Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 21, 2022 13 ABLE COIL | BOLTON, CT NUMET | ORANGE, CT ELECTRO METHODS | SOUTH WINDSOR, CT MAX TRANSPORTATION | EAST GRANBY, CT Driven By Your Success R e t a i l • I n d u s t r i a l • C o m m e r c i a l • I n s t i t u t i o n a l • E d u c a t i o n • H e a l t h c a r e • R e l i g i o u s PDS Engineering & Construction has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. THINK • PLAN • BUILD 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com Building For A Sustainable Future Protecting our environment is one of the most important issues facing us today. As we look to the future, environmentally sustainable building practices will play a critical role. Since PDS Engineering & Construction began in 1965, we have prioritized the adoption of the highest green energy building standards. With the creation of new systems such as LEED certification and High-Performance Buildings, we are able to achieve the framework for healthy, cost- saving, and energy- efficient green buildings that promote a cleaner future. Global Communications Academy Baccalaureate School, Hartford, CT TD Bank Wallingford CT Mary M. Hooker Environmental Sciences Magnet School Hartford CT Veterans Health Care Facility Rocky Hill CT LEED Platinum LEED Gold LEED Platinum High Performace Under state law and its permits, MIRA isn't responsible for clearing buildings from the site, unless the state legislature changes the quasi- public entity's mandate, Kirk said. Kirk also contends MIRA doesn't have the money to fully abate and demolish the buildings on-site. The MIRA plant has two main components, the waste-pro- cessing facility, which includes a 202,000-square-foot building housing offices, processing equipment and storage for trash to be burned. The processing area also includes a 38,000-square-foot parts and equipment warehouse. The "power block facility" includes a guard house, administration building, and main building for power generation equipment and waste-ash removal. There are also two elec- trical substations and a peak need generation plant consisting of four jet engines and a 550,000-gallon jet fuel storage tank. The peaking turbine power plant and associated fuel storage were not accounted for in MIRA's latest closure plan. Hartford's City Council, in a reso- lution passed in September, said Hartford hasn't been adequately consulted in MIRA's decommissioning efforts. The resolution called for a MIRA representative to appear before the council and outline a plan to demolish the plant, decontami- nate the site and return it to the city for redevelopment. In a letter dated Nov. 4, Council President Maly D. Rosado invited Kirk to appear before the council's Planning, Economic Development and Housing Committee on Dec. 7. Kirk said he is happy to do so. He said the council doesn't need to fear MIRA leaving behind a contaminated ruin. About $26 million has already been invested in cleaning the site to commercial and industrial standards after Connecticut Light & Power sold it to MIRA about two decades ago. It would be significantly more costly, however, to clean the site to residential standards. How we got here Bronin isn't the only one dismis- sive of the potential for future trash handling on the South Meadows site. In 2020, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes and Gov. Ned Lamont refused MIRA's request for $330 million to help upgrade the failing trash-to-energy plant off Maxim and Reserve roads. MIRA and its precursor had long underfunded capital needs, according to Lamont, who similarly rejected an alternative to convert the Hartford property into a large trash-transfer station. "I cannot support sending hundreds of millions of state taxpayer or electric ratepayer dollars to MIRA to attempt to keep a failing decades-old facility running, right here in Hartford where it impacts our vulnerable residents," Lamont said at the time. As a result of the Hartford trash plant's closure, Connecticut towns have been increasingly exporting trash to out-of-state landfills. MIRA still manages trash exports for 25 towns — down from 120 a decade ago. Some of the garbage is sent to Pennsylvania landfills through MIRA's Torrington transfer station; the remainder is funneled through MIRA's Essex facility to the COVANTA trash- to-energy plant in Preston. MIRA ships recyclable materials to the privately run Murphy Road Recycling facility in South Windsor, Kirk said. What's next DEEP has authority to accept or request refinements to MIRA's closure plan. A DEEP spokesman said the agency has responded to MIRA's plan with questions but other- wise declined an interview request on the topic. In May, the General Assembly called for the formation of a task force to explore alternatives to exporting trash. A report of its findings is due by Jan. 1. Kirk said the South Meadows site's future is not in MIRA's hands. If the state task force recommends using that site for waste management, that would be the "likely development plan," he said. If not, then "it's really a jump ball on what will happen to it." "I think there is going to be a lot of competing interests in what to do with this," Kirk said. "Obviously the city is very interested in improving the value to the tax base of the site. It's a beautiful site on the river." The Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA) facility in Hartford, which is now closed. PHOTO | CLOE POISSON, CT MIRROR

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