Washington County board asks DEC for public hearing on ESMI/Clean Earth PFAS permit
Summary
A community presenter urged the county to press New York DEC for a DEC‑run public hearing on an ESMI/Clean Earth PFAS treatment permit; the board voted unanimously to have staff draft and send a letter requesting a hearing.
A community representative from a local group urging oversight of a proposed PFAS soil‑treatment program told the Washington County board on Jan. 27 that DEC should hold a formal, DEC‑run public hearing on ESMI/Clean Earth’s pending permit application.
The presenter, identified in the record as a representative of the Port Stops PFAS group, said Hudson Falls already is designated a Disadvantaged Community (DAC) and Potential Environmental Justice Area (PEJA) under state criteria and argued DEC’s use of older census and EPA data has delayed or weakened protections. The presenter said prior tests at the Fort Edward facility—including a 2018 thermal desorption test of about 22 tons—failed to achieve the claimed destruction levels and that the company’s more recent test proposals use temperatures and emissions models the presenter described as “best‑case” and self‑reported.
Why it matters: The presenter told supervisors that Hudson Falls and surrounding communities are near the site and could be affected by air or deposition from processing PFAS‑contaminated soils. The group asked the board to press DEC for a DEC‑run public hearing and, in a best case, to submit a letter opposing the permit. The presenter also raised technical concerns about proposed operating temperatures (presenter cited industry and academic literature putting full destruction for many PFAS at substantially higher temperatures) and the lack of real‑time emissions monitoring at the facility.
Board action and next steps: After discussion and questions from supervisors about health data and modeling limits, a motion was made and seconded to request that DEC hold a public hearing on the application. The board asked county staff (named in the meeting as 'Bob') to draft the letter and circulate it to supervisors. The board voted by voice; the motion passed and staff will circulate the draft to supervisors before sending copies to DEC regional and central office contacts.
Details cited by the presenter included the facility’s operating history (on site since 1995), prior test outcomes (2018 test described as a failure), proposed test scale increases (presenter contrasted 22‑ton tests to a proposed 5,000‑ton test), the company’s pending sale to a large multinational buyer (identified in the record as Veolia), and state regulatory changes since the permit’s 2019 application filing (including references to CLCPA and a 2021 constitutional green amendment and a 2024 cumulative impacts law).
What the board will do next: Staff will prepare a letter requesting that DEC convene a DEC‑run public hearing and will circulate the draft to supervisors for review and signoff before sending. The record does not show DEC’s response; the board’s action is a request to the agency rather than a binding regulatory decision.
