meaningful discussion among Coeymans residents about the future they want. 
ASK the Board to keep the public hearing open until a full dialogue and consultation among residents has taken place.

The impact of industrial growth, past, and future
Despite the rapid growth of industries along the waterfront, there has been no study of their cumulative impact on the Town, the Hudson River or the people who live here.  

ASK the Board for a GEIS (Generic Environmental Impact Study) of past and proposed industrial expansion along the waterfront & Route 144 before the Comp Plan is approved.

Waste management & incineration in Coeymans

ASK the Board if this plan is designed turn the Coeymans Riverfront into a waste management business that accepts & burns waste from anywhere, in any quantity.

ASK the Board if they send their children to school in Coeymans. 

WILL THIS COMP PLAN HELP OR HURT THE AIR, WATER, OR LAND IN COEYMANS? THE CAC HAS READ THIS PLAN AND HAS NO DOUBTS THAT – IF PASSED – IT WILL NOT ADVANCE OUR VISION and MISSION FOR OUR TOWN.

REGISTER TO VOICE YOUR CONCERN ON MARCH 4th. HOW? EASY! CLICK HERE: VIRTUAL WEBINAR REGISTRATION

Is your home or property worth more than the year you bought it? Odds are it’s not. Why is that? Could it have something to do with the fact that as the Port of Coeymans grows to accommodate more heavy industry activity that fewer and fewer people care to live here? We at the CAC think so.

The following comments were submitted to the Albany County Planning Board in January 2021 on behalf of Barbara Heinzen and Christine Primomo.  These are the reasons why the CAC works so hard to protect the Town of Coeymans from industrial expansion. Please feel free to echo these sentiments when you submit your comments at the public meeting.

To members of the Albany County Planning Board:

Christine Primomo and I would like to submit the following comments for the Albany County Planning Board concerning the Town of Coeymans Draft Comprehensive Plan. While Christine Primomo is a resident of Coeymans, I live in New Baltimore, Greene County, but my property is in both Albany and Greene Counties on the west bank of the Hudson River at the mouth of the Hannacroix Creek. Whatever happens in Coeymans affects me directly. We believe that before this Comprehensive Plan can be adopted, the Town of Coeymans must conduct fuller consultation with residents and commission a Generic Environmental Impact Study for the following reasons:

Waste Processing and Industrial Development in Coeymans

Currently, heavy industrial activity occupies 11% of the land in Coeymans, however, most of that takes place between Route 9W and the Hudson River, occupying as much as 30-50% of an area that is very valuable in agricultural, environmental, and historical terms. This industrial activity has grown substantially since the 2006 Coeymans Comprehensive Plan was approved. According to people involved in the 2006 Plan, the ambition was to LIMIT further heavy industry, not expand it. However, exactly the opposite has occurred with the rapid growth of the Port of Coeymans and the Coeymans Industrial Park. It is notable that during this same period, both the population and value of housing in Coeymans have declined, despite this increase in economic activity. 

The Port of Coeymans and Coeymans Industrial Park are responsible for all the expansion of heavy industry since 2006 and this expansion looks set to continue, moving north along Route 144 and the Hudson River. On 23 July 2020, the Coeymans Solid Waste Law and Zoning Law definitions were amended to allow for the creation of a waste processing transfer station along route 144, immediately west of the Port of Coeymans and north of the Coeymans Industrial Park. These amendments will allow a private company to import and handle solid waste of many different kinds from anywhere, in any quantity. Such waste will be able to come into the town by road, rail or river, and there are plans (not mentioned in the draft Comp Plan) to build a rail link to allow that. On 23 November 2020, the Coeymans Town Board revised the Coeymans Clean Air Law, which had limited the incineration of waste in Coeymans. The revised Clean Air Law not only permits the incineration of solid waste in any quantity it has rendered the Albany County Clean Air Law, signed in September 2020, ineffective. Taken together, the revisions to the Clean Air Law and the Solid Waste and Zoning laws, point to a clear intention to turn the riverfront area in Coeymans, from the Lafarge cement plant on 9W to the Hudson River, into a major waste management and incineration center that can serve a very large region of the Northeast. 

To date, there has been no comprehensive study of the cumulative impact of the expansion of the Port of Coeymans and its allied businesses in the Coeymans Industrial Park. Nor has there been any debate about the wisdom of creating a major waste management facility on the Hudson River directly opposite the Schodack State Park, in a narrow stretch of the Hudson River, both of which are home to endangered species, the bald eagle and sturgeon. To the best of my knowledge, there is no mention in the current draft Coeymans Comprehensive Plan of the intention to expand waste management in the Town of Coeymans. Nor has there been any substantial public debate about these plans with residents of the Town or any discussion of the wisdom of expanding waste management and incineration activity in Coeymans.

Impact on neighboring towns

The impact of these waste management plans is potentially very large. The Albany Clean Air Law was passed with a large majority, including members from both political parties. Legislators and their constituents were especially concerned about the impact of burning waste on the toxicity of air emissions and the health of residents in Albany County. Other residents in neighboring counties downwind of Coeymans also supported the original Coeymans Clean Air Law and the Albany County Clean Air Law. Given this major potential impact, why is this development not even mentioned in the Coeymans Comprehensive Plan?

Cumulative impact study needed

These industrial businesses have been approved one by one, but the time has come to review the cumulative impact of the expansion of heavy industry seen at the Port of Coeymans and Coeymans Industrial Park. This review also needs to include the impact of expanding existing waste management businesses in Coeymans and allowing the incineration of waste at the Lafarge cement plant or any other industrial facility in the town. A comprehensive plan is a perfect time to conduct such a study, but to the best of my knowledge, there has not even been a SEQR review of the draft Comprehensive Plan.

Serious debate needed on increasing waste management and incineration in Coeymans

The authors of the draft comprehensive plan have made a good start. However, thanks to COVID restrictions they have largely consulted members of the Town Board. They held four workshops with the Town Board where no members of the public were admitted. In their survey, the authors of the Comprehensive Plan note that most people wanted to limit industrial expansion, not increase it. However, in the draft plan’s conclusions concerning economic development, their first recommendation (ED1) is to encourage economic development in industrial areas. By their own data, this does not represent the wishes of the residents of Coeymans or the interests of the residents of Albany County who want to limit air pollution from heavy industry and waste incineration in Albany County.

Thank you very much for considering these points.

Yours sincerely,

Barbara Heinzen, New Baltimore, New York

Christine Primomo, Ravena, New York 12143