Thursday, September 8, 2016

New from DEC re: i3 Electronics SPDES renewal : SEQR info!

COME TO THE PUBLIC HEARING! 
When: Wed, Sept 14th, 5pm.
Where:  U-E High School, 1200 E Main St, Endicott, NY 13760
What: DEC Hearing on the i3 Electronics SPDES permit (pollution permit)

I hope you all got a copy of the new "enhanced" SEQR review from DEC yesterday.
http://changetheframe.com/~bhuston/DEC/i3-SPDES/draft-perit-june272016/i3%20Electronics%20Amended%20NegDec%2009022016.pdf

Interesting, I've been studying the NY State Environmental Law:
SEQRA in relation to the i3 Electronics, Inc SPDES permit.
There are SEVERAL opportunities along the way to declare that there are "No Significant Impacts".
This is NOT GOOD. It almost encourages DEC staff to NOT perform a full review.

See: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/32521.html
The first chart shows basically how the environmental review is supposed to happen
(getting to the Green Oval).

​The whole point of the Environmental Review is to create the EIS,
Environmental Impact Statement.

I had to review this video by Dr. Ingraffea about what an EIS is for:
Just watch the first 3 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaivKGwoTgU#t=45s
Ingraffea says an EIS should
  • Identify Environmental Impacts
  • Assess them for severity
  • Propose Mitigations or Prohibitions
But we never get to this point if this is an "unlisted action" or a "Type-II action".

Now observe the second chart:

​It is the same as the first, only it also shows (blue highlight) that the original 2011 DEC Pilot program was a SECRET Type-II action, whereby some DEC administrator signed off on the statement "Finding of No Significant Impacts" WITHOUT an actual environmental review!

Now the present hearing is for a SPDES renewal and modification is considered by the DEC to be of SUCH LOW CONSEQUENCE (think about something trivial, e.g., the Governor picking up a pen) that the DEC calls it an "unlisted action".

(your tax dollars at work)

Also interesting is that DEC tells us there are 9 leachate trucks per day, and 23 non-leachate trucks (but does not explain what these other trucks are for!).

Only their numbers don't add up! They show the truck capacities as being "6,400 to 8,300 gallons", and we also know there is 80,000 gallons per day. Do the math: 80,000 gallons / 9 trucks is = 8,889 gallons in a truck, which is GREATER than the largest truck which DEC tells us about!

In actual fact, we have seen 2 different sized trucks coming from Seneca Meadows.
I have estimated them to be a) 5,600 gallons, and b) 8,000 gal.

We know each truck makes 2 trips/day = 4 trucks from Seneca Meadows.

We also know Broome County uses a smaller capacity truck, 5,600 gallons.

This means JUST FOR LEACHATE there are 4+9 or 4+10
= 13 or 14 trucks per day.
+23 non-leachate trucks/day
= 36 or 37 trucks PER DAY just for the i3 WWTP.
* 5 days/week = 180-185 trucks per week!!!!!
"NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT"

BH

--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)

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