Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Like all of us, I am heartsick over the recent news that the LaFargeHolcim plant in Ravena violated regulations nearly 300 times over the last six years. Most of the violations involved toxic discharges into the Hudson River, Hannacroix Creek, and Coeymans Creek. This is an absolute gut punch to those of us who live, work, and play in the area, and who want our community to thrive. To those of us who love RCS.
I am not here to cast aspersions on LaFarge or any other industrial operation in RCS land. The industry is an important part of our economy and our history, and I know there are plenty of good people who work at these places who genuinely love our community.
But let’s be nothing less than crystal clear: any organization that would abuse their host community with such reckless indifference to their health, safety, and livability can NOT be said to love that community, and it needs to be held to account. Yes, they reached a settlement with the state and federal governments, and some of those funds will come to town to help repair the damage done, but I don’t find the gesture nearly sufficient if this company wants us to believe they are responsible partners.
LaFargeHolcim is not a family-owned business, passed down through the generations to hardworking RCS folks who earned our trust, nor is it a scrappy start-up by a recent transplant committed to becoming a good neighbor. It is a massive multinational corporation, based in Europe, with plants all over the globe. It has teams of attorneys looking to maximize profits without the well-being of their host communities anywhere near the top of their priorities. It has scores of PR people at the ready to release artful statements insisting on their commitment to the environment and public health, despite the fact of serial violations.
As we speak, our state government is considering passing legislation (Senate Bill S00542 and Assembly Bill A02591) that would encourage LaFargeHolcim to burn “low carbon fuels” in their Ravena kiln. That sounds lovely and green, but the definition of “low carbon fuels” currently permits the burning of post-consumer and industrial waste, including tires. This legislation was almost certainly written with the strong influence of the cement industry, which would reduce their costs by accepting such waste as fuel. Politicians tend to like it because it helps eliminate a waste disposal headache and because they can spin it as “green”.
The problem is that such incineration practices can simply not be deemed safe, considering they release all sorts of toxic chemicals and compounds, without much more serious and unbiased study. And can we really trust LaFargeHolcim, a corporation that has demonstrated its near-total disregard for our well-being through the violations recently reported (and in many others over the years), to do everything they can to REALLY ensure our well-being?
Did I mention that our middle school and high school kids spend seven years of their young lives breathing the air in the shadow of LaFarge’s kiln?
I am enormously concerned about this entire situation. Frankly, I feel our wonderful RCS land is being used, and that the goodwill of our neighbors is being abused. I, for one, have just about had it. We LIVE here, guys. Our KIDS live here, fishing in the river and splashing in the creeks. We love it here. WE LOVE RCS. And when you love something, sometimes you have to stand up for it.
Write your state assembly members and senators, county legislators, and town council people, and tell them that you are concerned about the pollution in your own backyard and across the street from where your kids learn and grow. Tell them to get serious about monitoring and penalizing polluters, so that they are deterred from committing the same violations time and time again. Tell them to not allow serial polluters to burn tires and other waste in such dangerous proximity to school kids. Tell them it’s time to stand up for their constituents or we will find leaders who will.
Yours,
Ted Smith