Future of Connecticut waste-to-energy plant still unknown

In the months following the shutdown of the Hartford, Connecticut, waste-to-energy plant, government officials and the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA)—the facility’s current operator—remain at odds over decommissioning plans.

The facility, which previously incinerated between 600,000 and 720,000 tons of waste annually, was in operation for more than three decades before closing in July. MIRA then submitted a decommissioning plan to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), but the agency had concerns with the plan.

As reported by CT Insider, MIRA executives Tom Kirk and Peter Egan spoke during a Hartford Planning, Economic Development and Housing meeting Dec. 7 to give a presentation regarding the plan.

“We do understand the desire by the city to find a higher and better use of this remarkable asset in South Meadows,” Kirk said. “I’m just concerned that the burden, the heavy lift involved in taking this very challenging site and developing it into a higher and better use will be extraordinarily difficult. MIRA is very sympathetic to the desires, and we’ll work diligently with the city, DEEP and the legislature to try and find the best future for the site.”

MIRA’s plan is estimated to cost around $3.8 million and would not move equipment off the property, leaving the long-term future of the area up for debate. Egan said that redeveloping the area with new housing would cost “eight figures” and would be “extremely complicated.”

According to CT Insider, concerns raised during the planning meeting included the environmental impact of the facility and its closure.

Michael Looney, Hartford director of public works, said the proximity of the facility to the levee system that protects the south end of Hartford makes the decommissioning even more complex.

“[The facility] is so intricately woven into the fabric of that system that I think it’s going to be a very complex task to make sure that everything that needs to be done to secure penetrations to the levee walls and some of the infrastructure that is down there, that coexists with our levee system, that it’s going to take some time and a lot of hard work to make sure that that is done right. And it’s not as simple as plugging some holes or anything like that,” he said.

Looney added that he’s concerned about leaving the plant without addressing the existing structures because those buildings could continue to deteriorate and could become safety hazards if essentially abandoned.

Adding pressure to the situation, MIRA is also continuing to downsize, with Kirk and Egan expected to be laid off in January—leaving only 15 MIRA employees by next spring.

“I am hoping that not only MIRA but DEEP understands what we are looking for in advancing our city, the capital of this state, to a better future,” Councilman James Sanchez said. “I definitely want and do demand that the city of Hartford, the mayor and our council are at the table of this conversation for the future of this city.”