Easton neighbors upset by pace of foundry changes
By Vicki-Ann Downing, Enterprise staff writerEASTON — Improvements designed to reduce pollution from the Belcher Corp. foundry will not be completed as planned this month, but state and foundry officials say the process remains on track.
Belcher President Alan F. Burns said his company is spending an estimated $500,000 to build and install a custom-designed system intended to reduce emissions and odor from the foundry.
Neighbors, however, are frustrated the foundry was unable to install the new system by December, as discussed during a public meeting last July.
"I'd like to say how disappointed and disgusted we really are," said George Allen, a South Street resident and spokesman for the neighborhood group FoundryWatch. "Nothing has changed. We're promised the world, and nothing's been delivered."
Belcher is still operating under an administrative consent order issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection on Sept. 21, 2004, following complaints from neighbors about odor, noise and soot pollution from the foundry.
The consent order limited the foundry's manufacturing hours and set deadlines for new permit applications.
It also required Belcher to pay for environmental testing in the Foundry Street neighborhood. The testing, by Earth Tech of Concord, suggested use of an "advanced oxidation" system to reduce odor and soot.
Burns said Wednesday the system, which has proven effective in "multiple other foundries around the world," has been designed and built for Belcher by a firm in Kentucky, but awaits installation.
Burns said the state had delayed the installation by holding up Belcher's permit application. He said he hopes installation can begin in December or January and said it should take 12 to 16 weeks to complete.
David Johnston, deputy regional director for the DEP in Lakeville, said Tuesday the state withdrew one of Belcher's permit applications because it was not "administratively complete."
Belcher "did not meet all of our deadlines, but they are moving in the right direction," Johnston said.
Johnston said the DEP would now like to amend the administrative consent order to include a deadline for installation of the advanced oxidation system. Discussions with Belcher are continuing, he said.
The advanced oxidation system, according to Burns, purifies sand before castings are made. It reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds, controls pollution and reduces scrap, Burns said.
"They've ordered it, they've begun to pay for it," Johnston said. "They've locked in the process, but they haven't completed it yet. They've given us the paperwork."
The consent order's biggest impact on Belcher was limiting its manufacturing to 16 hours per day and prohibiting manufacturing between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The foundry had been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Burns said Belcher lost a third of its business as a result, representing $5 million to $7 million in annual volume, and reduced its workforce to 102. Where it once mainly served the automotive industry, it now has a mixture of automotive and commercial business, Burns said.
On another front, the foundry is still working to solve its septic system problems, Burns said.
The Easton Board of Health ordered the foundry's septic system shut down a year ago after problems with a malfunctioning leaching field.
Belcher has been forced to have its septic tanks pumped several times a week for the past year at a cost of about $90,000, Burns said.
Burns said Belcher will spend $75,000 for a new system whose design has been approved by the DEP and the local Board of Health. A plumbing application has been submitted to the town inspector, Burns said.
Allen, from FoundryWatch, said neighbors remain frustrated about odor and soot problems from the foundry.
"We've had some complaints," mainly about odor, soot and noise, Johnston said. "The frequency is down."
Johnston said another public forum on the foundry could possibly be held in the spring.
Burns said he hears from neighbors occasionally. The foundry was close to signing a "good neighbor" agreement with the FoundryWatch group earlier in the year, Burns said, but the deal fell through.
Most foundry neighbors have been "very nice" to deal with, said Burns, who became the foundry's president in January.
"There are some legitimate complaints out there," but a few neighbors "are not reasonable," Burns said.
Copyright: The Enterprise