Monday, March 18, 2013

Latest HT article by Rick Seltzer MAYOR: City will check legality of transfer station

Link to article

Article in the H-T, Mayor: City will check legality of transfer station, 18 March 2013:
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2013/03/18/news.mayor-city-will-check-legality-of-transfer-station.sto 

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Examples: Letters to John Hale, Permit Manager, IDEM



March 9, 2013

John Hale, Permit Manager
Indiana Department of Environmental Management Solid Waste Permits MC 65-45, IGCN 1101
100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251

Dear Mr. Hale,

I am writing to voice my concerns about the proposed Vernal Pike Transfer & Recycling facility located on Vernal Pike in Bloomington, Indiana.  In my opinion I do not understand why anyone would want to live in close proximity to a trash transfer station since according to the Carbondale, Colorado study this is considered a “noxious” land use.   The location of this proposed facility makes it completely unacceptable considering the following facts.

1)      The present business at JB Salvage is completely surrounded by a RS zone.  The surrounding properties are not only residential, but they are also low income, high density residential with compact urban form.  There are 3 gov’t subsidized housing developments in close proximity to the proposed facility.
2)      There are three schools and a fourth (dance school) also within close proximity
3)      The City of Bloomington has denied City Transit bus services to this area because of the “geometry of the infrastructure in the area”.  Because of two railroad crossings and low train trestles X 2, the City felt the buses would not be able to maneuver through this area.  At the same time, large semi-trucks with long wheel bases would be unable to get over the two railroad crossings without bottoming-out.
4)      When I-69 changes take place, the Vernal Pike exit to now Hwy. 37 will be closed.  The ONLY exit will be through a core neighborhood with inadequate infrastructure (2 street lights, few sidewalks, narrow streets).  People often walk in the road/street because there are few places to even get off of the street and at night, because we don’t have street lights, it is nearly impossible to see pedestrians.
5)      Our neighborhood will likely experience depreciation of property values.  The Carbondale study states properties within 1 mi of the facility will be depreciated.
6)      We are concerned with the exhaust fumes from diesel trucks moving the trash and from other trucks delivering the 100 tons per day of solid waste to the facility.
7)      We fear that there will be lots of litter/road trash blowing from uncovered or unsecured materials going to the station.
8)      We choose not to deal with the extra accidents that will certainly occur in front of our homes on W. 17th where there is a blind intersection (Lindburgh & W.17th St.) at the bottom of a steep hill.  There are always many accidents on this hill especially in inclement weather.
9)      We invested lots of money in our home and property this summer.  We own 3.4 acres within city limits and  two homes.  We have a pond and our back yard looks as if we live in the country.  We want to be able to enjoy our yard and natural sounds such as birds, without the sounds of reverse alarms on trucks dumping trash, clanging and banging of materials hitting the floor of the trash and recycling facility, the stench and increase in particulate matter in the air which is harmful to our health, increase risk of vectors and even accidental spills that might be environmentally harmful.

Bottom line……we do not want to live next to a trash transfer station and experience all of the detrimental side effects that will certainly come from this noxious land use.  Please do not approve this permit……..we BEG you.  We feel that this proposed facility will be detrimental to our health and safety as well as that of our neighborhood residents.


Respectfully,







March 10, 2013

John Hale, Permit Manager
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Solid Waste Permits
MC 65-45, IGCN 1101
100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251
                                                                                                                   
Dear Mr. Hale,
I am writing to you today with my deep concern about the proposed Waste Transfer Station on Bloomington’s Near West Side.
My wife and I are currently living on the near west side, within a half mile from the proposed JB Salvage WTS expansion.  We have built a LEED Platinum certified (2010) home here, in the spirit of revitalizing this neighborhood that has a history of suffering environmental abuse, including super-fund sites such as Fell Iron and Metal.  The history of using economically and racially diverse distressed neighborhoods  as a dumping ground for waste is well documented.  In fact, the EPA has studied this problem, and there are materials that address this issue, such as,
A Response to a Recurring Environmental Justice Circumstance:
The Siting of Waste Transfer Stations in Low-Income Communities and Communities of Color 
My wife and I, along with the Near West Side Neighborhood Association,  Crescent Bend Neighborhood Association, Prospect Hill N.A., Maple Heights N.A., Mayor Mark Kruzan and the City Council of Bloomington, all oppose the proposed location of a WTS in our residential neighborhood.  We strongly support recycling and progressive solutions that will eventually create a zero-waste Bloomington, however, and look forward to the design and future deployment of creative strategies for this goal.
Thanks for all of your great work!
David Gulyas  ASID,  LEED AP
908 West 8th Street
Bloomington, IN  47404
davidgulyasdesign@gmail.com
 








Example of letter to former Commissioner Mark Stoops



Dear Mr. Mark Stoops,                                                                                      March 9, 2013

As a responsible citizen of Bloomington and owner of property in close proximity to the proposed Vernal Pike Transfer and Recycling facility, in Bloomington, I am very disappointed that you would, as former County Commissioner, send a letter of recommendation to IDEM for this proposed facility.  We feel that in doing so, you were obviously either misled by the present owners into thinking this was singularly a recycling facility or your priority was with saving the City money in trash transportation costs and recommending yet another recycling facility (within a few blocks of City Hall’s recycling station) without any consideration to  1) the placement of this facility within city limits  2) the fact that this facility is surrounded by low-income, high density affordable housing projects with compact urban form which City gov’t has reinforced  3) the fact that this facility will compromise quality of life for surrounding neighborhoods and the health and safety to the public as well as school children and B-line trail users  4) the inability of large trucks to access this facility due to inadequate infrastructure and only one possible exit route which will be THROUGH a core neighborhood  5) the sale of this facility, which is highly likely, which may compromise the existing contract the District has with Hoosier/Republic which may also INCREASE dumping/tipping costs to the City  6) further reduced property values of an already depressed area for up to a 1 mi radius  7) the mission statement of District Solid Waste Management. 

We, Crescent Bend Neighborhood Association, respectfully request that you rescind your letter of recommendation and that you make it perfectly clear to IDEM that your interpretation of the proposal/application was for primarily a recycling center and not a trash transfer station located in a densely populated part of town.   We also request that you point out that you are concerned that this noxious land use (according to a BBC study done for Carbondale, CO) will definitely affect the quality of life as well as health and safety of the surrounding neighborhoods and that the existing infrastructure, which cannot feasibly be changed (ie: railroad crossings situated on inclines and low train trestles) will not support the required large truck traffic with defined exit routes through local neighborhoods.  Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Respectfully,  

Links to info from IDEM's website



http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67075996_2012_11_01_full_application.pdf

http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67482802_2012_11_02_site_drawings.pdf

http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67122317_2012_11_09_letter_received.pdf

http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67413928_2012_12_27_opposition_letter_1.pdf

http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67386932_2013_01_17_Request_for_Additional_information.pdf

http://www.astro.indiana.edu/~sjanowie/IDEM/Permit_67328406_2013_02_04_correspondence_updates.pdf

Friday, March 8, 2013

Solid Waste Management District Board Members

For your convenience.........


The 2013 District Directors and Board Members
CHAIRPERSON:
Stephen Volan
Bloomington City Council
P.O. Box 100
Bloomington, IN 47402
(812) 349-3409

VICE CHAIRPERSON:
Patrick Stoffers
Monroe County Commissioner
100 W. Kirkwood Ave.
Courthouse, Room 322
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-2550

SECRETARY:
Dan Swafford
Ellettsville Town Council
Ellettsville Town Hall
Ellettsville, IN 47429
(812) 876-3860


MEMBERS:
Iris Kiesling
Monroe County Commissioner
Courthouse, Room 322
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-2550

Mark Kruzan
Mayor, City of Bloomington
City Hall at Showers Center
401 N. Morton
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-3406

Julie Thomas
Monroe County Commissioner
100 W. Kirkwood Ave.
Courthouse Room 322
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-2550

Cheryl Munson
Monroe County Council
100 W. Kirkwood Ave.
Courthouse Room 209
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-7312

District Counsel:
Robert D. Mann
Andrews, Harrell, Mann, Carmin & Parker
400 West 7th Street, Suite 104
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 332-4200

Executive Director:
Larry D. Barker
Monroe County Solid Waste
Management District
3400 South Walnut Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
(812) 349-2869

Controller:
Connie Hudson
Monroe County Solid Waste
Management District
3400 South Walnut Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
(812) 349-9151