Columbus WTE Update

[John Thomas <jnthomas@infinet.com>]

The City of Columbus, Ohio, has opened the eight new bids it received for 
the purchase or lease of the closed Waste-to-Energy facility.  Neighbors 
Protecting Our Environment (NPE) opposes the sale of this facility under 
all circumstances.  While this might seem like an extreme stance, we feel 
it is not.  Our reasons for opposing the sale of this facility are as 
follows:

(1) The soil on site was tested in 1996 and showed high levels of dioxin 
contamination.

(2) The faciltiy is an incinerator and therefore any private company 
which purchases the site could alter its original planned use for the 
site if "flow control" and the economics of garbage incineration returns.

(3) According to the Columbus Dispatch {08/01/96 Page 4C} the city would 
be happy to receive $18 million for the site which would leave the tax 
payers paying off the $142 million in debt that would remain from the 
orignal bonds and operating expenses.  This would amount to a huge tax 
payer gift to a corporation and it would not benefit the tax payers in 
the least.

(4) The City can't be that strapped for cash since the Mayor wants to 
build a stadium.

(5) While a company may purchase the site to build a MRF facility, 
Columbus is lacking a comprehensive plan to make recycling work THIS 
TIME.  Without public education, without raising the cost of merely 
throwing something out, and while desperately seeking trash to keep the 
landfill profitable - recycling would be unlikely to work in Columbus.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Please review the list of companies which have proposed to purchase the 
Columbus WTE.  We need to know what other projects these companies are 
involved in.  Are they good neighbors?  Do they own any other municipal 
waste incinerators?  If they have built and operated a MRF before, did 
they rely on tax subsidies?  What is the recycling market like?  Would 
this wind up costing us more?  What are the arguments we can use 
regarding on site dioxin contamination?  What would be the risks to 
construction on this site?

Also, please call either Mike Long or James Joyce and let them know that
the citizen's of Columbus have endured enough risk by the past operation
of the Columbus WTE.  These citizens should not be made to endure any
future risks from construction or other activities at this site.  The
workers who may be employed at this site both during and after
construction also need to be protected.  It is for this reason that you
agree with Neighbors Protecting Our Environment(NPE) that the Columbus WTE
should remain fenced off and closed, permanently! 

With Respect, in Gentleness and Peace.


John Thomas
For more information regarding the Columbus WTE visit our WEB page at:
http://www.infinet.com/~jnthomas/columbus_ohio


---------- Media Advisory & List of Companies ----------

                                MEDIA ADVISORY
                                       
  Release Date: September 3, 1996

Contact:
   Michael D. Long, Executive Director
   Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio
   (614) 871-5100
 Or
   James P. Joyce, Director of Public Utilities
   City of Columbus
   (614) 645-6141

   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   
   
   City of Columbus and Solid Waste Authority Receive 8 Proposals for
   Purchase or Lease of Closed Waste-to-Energy Facility
   
   The City of Columbus and Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio
   received eight (8) proposals for purchase or lease of the closed
   Columbus Waste-to-Energy Facility (WTEF).
   
   Faced with high environmental compliance costs and increasing
   competition from local landfill operators, the Authority's Board of
   Trustees voted on November 1, 1994 to cease operations of the WTEF and
   solicit proposals from parties interested in either leasing or
   purchasing the WTEF or utilizing the WTEF for some other compatible
   activity.
   
   The proposals received are as follows:

Company:        TechnoPLAS, Incorporated
                PO Box 531
                Hoboken, NJ 07030
Contact:        Andrew J. Hettinger, President
Phone:          (201) 656-7538
Proposed Use:   Solid Waste Recycling/Material Recovery Facility

Company:        Startec Environmental, Incorporated &
                National Ecology Company
                16 Greenmeadow Drive
                Timonium, MD 21093-3241
Contact:        John R. Berry, Manager of Marketing, National Ecology
Phone:          (410) 252-5666
Proposed Use:   Recycling and Fuel Production Facility

Company:        Chimorel Group
                1060 Beechview Drive South
                Worthington, OH 43085
Contact:        Warren E. Goodenow
Phone:          (614) 885-0000
Proposed Use:   Solid Waste Recycling/Material Recovery Facility

Company:        Norton Environmental
                6200 Rockside Woods Blvd
                Independence, OH 44131
Contact:        Louis W. Perez, Vice President, Marketing
Phone:          (216) 447-0070

Company:        Superior Graphite Company
                120 South Riverside Plaza
                Chicago, IL 60606
Contact:        John E. Doninger, Vice President, Engineering and Product
                Commercialization
Phone:          (312) 559-2999
Proposed Use:   Manufacturing facility; transfer of specialty products
                and relocation of high tempurature research lab.

Company:        Cogen Development Company &
                Destec Energy
                150 West Jefferson Avenue
                Suite 1800
                Detroit, MI 48266
Contact:        Randall J. Piehler, Senior Marketing Representative
Phone:          (313) 256-5870
Proposed Use:   Installing a power generating facility to supply power
                to AMP-Ohio

Company:        American Electric Power
                1 Riverside Plaza
                Columbus, OH 43215-2373
Contact:        Rich Munczinski, AEPSC
Phone:          (614) 223-2810
Proposed Use:   (1) Dismantling, removal and sale of equipment from
                    the WTE and purchase or lease of the City's
                    electrical distribution system
                (2) Or, repowering WTEF into a gas combined cycle system
                (3) Or, service agreement between AEP bidders and the City
                    of Columbus.

Company:        World Equipment and Machine
                Bedford Heights, OH
Contact:        Michael Spiegel
Phone:
Proposed Use:   Liquidation over time and scrapping of "un-saleable"
                equipment

   
   
   The proposals are now being reviewed by legal counsel for the City and
   the Authority to determine if information requested by the proposers
   to be considered confidential qualifies as a trade secret as defined
   in Section 1333.51 of the Ohio Revised Code. This review will be
   completed as soon as possible so that the proposals may be released to
   the public.
   
   The City and Authority will review the proposals or combination of
   proposals that provide the greatest benefit to the City and Authority.
   Multiple, non-conflicting proposals will be considered. The City and
   Authority will then commence a process of negotiations with each
   selected proposer and continue such process until such time as the
   Authority and City determine, in their sole judgement, that they have
   arrived at an executable agreement with one or more of the selected
   proposers. This process is expected to be completed on or about
   October 30, 1996.