Big crowd as foes of Biochar detail the fight vs. Moreau plant

By Ben Westcott & Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writers

Over 60 community members attended an information meeting Thursday night at the Moreau Community Center as part of ongoing efforts to stop Saratoga Biochar from building in the Moreau Industrial Park.

The event was sponsored by the Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls (CAAN), Not Moreau, and Hands Off the Hudson.

Moreau Town Board member John “J.D.” Donohue, a member of the Moreau United ticket that won a landslide victory in the Nov. 7 election that ousted incumbent Town Supervisor Todd Kusnierz and councilman Alan Van Tassel, simultaneously struck a tone of determination and realism at the meeting.

Mr. Donohue told attendees, “We didn’t promise that we were going to stop this, because we don’t know if we can, but what we promised is we will fight like hell to stop this thing. We’re going to look into everything we can do to stop this from coming into our community. We don’t need it.”

At one point an attendee stood up at the back of the room and said, “For the first time in a long time, I feel like my vote counted.”

The comment drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

The Moreau Planning Board approved the Biochar facility in August 2022, but no construction has taken place yet.

The facility, which would be located in the Moreau industrial park, would truck in “biosolids” and heat them up with “pyrolysis” to create “a carbon fertilizer.”

Citizens are concerned the plant would pose a pollution and public health threat, as well as create unpleasant odors and increased traffic in the area.

Phil Gitlen, senior counsel at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, told the meeting that Moreau’s code states site plan approvals expire unless actual on-site construction starts within one year.

But the Moreau Planning Board’s attorney contends the multiple conditions in the document make it a conditional site plan approval, therefore not subject to the one-year construction deadline, the project’s foes said at the meeting.

Mr. Gitlen called that an “extraordinarily tortured analysis.” He said, “Her opinion is interesting. I didn’t see any legal citations in it…because quite frankly, I don’t think that there are any legal precedents. So I would urge a serious consideration of that issue by the new town administration.”

Mr. Gitlen also said the town board could invoke Article 92 of the town code, which prohibits the disposal or processing of certain waste, or vote to adopt a moratorium to halt the project, allowing for more discussion and research on it.

CAAN is appealing a lawsuit it lost in which its lawyers argued that the town board’s decision to give a declaration that the Biochar project will not hurt the environment was arbitrary and capricious.

Earthjustice attorney Michael Youhana said at the meeting that it is unclear where Biochar is at in the permit process at this time.

Saratoga Biochar CEO Ray Apy replied when The Chronicle contacted him Monday. He said: “All of the technical work is done, we’re awaiting the New York State DEC to issue a notice of complete application.”

He said, “I think…because of public scrutiny on this, they want the timing of that to be perfect,” before issuing the notice and opening a public comment period.

He said of CAAN’s Article 78 appeal, “it’s going to fail, and they will continue to waste taxpayer dollars. And everything else that they try is going to be illegal.

“The project’s already been approved by the planning board. And if they undo that, now they open up the town to a massive lawsuit which will just cost their taxpayers a hell of a lot more money.”

Mr. Apy said a woman who had worked for DuPont spoke at the meeting about dangers of PFAS. He said, “Biochar is where PFAS come to die. And thank you very much for all your service to our world creating those chemicals.”

Copyright © 2023 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved