Garbage Burner Proposal Heads to Pollution Control Agency

Local activists were surprised by this morning's announcement at meeting of the Minneapolis Zoning and Planning Commission that Covanta, operator of the Hennepin County garbage incinerator, and Hennepin County would voluntarily delay their proposal to expand capacity of the garbage burner. The proposer's will instead seek an air permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

“I think there’s a certain political aspect to this. The MPCA tends to be a more industry-friendly venue than the City Council," said Darrell Gerber,Program Coordinator for Clean Water Action.

The length of the delay is undetermined right now, until the City Council meets in two weeks to finalize the duration.

The decision to delay raises questions about the next steps for the planned expansion. Do proposers need to do an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) or or and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)? Either of these environmental assessment studies could delay and complicate the approval process for the garbage incinerator and add cost to the project.

Local neighborhood groups, anti-incinerator activists and environmental groups had marshalled support for this morning's meeting and prepared presentations outlining their concerns about the project which include air pollution--particualrly toxic dioxin-- and resulting health problems for local residents.

"We are happy to see that there will be additional environmental review and more opportunity for public input on increasing garbage burning at the HERC facility here in Minneapolis.  The community has expressed grave concerns with respect to public health and safety of operating such a plant in a densely populated area." said Environmental Coordinator Justin Eibenholzl who works for the South East Como Improvement Association (SECIA), a neighborhood group near the University of Minnesota campus.

According to Eibenholzl, "the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) conducted for the new Twins Stadium, where it was shown that the highest risks of Dioxin were found in the areas of Southeast and Northeast Minneapolis." HERC is already the largest single source of dioxin pollution in Minnesota, producing over half of the total dioxin for the state.