A new solid waste facility proposed for Danbury has cleared one hurdle, but local officials oppose the project.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued a permit allowing for the construction and operation of a solid waste facility at 14 Plumtrees Road in Danbury. A Hearing Officer found last year that the proposed facility will have only minor impacts on traffic and no impact on the health of those living nearby.
MSW Associates, LLC, and Joseph Putnam proposed replacing the existing auto-body shop on the 2.5 acre property.
A permit application was sent to DEEP in 2011. The application was seeking a permit for accepting up to 800 tons per day of household waste, recyclables and construction or demolition debris. That material would be consolidated and processed on site before being taken away. It's estimated that there would be 260 round trips by trucks, and 28 by employees.
The Danbury Planning Commission issued a denial in 2007 to construct a smaller waste transfer station at that site.
The Hearing Officer determined there is sufficient room for vehicles waiting to deliver waste to the proposed facility to queue on-site and off the traveled portion of Plumtrees Road. Some modifications were made to the proposal, including that trucks can not arrive at the facility before 6:45am.
Councilmen Tom Saadi and John Esposito have issued a joint statement with State Representative David Arconti condemning DEEP approval. In the statement, the local and state officials said they were disappointed with the decision to approve a state permit for MSW LLC's proposed transfer station on Plumtrees Road.
They believe the decision is wrong on the facts and wrong on the law, and plan to continue this fight in the courts and before the City's land use commissions.
The men say the project, proposed nine years ago, is not about just one neighborhood. The elected officials say it's also about the right of Danbury to uphold reasonable land use laws that balance the interests of neighborhoods and responsible businesses and the right not to have such onerous and irresponsible projects as this forced on our City.
