"Protecting Urban
Environments"

Connecticut Coalition
for Environmental Justice

Oppose New Hazardous Waste Facility Planned for Hartford

UPDATE: Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection has signaled it will be a "very, very long time" before it considers a permit for the proposed Heritage Crystal-Clean facility. In the meantime, Hartford's City Council has passed a resolution against the proposed waste transfer facility. We also expect the City's Planning and Zoning Commission will deny Crystal-Clean permission to build its facility in town, thereby tabling the plans altogether.

BACKGROUND:

The company Heritage-Crystal Clean is trying to establish a hazardous waste transfer facility at 94 Murphy Rd in Hartford and CCEJ has been working hard to oppose it.

The Crystal Clean facility, which could become the 9th waste facility located in Hartford, intends to collect waste from within the City and surrounding towns for shipping to Philadelphia. The facility will handle liquid and solid hazardous waste, including solvents used as degreasers, old filters, and drums.

CCEJ is concerned about the health risks to Hartford residents posed by the facility, including possible fires or accidents with trucks transporting waste to and from the locale. In 1999, a two week fire that leveled the MDC sewage incinerator in the South Meadows area released high quantities of toxic emissions into the region, exacerbating local people’s asthma and other health problems

If the facility is okayed, the City of Hartford would have to train fire department personnel to deal with hazardous waste accepted there, which would demand local tax money to do.

As plans for the Crystal Clean facility proceed, CCEJ hopes to take action to stop it from being realized. CCEJ encourages Hartford residents to write to the City Planning and Zoning Commission and voice concerns about the proposed faciility. For more information please call Joe Wasserman, CCEJ's Hartford Community Organizer at 548-1133.

Additional Resources:

Sample Letters to Planning Commission
Addresses of City of Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission Members

Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
P.O. Box 2022, 10 Jefferson St, Hartford, CT 06145-2022
Ph: 860-548-1133 Fax:860-548-9197
email: ccej@environmental-justice.org www.environmental-justice.org