Albany County Executive Dan McCoy holds up a copy of Local Law B, which bans waste incineration in Albany County, winning praise from statewide environmental groups and a former administrator for the EPA.
Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy signed Local Law B, enacting the Albany County Clean Air Act on Thursday, Sept. 10. The law bans industrial waste burning within the county and prohibits opening new waste incinerators. The ban includes the burning of aqueous film-forming foam at the Norlite facility in Cohoes and tire burning at the LafargeHolcim Cement Plant in Ravena.
However, cities, towns and villages can opt out of the County Law under the New York State Environmental Protection Law.
A first offense for noncompliance with Local Law B can result in fines up to $2,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 days. A second offense violation fine is up to $5,000 or a maximum of 30 days in jail as a misdemeanor offense.
“Albany County Executive Dan McCoy made the right decision by signing the Clean Air Act, which is the most protective air pollution law ever adopted by a county, in the state,” said Former EPA Regional Administrator, Judith Enck.
McCoy had since early August to make the law official after the Legislature voted 32-7 on Aug. 10, causing some pressure from supporters to move the process along. But McCoy said he waited a full month to sign the law in an effort to receive feedback from residents, workers and businesses within the county.
Those who were against the Albany County Clean Air Act say it risks overstepping state and federal regulations. McCoy specifically named potential pushback from industries targeted by the legislation such Norlite and Lafarge.
“My biggest argument was defending this in a lawsuit and I wasn’t afraid that if that’s what Lafarge wants to do, sue us. Bring it on,” said McCoy.
The Legislative Gazette interviewed Kevin Bretz, environmental director at LafargeHolcim and Jocelyn Gerst, vice president of U.S. Marketing & Communications at LafargeHolcim for their response on the legislation.
“We didn’t think that for such a complex law that the enforcement body, whether it be the Albany County or town of Coeymans, really had that knowledge like the DEC or U.S. EPA from a technical standpoint,” said Bretz.
Bretz said that the U.S. EPA has accepted tire-derived fuel (TDF) for years as a less carbon-intensive alternative to coal. He said that their facility has already been held to stringent emission standards specifically regarding dioxins and furans for the protection of the human health and the environment. When addressing more sustainable alternatives Bretz said that this fuel was not necessarily their endgame, but rather a step toward sustainability.
“There are other things that we need to do on our end but it’s an easy first step for us to take to become a more sustainable company,” Bretz said. “Concrete is the number two most widely used material in the world right behind water. It’s so widely used. We have a responsibility to find ways to do it more sustainably in manufacturing and switching to a fuel like this to supplement coal would certainly be a good first step.”
Some of the benefits Bretz mentioned to using TDR include: no generated ash when it runs through the cement kiln, landfill diversion and the complete use of the components of the tire within the plant itself such as using iron as an additive in the cement.
“We are disappointed that the Albany County Local Law B was approved as is, ” said Gerst. “We’re proud of our efforts, and the facts back this up. We will continue our efforts to educate local lawmakers and the community about the true value of TDF.”
Those at Lafarge seem to view the legislation passed by McCoy as a misunderstanding of their efforts toward what they perceive as the same goal of sustainability. Environmental Policy Director for New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), Liz Moran however made a statement addressing both Lafarge and Norlite as sources of polluted air for Albany County residents.
“Albany County residents and neighboring communities can breathe easier knowing Albany County has taken an important step to protect air quality from toxic chemicals. Residents in Cohoes and Coeymans have suffered for years from unhealthy emissions released by the Norlite Incinerator and Lafarge Cement Plant,” Moran said.
Moran and others are calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign S.7880-B/A.9952-B, which would ban PFAS burning in Cohoes. The 19 municipalities in Albany County can still opt out of the Clean Air Act through establishing their own legislation, which makes the county legislation’s impact restricted. State law would ban waste burning outright.
According to former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck, the state Legislature unanimously passed Senate bill 7880 and Assembly bill 9952 which prohibits the burning of toxic firefighting foam at Norlite.
“The governor has not acted on this bill,” Enck said. “It is imperative that Governor Cuomo sign this bill into law.”
In the meantime, McCoy said the Albany County law is a step in the right direction.
“Air pollution [has] been competing with everybody and this is something that we need to protect our environment to go forward,” said McCoy. “This Local Law B is the foundation for that future.”
