By Leanne Robicheau, Of the NEWS Staff
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Leanne
Last updated: Thursday, September 30, 2004
Neighbors raise questions about Dragon Products
THOMASTON - A neighborhood group promises "consistent, persistent" effort to prod cement manufacturer Dragon Products on environmental issues, and it drew some 100 people to its first community meeting. "We don't want to shut down Dragon," said Greg Marley of Rockland at a public gathering of Neighbors for a Safe Dragon on Tuesday night at Watts Hall.
The session linked environmental and health concerns to alleged pollution from Dragon's Route 1 plant. Marley said it will take a "consistent, persistent, dogmatic effort" to ensure Dragon follows state and federal "best practices" standards. Neighbors for a Safe Dragon wants to engage in conversation with the company "so we can ensure we're healthy," he said. Concerns about dust, noise, groundwater contamination and damaged building foundations from blasting were mentioned at the meeting. A key issue involves Dragon's waste piles, which the group says consist of more than 845,000 tons of cement kiln dust covering 15 acres. Marley said the dust contains toxic chemicals. Paula Clark, director of solid waste management for Dragon, would not say Wednesday whether dust from the cement kiln pile poses any health risks, saying no toxicological assessments have been done. She said an evaluation of the cement kiln dust components has been done, however. "It's been found acceptable as an agricultural liming agent," she said. Lawyers for the Neighbors group claim Dragon is not complying with some state environmental regulations. Peggy McGehee and Hope Jacobsen, attorneys with the Portland law firm Perkins, Thompson, Hinckley & Keddy, offered a list of purported Dragon violations. The list said the company has lacked a solid waste license for the past 12 years for the 15-acre stockpile. The attorneys also said the cement manufacturer expanded its operations recently without obtaining a state Department of Environmental Protection site permit. "DEP is currently reviewing Dragon's after-the-fact application to expand its facility," the group handout says. According to Jacobsen, Dragon has not had a DEP permit for the cement kiln dust for 12 years and cannot obtain one because the groundwater is so polluted. Dragon does not have a solid waste license for its cement kiln dust pile, said Carla Hopkins of DEP's Solid Waste Management Bureau on Wednesday. As to allegations that the dust pile is illegal, Dragon's Clark said DEP has been working with Dragon for considerable time on a schedule of compliance rather than a license. The cement company is conducting trials on reusing cement kiln dust and clinker in its cement-making process, which would reduce the pile, she said. On Wednesday, Dragon Vice President Terry Veysey disputed the group's claim that DEP has denied a solid waste license because of groundwater contamination. He said most of the Neighbors group's claims are "unsubstantiated." Dragon officials are waiting to learn all of the group's issues, Veysey said, "before we respond or if we respond at all. ... The DEP knows what we're doing. We've always been in compliance." McGehee asked people attending Tuesday night's meeting to send her their concerns or questions about the cement-making operation. So far, the lawyers have gathered 15 affidavits from people who tell how Dragon has affected their lives. "We want a safe Dragon," McGehee said. "That's what we can try to do." The group's first step is to attempt to get Dragon to address the issues, McGehee said. After evaluating any legal claims, such as damage from pollutants or blasting, the lawyers may file notices of trespass, she said, asking Dragon to stop polluting neighborhoods. "This is about trespass," McGehee said. "Your neighbor doesn't have a right to blow dust over your property - or crack your foundations. "Dragon Products' current plan is to take as long as 30 years to draw down the 15-acre pile of cement kiln dust," McGehee said. "We think a better timetable is two years." The Neighbors group plans to meet again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church on Main Street.
