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Editorial: Proposed waste to energy plant has considerable risk

To the editor:

Our City Administrator is reported as saying that the proposed waste to energy gasification plant has zero risk to taxpayers. I think there is considerable risk. And I have a lot of questions.

I don’t think the city should approve an incentive package until the public can be assured of our safety related to air quality and water quality and the safety of the gas produced and the safety of the waste the plant will create, including the heavy metals and dioxins they will haul to our landfill. My grandchildren attend Newman school. If the wind blows in the right direction, will they be at risk on the playground? Will the trucks hauling toxic leftovers to the landfill go past the school? Our landfill does not get enough waste daily to run the plant at full capacity. What else will be gasified there?

We could send a delegation to visit other waste to energy gasification plants this company is running….wait, they have never done this before. We could send a delegation to visit similar plants run by other companies…no, there aren’t any in the United States. This is a demonstration project to see if it is cost effective and to see if it is safe. If it doesn’t work, they walk away, but we live here and we have to pay to clean up the site. We need a lot more information. There is none on the company’s website.

In the meantime, we have a very efficient and well run landfill which will last us at least another 50 years. There is no rush. If we decide we need to do a project like this, we should also investigate proposals from other companies who are working to develop this process or we could do more aggressive recycling or we could do methane capture.

I applaud the city’s efforts to get jobs for our citizens. I ask that they keep our safety foremost in mind and proceed cautiously. Let’s not prostitute ourselves for the sake of any job.

JoAnn Hardy
Mason City

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