Showing posts with label Enviro Solid Waste to Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enviro Solid Waste to Energy. Show all posts

Monday, October 17, 2011

Westminster Common Council Members Frazier and Whitson weigh-in on incinerator and airport expansion

Westminster Common Council Members Frazier and Whitson weigh-in on incinerator and airport expansion

October 17, 2011

As a citizens of Westminster, we have wondered why some elected officials of Westminster haven’t publicly weighed in on issues that would have a large impact on Westminster.  Now that we are elected Councilmen. we would like to let our views be known on two issues that we believe will impact Westminster.  Here are our observations and concerns.

The first is the “waste to energy” incinerator that the county is currently thinking about building with Fredrick County. We are against it for several reasons:

The first of which is the cost to run it. There is a waste to energy incinerator in Montgomery County and every family in the county is charged a fee of several hundred dollars a year to keep it running. Do we need another fee in Carroll?

The incinerator also needs tremendous amounts of trash to keep it running, and needs the paper, cardboard and plastic that is and can be recycled to keep the operating temperatures high enough to run efficiently.  That means that the paper cardboard and plastic that is currently being recycled in Carroll will be burned and not reused.

This is a linear system and we live in nature, which is a cyclical system. A linear system takes, makes, and wastes. It takes things from the resource base and makes whatever we want to buy and creates wastes along the way. Ultimately what is made is also thrown away and in this case it will be burned. We should try to treat our resources like nature in a close looped system. We need to reuse the paper, cardboard, plastic and other “trash” instead of burning it. 

There are technologies in place that make this a more cost effective solution as well which have been recently shared with us at Council meetings. 

One final note that should put an exclamation point on our reasoning is that the incinerator in Harrisburg is the main reason for the city going bankrupt recently!!

The other issue that we are against that is also being looked at is the airport expansion. I have not seen, read or heard of any way that the airport expansion will benefit the people of Westminster or Carroll County.  If it will not somehow positively impact the welfare of the people than why spend the taxpayers money on it. 

The present airport is continuously operating at a loss  with no reason to think it will start to make a profit.  The present debt is 5 million dollars and counting!

The Federal government wants to invest 73 million in it and make it bigger, but after that we will be in charge of the upkeep, which will cost us more money as well.

Marada,  which was one of the main reasons for the expansion, is out of business!

Businesses are less likely to come to Maryland in general due to the heavy tax burden and our lower taxed neighbors.

If we accept Federal  money,  they will give us more mandates in what is required for the airport and have control, as opposed to local control, and we know how much money the Federal gov’t has right now.  – 14 trillion and counting.  Don’t think Carroll County is high on their priority list.

There are also environmental  concerns relating to fuel being dropped on local fields/noise/ as well as homes/land that people have lived on their whole lives that would have to be condemned and forced to move elsewhere in these difficult times.

There is no reason that a county government should be running an airport in the first place.  Governments are not good at being businesses and shouldn’t try to be businesses. 

4 of the 5 Commmisioners ran on a platform that they were opposed to the airport expansion and they should keep their word!

If a business were running an airport it would be more efficient.  In fact, we would be making money as a county if they turned a profit because the private company would be paying taxes.  Since the county runs the airport there is no tax revenue coming in from the airport! When the county loses money, due to the airport losing money, We the People of Carroll County lose!

Dennis Frazier and Paul Whitson ( 410 916 3645 )

Admin Letters to KevinDayhoffNet, Letters to the Editor qv Admin Letters, People Frazier Dennis, People Whitson-Todd, Enviro Solid Waste Man, Enviro Solid Waste to Energy, Carroll Co Regional Airport, Incinerator qv Enviro




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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Soundtrack Op-ed: “Waste Not! – Carroll” speaks out on MGA incinerator legislation



Soundtrack Op-ed: Don West, co-founder of “Waste Not! – Carroll” speaks out on Maryland General Assembly incinerator legislation

February 14, 2010
Editor,

On Saturday, February 13, 2010, the Carroll County Times Opinion Page gave Senate Bill 228 a “thumbs down”. The bill, sponsored by Senator Alex Mooney, R – District 3 (Frederick and Washington Counties), prohibits the Maryland Department of the Environment from issuing a permit for the construction of an incinerator unless certain conditions are met.

Included in those conditions are that the incinerator is located in an area zoned for heavy industrial activity and that the site is at least 3 miles from a church, school, park, hospital or residential dwelling.

The CC Times asserts that Mooney was disingenuous in offering the legislation. Yet, Senator Mooney states he has received thousands of e-mails from his constituents in opposition to the Waste to Energy (WTE) incinerator that is proposed in his district. Rather than disingenuous, I view his legislation as an example of a senator responding to the needs and desires of those he serves.

The same column accuses Mooney of political posturing in an election year. That charge is easy enough to refute – Senator Mooney introduced a similar bill in last year’s legislative session. Last year was not an election year for County Commissioners in either Frederick or Carroll Counties.

Speaking of politicizing the issue, our own Commissioner Michael Zimmer ventured to Annapolis to testify against the same bill last week. He said he wants to make sure that Carroll County has an opportunity to reap the same benefits of WTE incineration as Baltimore City and Montgomery and Harford County. After examining this issue in some detail, I’m wondering what benefits Commissioner Zimmer has in mind?

Perhaps it’s all the money to be spent? With current projected construction costs upwards of $600,000,000, plus the financing and the anticipated operating expenses for the life span of the incinerator, we are facing a total cost to taxpayers in Carroll and Frederick in excess of 2 billion dollars!

Given current budgetary problems, I don’t see how anyone would view an expenditure of this magnitude a ‘benefit’. If you are interested in how bad it can get, look to Harrisburg, PA, where the city is nearly bankrupt following a botched upgrade to their incinerator.

Another ‘benefit’ of WTE incineration that proponents like to cite is the electrical energy the facility will generate. What they don’t say is that the incinerator is in reality a poor source of power, generating only about 1/10 of the electricity of a typical electrical plant. Also, any power generated goes first to the operation of the facility. Then Frederick County, as majority partner, gets second priority for the power.

Finally, Carroll County can get what’s left, providing we pay for it. That’s right, we will pay for the electricity generated by burning the trash that we pay to have burned in the incinerator that we are paying for! At the Dickerson facility in Montgomery County, financial records show that money from the sale of electricity doesn’t even offset service on the bonds issued for the initial construction of that incinerator; operating costs are borne by the residents and taxpayers.

In fact, if you compare the energy saved by recycling or composting waste destined for the incinerator versus the energy provided from its combustion, incineration is an enormous Waste of Energy!

Proponents of the incinerator would like you to think that with an incinerator burning our trash, we will no longer need landfills. This is false. First of all, as much as 20 – 25% of our solid waste can’t be burned. Most yard waste and construction & demolition refuse are two examples - other disposal methods will need to be used.

Plus the residual ash from the incinerator will need to be dealt with. Some propose that using the ash as a daily cover at the landfill is appealing. Montgomery County, however, pays to haul its ash to Virginia, where it is handled as a hazardous waste, at an additional cost of several million dollars per year. I’m not seeing any great benefit there, either.

Finally, proponents like to say that emissions from the Waste to Energy incinerator will be closely monitored. Carroll and Frederick’s agreement allows for the monitoring of 12 regulated emissions. Unfortunately, a recent report from the MDE for the Harford County incinerator identified nearly 200 toxins released! If that’s the level of monitoring we can expect at our proposed incinerator, I don’t think I would want my family to live 30 miles from such a facility.

An editorial in the CCT’s the following day accuses Senator Mooney of a “Not In My Backyard” motivation for proposing his legislation. Superficially, I can see where that could be argued, except that the adoption of his bill would mean that nobody in Maryland would have an incinerator within 3 miles of their home, school or church.

Perhaps it’s more accurately portrayed as NIABY, “ Not In Anybody’s Backyard”. For that, Mooney’s attempt at regulating future incinerator locations should be applauded, not ridiculed.

Some may view Senator Mooney’s legislation as an intrusion of state government into a local issue. However, when our local elected officials ignore the views of their constituents, and more importantly, the facts and ramifications of their decisions, seeking the assistance of another level of our government is our right and obligation.

Don H. West
Westminster

The writer is a co-founder of Waste Not! - Carroll
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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Recent Explore Carroll articles and columns by Kevin Dayhoff



Recent Explore Carroll articles and columns by Kevin Dayhoff

And a letter to the editor in which I was mentioned…

High winds in Sykesville might not be a twister
Published July 27, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Eldersburg Eagle
SYKESVILLE — Strong winds whipped through Carroll County’s rolling hills Sunday evening was enough to cause damage to homes, but the National Weather Service says that it did not appear to be a tornado. The storm downed trees and power lines, damaged cars ... ...

Lighting the faces of children, and a dark day for taxation
Published July 26, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... of state and national government, we may be feeling "very blue over the outcome" for many years. When he is not feeling blue over taxes, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com, or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/. ...

Hoby Wolf advocates for things the county has already done
Published July 26, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... on this project. They have. On Feb. 26, 2007, Commissioner Michael Zimmer visited Harford County's facility (along with Eagle columnist Kevin Dayhoff.) Then, the board traveled to York, Pa., on April 30, 2007, to view that operation. They have also been to ... ...

Westminster council meeting details city improvements and comprehensive plan
Published July 25, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... for the annual Christmas parade. With that, council president Damian Halstad gaveled the meeting to a close and folks quickly paraded out the door.

Jackson's death created a wave of empathy in Westminster
Published July 19, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... our citizens on hearing the mournful intelligence of Jackson's death ..." When he is not listening to the music of the "Jackson 5," Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com, or visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....

Hampstead man arrested for setting Greens Apartments fire
Published July 13, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
damage is estimated at $450,000, according to fire marshals. Kevin Dayhoff contributed to this report....

DAYHOFF: 11th Air Cavalry Troop memorial recalls service of Carroll natives
Published July 11, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... to help honor these men and their families, as well those others named on the memorial who paid so dearly in the service of their community and nation.

Bringing Corbit's Charge, and Douglass, back to Westminster
Published July 5, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... for his age," Crutcher responded that Douglass has "rested a lot" over the years. When he's not traveling back in time to the 1800s…

DAYHOFF: Margaret Mitchell wrote what she knew; the rest is gone with the wind
Published July 2, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... And that is all I know for right now. Hope you and your family have a great Fourth of July weekend.

Westminster was all abuzz for the great fly roundup of 1914
Published June 28, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... reminds me that it was Groucho Marx who once said, "Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." When he is not swatting flies…visit him at http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/....


DAYHOFF: Hoffa Field and the Sheathing of the Sword
Published June 23, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... . Lightner and the June 1922 American Sentinel newspaper article have left us with an extensive and fascinating account of the “The Sheathing of the Sword.”

'Year without summer' killed crops ... and created a monster
Published June 21, 2009 by Carroll Eagle, Westminster Eagle
... village folk that it's not a bad idea to keep a torch handy on these cool summer nights. When he is not playing with laboratory-harnessed lightning…

Historic Blue Ridge College bell dedicated In Union Bridge
Published June 20, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
UNION BRIDGE — Several hundred folks braved threatening weather June 20 to witness the unveiling and dedication of the historic 1900 Blue Ridge College bell in Lehigh Square, the original site of the college which had thrived in Union Bridge from 1898 to ... ...

When city got 'sole' in the 1920s, it was cause for a celebration
Published June 14, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
... be the guest speaker. There will be a retirement ceremony for worn flags. Guests may bring old flags for retirement. When he is not waving the flag…

Remember when you could walk to work in Westminster?
Published June 7, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
When he's not on a "walk-about" in Westminster…

Company H: from the Frizellburg greenhouses to the sands of Omaha Beach
Published June 3, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... (have) come a long way from the old parade field in Frizellburg.” Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver
Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle, Carroll Eagle
... Westminster city police arrived and took control of the situation The accident is under investigation. All in a day’s work. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

In 1925, planting the seeds of employment, production
Published May 31, 2009 by Carroll Eagle
When he's not roaming the streets of historic Westminster looking for old factories…

Celebration of memory and change
Published May 26, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
This year’s Westminster Memorial Day ceremonies witnessed many changes over the past — although the solemn tradition of 142 years continued. On Memorial Day the normal hustle and bustle of downtown Westminster paused to remember fallen veterans, and ... ...

Dayhoff: Maryland National Guard Company H, had its beginnings in the flower business
Published May 22, 2009 by Westminster Eagle
... We are deeply indebted to those who fought and died to give us the unalienable right to live free and cherish liberty in the pursuit of happiness. Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster.

20090728 Recent Explore Carroll articles columns by KED

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Carroll commissioners approve pact to join Frederick in $500M incinerator project


Carroll commissioners approve pact to join Frederick in $500M incinerator project

By Charles Schelle
cschelle@patuxent.com

Carroll’s Board of County Commissioners will move forward with plans to join Frederick County in building the first waste-to-energy trash incinerator in the United States in more than 13 years.

Commissioners Dean Minnich and Michael Zimmer voted on Thursday to approve a resolution that accepts Frederick County’s invitation to build a joint, 1,500-ton-per-day capacity waste-to-energy trash incinerator at the Ballenger Creek/McKinney Industrial Center, which is located beside the Monocacy River and Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick.

Commission President Julia Gouge, who in the past had talked favorably about composting as an alternative to an incinerator, was absent for the vote.

Carroll County would pay 40 percent of the cost of the estimated $501 million incinerator — or about $200 million — while Frederick County would pay 60 percent.


See more of this story at ... http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/3086/ceincineratorresolution0702/

20090702 sdosm Carroll Commissioners approve WTE pact with Frederick

Friday, May 15, 2009

Climate Change: Garbage Gets Fresh Look as Source of Energy By JEFFREY BALL





HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Times change, and yesterday's environmental problem starts to look like today's solution. That is what is happening with trash.

Over the past two decades, the U.S. has shut down hundreds of pollution-spewing waste incinerators on the belief that burning detritus was a bigger environmental sin than burying it. Today, most American garbage is sent to landfills, some spanning hundreds of acres miles from the cities that generate the refuse. New York City, which tosses about eight million tons of nonindustrial trash each year, trucks much of it to big landfills in states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Jeffrey Ball/The Wall Street Journal.

Covanta's Hempstead, N.Y., plant burns nearly a million tons of trash a year.

Landfills have been convenient. But they are falling out of favor as improved technology and changing environmental priorities start to upend the old thinking about garbage.

Past orthodoxy held that burning trash was bad because it spewed toxic substances into the air. In an era when the big environmental threat was localized pollution like smog and cancer-causing plumes, landfills seemed the lesser evil.

Dirty air is still a concern, but now it has been eclipsed by fears of global climate change. In that calculus of environmental harm, recent research suggests, burning trash is better than burying it.

The appeal of most modern incinerators is that they don't only torch trash. They also use the heat from the incineration to boil water, which creates steam, which in turn generates electricity. Yet trash incineration produces just 0.4% of the country's electricity. Even if all U.S. garbage were burned, it wouldn't produce anywhere near enough power to meet the country's energy needs. But as concern about climate change grows, any renewable source of energy -- even a pile of garbage -- seems appealing.

[…]

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A9

Further Reading

The best way to deal with trash is to produce less of it. The next-best way is to recycle more of it, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But that still leaves loads of trash, and burning it to produce electricity is better than burying it in a landfill,
the EPA says. Incinerating a ton of trash emits at least 35% less greenhouse gas and yields 10 times as much electricity as burying it, according to a recent study by EPA researchers.

Today, the U.S. burns 13% of its trash; it sends 54% of its trash to landfills and recycles 33% of it. Other countries, particularly countries in Europe that have less available space for landfills and fewer domestic fossil-fuel resources, burn more of their trash, according to a
study by the European Environment Agency.

A bill drafted by Congressional Democrats would give incineration, known as "waste-to-energy," a boost. The bill would require utilities to produce 20% of their electricity from renewable-energy sources and energy-efficiency improvements by 2020. The bill's current version defines waste-to-energy as one form of renewable power, along with sources such as the wind and sun.

Many environmentalists worry that encouraging trash incineration will impinge on recycling efforts.
A 1997 report by the Natural Resource Defense Council's Allen Hershkowitz argues that recycling rates could be dramatically improved with more effort. A 2008 study by trash consultant Eileen Brettler Berenyi concluded that trash incineration isn't restraining recycling. Her study, partly funded by the trash-incineration industry, found that U.S. communities with waste-to-energy plants tend to have higher-than-average recycling rates.

Read the entire article here: Climate Change: Garbage Gets Fresh Look as Source of Energy By JEFFREY BALL

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124233937494621157.html


Westminster Maryland Online http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/ http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Frederick Co Commissioners suspend incinerator bids


Meg Tully, Frederick News-Post: Frederick Co Commissioners suspend incinerator bids…

April 29, 2009

Frederick Co Commissioners suspend incinerator bids; will explore other options. Carroll Commissioners to discuss options Thursday morning.

From: Commissioners suspend incinerator plans Originally published April 29, 2009 By Meg Tully News-Post Staff:

The
Frederick County Commissioners are suspending deliberations on a proposed trash incinerator, and will focus instead on alternative disposal options.

The commissioners accepted bids on the project earlier this year, and appeared to have narrowed those down to a preferred site and contractor to build and run the incinerator.

But they voted 4-1 on Tuesday to suspend that process. Commissioner John L. Thompson Jr. voted against the motion.

Also known as waste-to-energy, the trash incinerator was intended to be a cheaper, long-term answer to the county's shrinking landfill space.

[…]

Commissioner Kai Hagen, an outspoken opponent of the incinerator, said he was willing to explore using a waste-to-energy plant outside the county, if it meant the commissioners would suspend the bid process for a
Frederick plant.

But he said that he believes other options, including increased recycling, composting and waste reduction efforts, are the best solutions.

[…]


More: http://tinyurl.com/dand5r

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=89586

****

Ay caramba.

Excerpted from: April 16, 2008 How to Make Trash Go Away Kevin E. Dayhoff
Tomorrow the Carroll County Board of Commissioners will deliberate in open session and – hopefully – make a decision regarding the offer from Frederick County to join forces to make 1,100 tons of trash a day go away.

Bear in mind, a further review of my files indicates that this is my fourth go-round regarding what to do with trash in Carroll County in 41 years – going back to 1967.

It was a few short years after the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 that trash really hit the fan in Carroll County.

It has not been a pretty picture ever since. It was back in those days that the county began to take over or close a number of unpermitted de-facto landfills – and then proceed to open more.

Waste-to-energy was rejected once in 1984 and twice in the mid-1990s. Co-composting failed to get the nod in the late 1990s.

Since 1965, every landfill, except one, in which Carroll County has had some degree of participation remains to this day under consent decrees with the Maryland Department of the Environment for the necessary mitigation of environmental hazards. Currently there is no apparent relief on the horizon for the costs to the environment or the financial costs to landfilling.

Back in the first go-round in the 1972 time frame, many of us have felt that the best management approach to solid waste was source reduction and recycling.

It would take 18 long years to get the Maryland Recycling Act passed in 1988. That legislation required a recycling rate of 20 percent.

[…]


Related:

March 6, 2008
Making Trash Go Away – Part 2
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The February 26th joint meeting between Frederick and Carroll County over how to make trash go away came after two years of discussions and deliberations resulting from the Frederick County commissioners’ adoption of Resolution 06-05, on February 16, 2006.

March 5, 2008
Making Trash Go Away – Part One
Kevin E. Dayhoff
On February 26, the Frederick and Carroll County commissioners met to discuss how to make a combined 1,100 tons of trash-a-day go away.


20090429 SDOSM Frederick Co Commissioners suspend incinerator bids

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Carroll County Commissioners to get briefing on incinerator, cost


Commissioners to get briefing on incinerator, cost by Bob Allen

News Briefs

Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/ 2/06/09

Carroll County Public Works Director Mike Evans said this week that the deal for a proposed waste-to-energy incinerator to be used by Carroll and Frederick counties is still "attractive" to the county, even though the cost of the project has risen from $332 million to $527 million.

That's because Carroll County's share, he said, will be 40 percent of that -- and hasn't really risen since the initial projection.

Evans said Carroll's County's share of the costs do not work out to a straight 40 percent of the projected $527 million. He added that under this latest proposal, Carroll's projected costs have not risen, but appear to actually come in slightly lower.

"The numbers get skewed pretty quickly," he said. "When you look at it from our perspective, the numbers are still very attractive."

Evans will brief the Board of County Commissioners on the project update at the board's regular meeting Thursday, Feb. 12, in Westminster.

The briefing follows a presentation last week in Frederick County by Wheelabrator Technologies, a company slated to build and operate the waste-to-energy incinerator in Frederick County.

The facility, if built, would be used by both counties.

Evans said no action will be required from the Carroll Commissioners on Feb. 12 in terms of moving ahead with the project. For one thing, the Frederick County Commissioners have not yet decided whether to accept Wheelabrator's proposal and move forward with the project.

If Frederick County does approve the project, it must then formally "invite" Carroll to join it in going forward with the planning and permitting phase "and find out if we can get a permit," said Evans.

He estimated that part of the process alone will take about two years. The site for the incinerator is slated to be in Frederick County, although no location has been formally announced.


-- Bob Allen

http://explorecarroll.com/news/2258/news-briefs/

20090206 SDOSM Commissioners to get briefing on incinerator, cost
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Tentacle: WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert February 5, 2009



Here’s a shout-out to Commissioner Kai J. Hagen, who needs a kind word from someone, anyone. His “noogies” have been few since objecting to the $323 million Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant proposed for Frederick County. Mr. Hagen should declare victory and admit he was “for it” before he was against it.

The Honorable Mr. Hagen took a roundhouse blow from The Gazette two editions ago in a story, yet to be reported by the local Daily Blather. The affable Mr. Hagen was guilty, reporter Sherry Greenfield recounted, of using his MacIntosh™ computer to scold his colleagues by email regarding the WTE.

Mr. Hagen wrote to colleagues and bantered with private citizens saying that county staff and a professional consultant had given them information regarding the WTE that amounted to “scientific fraud.”

Huge words for a rookie politician, who may not understand that words have meaning. When you write them down and hand them out, as in an email, they last forever. They are the ultimate example of recycling gone bad. Before you hit, “Send,” stew over it a bit.

It was a miscalculation by Mr. Hagen, whose winning electoral base may have disappeared, leaving him a minority constituency of “Groans.” His opposition campaign, including a cyber chat room, has yielded little information of substance other than a falling sky, like the fabled Chicken Little claimed.

Commissioner President Jan H. Gardner has gone the extra mile with her colleague, even to the point of accompanying him and Commissioner David Gray on a “fact-finding” trip to Boulder, CO, in June 2008. President Jan even dragged along Michael G. Marschner, director of the county Division of Utilities and Solid Waste Management.


Read the entire column here: WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert February 5, 2009

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2999

20090205 TT
WTE Derangement by Norman M. Covert Feb 5 2009
Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Saturday, May 3, 2008

20080503 Links to related materials on Carroll County Maryland’s future solid waste management decisions…

The 3-minute interview: Robin Davidov

Matthew Santoni, The Examiner 2008-04-21

BALTIMORE - The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority manages three waste-to-energy facilities that burn trash to generate steam and electricity in Harford and Montgomery counties, and Baltimore City. Last week, Carroll County voted to join Frederick County in building a fourth. Harford County plans to expand its facility, said Authority Director Robin Davidov.

Why have Carroll and Harford had such different reactions to plans for new waste-to-energy plants?

The difference, I think, is that Harford County has had 20 years’ experience with a waste-to-energy facility. It’s been very reliable, it’s been a good neighbor and it’s generated electricity for the nearby Army base. Those counties which have had experience with waste-to-energy have had a good experience, and those without experience have a lot of questions.

How does waste-to-energy compare to increased recycling, which is being discussed as an alternative in Carroll?

Our first steps are to reduce, reuse and recycle. But not everything can be recycled. To those who say, “Let’s recycle more instead of burning it for energy,” it’s not an either/or. Harford County has the highest recycling rate in the state [57 percent in 2006], so they know the difference between waste that can be recycled and that which can’t. Most of Carroll’s trash isn’t being recycled right now. It’s going 190 miles to a landfill in Virginia.

How do you respond to citizens’ worries about the facilities producing greenhouse gases and pollutants such as dioxins?

Waste-to-energy plants actually emit less greenhouse gas than trucking and landfilling garbage because landfills produce methane, which is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Dioxins are really pervasive. We’re pretty sure — not 100 percent — but pretty sure they’re destroyed at really high temperatures.

Examiner

Members of environmental panel quit over incinerator vote

Limo group: Unlicensed drivers ‘everywhere’ during prom season

3-year-old boy critically injured in lawnmower accident.

NAACP calls for statewide rally to protest killings by police

Public safety positions funded

The 3-minute interview: John B. Townsend II

The 3-minute interview: Esther Johnson

The 3-minute interview: Sandra Quel

The 3-minute interview: James Williams

The 3-minute interview: Vaughn Bennett

The 3-minute interview: Barry Levinson

The 3-minute interview: Greg Hamm

The 3-minute interview: George Jones

The 3-minute interview: Natalie Eddington

The 3-minute interview: Ann Compton

State Hispanic population growing; officials rethink outreach programs

Hispanic population in Md., Va.

Public pressure prompts change in natural gas project

Sewage sludge critics urge ban on spreading

Madame Tussauds cuts ticket prices, citing economic factors

_____

Links to related materials on Carroll County Maryland’s future solid waste management decisions… Related to: 20080331 Future of Solid Waste Public Hearing Dates Released

20080317 Recent columns on the future of Solid Waste Management in Carroll and Frederick Counties

20080317 More information on Waste to Energy and the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties

20080309 The Sunday Carroll Eagle: “History will know us by our trash”

April 16, 2008

How to Make Trash Go Away

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Tomorrow the Carroll County Board of Commissioners will deliberate in open session and – hopefully – make a decision regarding the offer from Frederick County to join forces to make 1,100 tons of trash a day go away.

In The Tentacle:

March 6, 2008

Making Trash Go Away – Part 2

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The February 26th joint meeting between Frederick and Carroll County over how to make trash go away came after two years of discussions and deliberations resulting from the Frederick County commissioners’ adoption of Resolution 06-05, on February 16, 2006.

March 5, 2008

Making Trash Go Away – Part One

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On February 26, the Frederick and Carroll County commissioners met to discuss how to make a combined 1,100 tons of trash-a-day go away.

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Related: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management or

Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Recycling or

Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy

And:

19880900 To Burn or Not to Burn an interview with Neil Seldman

19960900 The Five Most Dangerous Myths About Recycling

“Pay as you throw” By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer Sunday, August 12, 2007

20070912 Carroll County EAC votes to promote recycling by Carrie Ann Knauer

20071010 Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council recommends “Pay as You Throw” program to reduce waste, by Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

20071112 Frederick County seeks Carroll participation in trash incinerator

Carroll County Times editorial from November 14, 2007: “Talk some trash with the county”

20080318 Frederick News Post Tourism Council opposes incinerator by Karen Gardner

20080331 Future of Solid Waste Public Hearing Dates Released

Links to meetings and videos:

http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/pubworks/sw-future/default.asp

Board of County Commissioners Meetings

Future of Solid Waste Dates Released

Commissioner Discussion on WTE Shared Facility March 28, 2008

Future of Solid Waste Options March 10, 2008, public discussion

Future of Solid Waste Options March 5, 2008, public discussion

Joint meeting with Frederick County Board of County Commissioners
February 26, 2008

Presentation on home composting February 28, 2008

Economics of a shared Waste-to-Energy facility February 21, 2008

Presentation of recycling policy February 14, 2008

Discussion of integrated materials management strategy November 19, 2007

Report on recycling and update on solid waste August 14, 2007

Environmental Advisory Council Meetings

County's electronic recycling March 11, 2008

Food waste composting January 8, 2008

Council priorities review December 11, 2007

Presentation on composting November 13, 2007

Resource assessment, continuation of EAC discussion on waste management October 9, 2007

EAC discussion on waste management September 11, 2007

Pay per throw, Recycling August 14, 2007

Municipal waste options July 10, 2007

Pay per throw program, Solid waste practices in Montgomery County, and update on commercial recycling June 12, 2007

Solid and hazardous waste management, Sierra Club's waste management views, and Lancaster waste-to-energy trip May 8, 2007

Links to documents:

Waste To Energy Option for Carroll County

U.S. Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration

Waste to Energy: Investment/Expense/Income

Environmental Advisory Council Recommendations on Addressing
Solid Waste in Carroll County

Environmental Advisory Council Recommendations (DPW's presentation)

Managing Recycling and Reuse

Multiple Pathway Health Risk Assessment

Municipal Waste Combustion Ash, Soil, and Leachate Characterization

Carroll County Waste Reduction, Recycling and Buy Recycled Policy

Resource Assessment (Richard Anthony report)

Solid Waste Decision Timeline

Integrated Materials (Waste) Management System

Carroll County, Maryland Solid Waste Management Options (R.W. Beck report)

Cumulative Health Risk Study for Dickerson Area Facilities

20080421 The 3-minute interview: Robin Davidov by Matthew Santoni, The Examiner

The 3-minute interview: Robin Davidov

Matthew Santoni, The Examiner 2008-04-21

BALTIMORE - The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority manages three waste-to-energy facilities that burn trash to generate steam and electricity in Harford and Montgomery counties, and Baltimore City. Last week, Carroll County voted to join Frederick County in building a fourth. Harford County plans to expand its facility, said Authority Director Robin Davidov.

Why have Carroll and Harford had such different reactions to plans for new waste-to-energy plants?

The difference, I think, is that Harford County has had 20 years’ experience with a waste-to-energy facility. It’s been very reliable, it’s been a good neighbor and it’s generated electricity for the nearby Army base. Those counties which have had experience with waste-to-energy have had a good experience, and those without experience have a lot of questions.

How does waste-to-energy compare to increased recycling, which is being discussed as an alternative in Carroll?

Our first steps are to reduce, reuse and recycle. But not everything can be recycled. To those who say, “Let’s recycle more instead of burning it for energy,” it’s not an either/or. Harford County has the highest recycling rate in the state [57 percent in 2006], so they know the difference between waste that can be recycled and that which can’t. Most of Carroll’s trash isn’t being recycled right now. It’s going 190 miles to a landfill in Virginia.

How do you respond to citizens’ worries about the facilities producing greenhouse gases and pollutants such as dioxins?

Waste-to-energy plants actually emit less greenhouse gas than trucking and landfilling garbage because landfills produce methane, which is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Dioxins are really pervasive. We’re pretty sure — not 100 percent — but pretty sure they’re destroyed at really high temperatures.

Examiner

Members of environmental panel quit over incinerator vote

Limo group: Unlicensed drivers ‘everywhere’ during prom season

3-year-old boy critically injured in lawnmower accident.

NAACP calls for statewide rally to protest killings by police

Public safety positions funded

The 3-minute interview: John B. Townsend II

The 3-minute interview: Esther Johnson

The 3-minute interview: Sandra Quel

The 3-minute interview: James Williams

The 3-minute interview: Vaughn Bennett

The 3-minute interview: Barry Levinson

The 3-minute interview: Greg Hamm

The 3-minute interview: George Jones

The 3-minute interview: Natalie Eddington

The 3-minute interview: Ann Compton

State Hispanic population growing; officials rethink outreach programs

Hispanic population in Md., Va.

Public pressure prompts change in natural gas project

Sewage sludge critics urge ban on spreading

Madame Tussauds cuts ticket prices, citing economic factors

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Links to related materials on Carroll County Maryland’s future solid waste management decisions… Related to: 20080331 Future of Solid Waste Public Hearing Dates Released

20080317 Recent columns on the future of Solid Waste Management in Carroll and Frederick Counties

20080317 More information on Waste to Energy and the future of solid waste management in Frederick and Carroll Counties

20080309 The Sunday Carroll Eagle: “History will know us by our trash”

April 16, 2008

How to Make Trash Go Away

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Tomorrow the Carroll County Board of Commissioners will deliberate in open session and – hopefully – make a decision regarding the offer from Frederick County to join forces to make 1,100 tons of trash a day go away.

In The Tentacle:

March 6, 2008

Making Trash Go Away – Part 2

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The February 26th joint meeting between Frederick and Carroll County over how to make trash go away came after two years of discussions and deliberations resulting from the Frederick County commissioners’ adoption of Resolution 06-05, on February 16, 2006.

March 5, 2008

Making Trash Go Away – Part One

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On February 26, the Frederick and Carroll County commissioners met to discuss how to make a combined 1,100 tons of trash-a-day go away.

*****

Related: Environmentalism Solid Waste Management or

Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Recycling or

Environmentalism Solid Waste Management Waste to Energy

And:

19880900 To Burn or Not to Burn an interview with Neil Seldman

19960900 The Five Most Dangerous Myths About Recycling

“Pay as you throw” By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer Sunday, August 12, 2007

20070912 Carroll County EAC votes to promote recycling by Carrie Ann Knauer

20071010 Carroll County Environmental Advisory Council recommends “Pay as You Throw” program to reduce waste, by Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer

20071112 Frederick County seeks Carroll participation in trash incinerator

Carroll County Times editorial from November 14, 2007: “Talk some trash with the county”

20080318 Frederick News Post Tourism Council opposes incinerator by Karen Gardner

20080331 Future of Solid Waste Public Hearing Dates Released

Links to meetings and videos:

http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/pubworks/sw-future/default.asp

Board of County Commissioners Meetings

Future of Solid Waste Dates Released

Commissioner Discussion on WTE Shared Facility March 28, 2008

Future of Solid Waste Options March 10, 2008, public discussion

Future of Solid Waste Options March 5, 2008, public discussion

Joint meeting with Frederick County Board of County Commissioners
February 26, 2008

Presentation on home composting February 28, 2008

Economics of a shared Waste-to-Energy facility February 21, 2008

Presentation of recycling policy February 14, 2008

Discussion of integrated materials management strategy November 19, 2007

Report on recycling and update on solid waste August 14, 2007

Environmental Advisory Council Meetings

County's electronic recycling March 11, 2008

Food waste composting January 8, 2008

Council priorities review December 11, 2007

Presentation on composting November 13, 2007

Resource assessment, continuation of EAC discussion on waste management October 9, 2007

EAC discussion on waste management September 11, 2007

Pay per throw, Recycling August 14, 2007

Municipal waste options July 10, 2007

Pay per throw program, Solid waste practices in Montgomery County, and update on commercial recycling June 12, 2007

Solid and hazardous waste management, Sierra Club's waste management views, and Lancaster waste-to-energy trip May 8, 2007

Links to documents:

Waste To Energy Option for Carroll County

U.S. Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration

Waste to Energy: Investment/Expense/Income

Environmental Advisory Council Recommendations on Addressing
Solid Waste in Carroll County

Environmental Advisory Council Recommendations (DPW's presentation)

Managing Recycling and Reuse

Multiple Pathway Health Risk Assessment

Municipal Waste Combustion Ash, Soil, and Leachate Characterization

Carroll County Waste Reduction, Recycling and Buy Recycled Policy

Resource Assessment (Richard Anthony report)

Solid Waste Decision Timeline

Integrated Materials (Waste) Management System

Carroll County, Maryland Solid Waste Management Options (R.W. Beck report)

Cumulative Health Risk Study for Dickerson Area Facilities