Residents ask Marion County to clarify status of Brooks incinerator purchase and cleanup

Patty Sloan and Susan Smith, members of the Environmental Faith Network, told the Marion County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 29 that they want clear, public answers about the future of the decommissioned ReWorld incinerator in Brooks.

"We came together today because there was an article in the Statesman Journal a couple weeks ago, and it said that ReWorld could be purchased by Marion County," said Patty Sloan, who gave her address for the record. "Are you going to buy that decommissioned burner, and are you going to start it up again?"

Sloan said the group is concerned about emissions and site contamination. "The materials that are emitted by this burner are dangerous to health," she said, and added the plant has produced "55,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases" that affect the local airshed. Susan Smith asked the commission to place answers on the public record about whether the county or ReWorld will decommission the facility, and who would pay for any remediation if tests show heavy metals or other toxics have deposited on site.

The commission did not take action on the questions during the public-comment period. A staff member in the meeting suggested the speakers listen to an interview with Brian May of the county’s environmental services unit on OPB as a possible source of information. No county vote or directive to buy, restart, or remediate the Brooks facility was made at the meeting.

The speakers said they wanted the county to file a formal public record about the facility’s status so residents would have an authoritative source of information going forward.

Ending: The commission did not indicate a timeline for responding to the requests. Sloan and Smith left their comments in the public record and asked the county to follow up in a subsequent board session or through staff reports.