Resident urges air pollution action

#MiddleburyCT #AirPollution

This graphic, created by Raymond Pietrorazio, shows the two Region 15 schools within a two-mile circle containing three sources of air pollution. Adding additional air pollution sources to the area concerns many residents. (Marjorie Needham photo)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Middlebury resident Raymond Pietrorazio presented concerns about local air pollution at the October 3, 2024, Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, and urged the town to consider how it will protect the town’s children and mandate compliance with federal air quality standards. He said he has also asked Region 15 to request an air pollution monitoring system called “Purple Air” that is available from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) at no cost. That would allow for establishment of a baseline air quality measurement at the schools.

Currently, the closest air quality monitoring station is in Waterbury, and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official, in a letter to Pietrorazio, said it monitors only particulate matter. The next closest is in Danbury, and it measures ground level ozone, fine particulate and black carbon.

Using the diagram shown above, with a two-mile circle centered not far from the intersection of Christian and Southford Roads, he showed how two schools, Long Meadow Elementary School and Pomperaug High School, fall within the same area as three major sources of air pollution – the CPV Towantic electric generating plant in Oxford, the Waterbury/Oxford Airport (also in Oxford) and I-84. He said these three sources emit into the air tons per year of PM 2.5 particulate matter, nitrous oxides and a host of other chemicals and volatile organic compounds.

Pietrorazio noted the EPA studies on the cumulative impact from air pollution focus on subject areas encompassing a three-mile radius. Here, we have three sources within a two-mile radius. He also noted the U.S. Forest Service determined that inland wetlands, watercourses and soils are affected by air pollution particles settling on them and causing significant harm to flora and fauna.

His main focus, however, was on air pollution’s effect on children. He said it is particularly dangerous to children in elementary schools because their lungs are not fully developed and some have asthma. He referred to a 2021 article in the Orange County Register about a family living near an Amazon warehouse where “dozens of 18-wheeled diesel trucks idled outside.” Their 12-year-old was constantly sick and coughing. The doctor said the child’s bronchitis and developing asthma were direct results of local pollution.

Pietrorazio said Connecticut’s DEEP regulates stationary pollution sources in the state while the EPA regulates mobile pollution sources. The Towantic plant therefore falls under DEEP, while the traffic on I-84 and the airport fall under the EPA.

Pietrorazio said the EPA and DEEP expect municipal planning and zoning and conservation agencies to make the final decisions when it comes to proper land use and that includes protecting local air quality. He said he believes the town needs to collaborate with the EPA and DEEP to safeguard air quality in Middlebury.

“When is enough enough?” he asked. “I don’t want to see the health of young children gambled for the interests of business ventures.”

After he concluded his remarks, Pietrorazio asked commission members if they had any questions. There were none. Chairman Terry Smith said he needed time to digest the material that had just been presented.

Pietrorazio’s final comment was, “Planning and Zoning, working with the Conservation Commission, has a responsibility to protect people in the town from any threat to health and well-being and that includes air pollution.”

Pietrorazio is a heating, piping and electrical contractor with over 60 years experience in commercial-industrial combustion applications using natural gas, propane gas, fuel oil and diesel oil. He also was appointed the town’s representative to both the Waterbury/Oxford Airport and the CPV Towantic Energy Center.