The Lehigh Portland Cement Co. has been the lifeblood of Union Bridge, providing jobs for generations of families and assisting the town in emergencies.
Now, a vocal group of residents -- many new to thearea and not tied to the company -- is worried Lehigh could endangertheir health and quality of life.
Lehigh wants to burn wastes as fuel, which opponents say could poison the environment. The company says it won't -- burning the waste will recycle it, save the company money and give workers more job security.
It's a national issue being debated across the country as cement plants discover wastes are good fuel sources. Because of citizens' heightened awareness about the environment, many companies are finding it difficult to get state and community approval to burn wastes.
Lehigh has found itself in that quandary. As the sixth-largest cement producer in the United States, it has burned hazardous wastes at its plant in New York and wants to burn a carbon waste in Union Bridge.
Herb W. Weller, who has worked at Lehigh for 26 of the 29 years he's lived in Union Bridge, said the company, with its strong tiesto the community, would not do anything dangerous.
"We're not interested in damaging our employees, our environment or our town; it's just that simple," he said.
Burning alternative fuels is importantfor the company, Plant Manager David H. Roush said.
"In the long run, if we are prevented from burning alternative fuels, while cementcompanies that are competing against us do it, we'll become uncompetitive," Roush said, adding that U.S. cement companies also must compete with foreign companies that have lower labor and fuel costs.
"It becomes a spiral thing. You make less money, then you make no money, then you lose money. And once you start losing money, you don't have any money to invest in improving the plant."
Some of the town's 966 residents have organized to oppose the burning, and the state hassaid it wants Lehigh to better control its dust emissions before burning alternative fuels. In June, the state denied Lehigh permission to burn a carbon waste, which wasn't classified as hazardous; Lehigh has appealed.
In April, the state proposed a $20,000 fine against Lehigh for illegal dust emissions in February and March. Earlier this year, it proposed a $2,000 fine against the company for accepting waste oil with excessive lead.
