| 09/15/2006 |
| City gains from environmental faux pas |
| By Steve Collins , The Bristol Press |
| BRISTOL -- The city is getting a $153,000 mobile emergency command center courtesy of Clean Harbors of Connecticut, which is shelling out the money as part of a state-mandated fine for environmental sloppiness. "It’s a big win for the city," Fire Chief Jon Pose said Wednesday. "This fills a need." Pose said the emergency command center will probably only be needed a few times a year, but it will help immensely in some situations so that decision-makers don’t need to stand in the cold, rain or wind while they try to grapple with the larger picture of what’s going on and what needs to be done. He said that at one chemical spill, firefighters searching for a command location had to take over a convenience store so they could get a dry, safe place to work. Bomb scares have been handled by commanders in the back seat of a police cruiser, he said. The new vehicle, which will be housed at the firehouse on Chippens Hill, will provide "a quite sophisticated" command center that will improve on-the-scene leadership, Pose said. Clean Harbors agreed to pay $285,000 in fines -- which includes the cash to buy an emergency command center for the city -- for violating anti-pollution laws at its Middle Street waste storage and treatment facility, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The consent order that Clean Harbors signed recently also requires the facility "to continue to take steps to improve its handling of hazardous waste, asbestos-containing materials, and biomedical waste," according to a statement released by the DEP. The city has long eyed the possibility of getting a mobile command center that it could use on the scene for major emergencies, but the price tag has kept officials from moving forward with the idea. Now that Clean Harbors is picking up the tab, the city isn’t hesitating. "The mobile emergency command response center should significantly enhance the ability of our emergency response personnel to handle whatever natural or manmade disaster that might occur, as well as improving the mutual aide capability of the region should that need arise," Mayor William Stortz said in a statement. He said the city "sees this purchase as an excellent addition to our emergency response capabilities." The mobile command center would be operated by the Fire Department, which has operational control in most emergency situations. It would have communications, computers and other equipment so that a commander on the scene would have an easier time overseeing public safety officers trying to handle whatever is going on. Pose said they can "pack a lot of equipment" into the vehicle as well as providing space for a small conference area, tiny bathroom, sink and other items that should be helpful, Pose said. It would have heat, air conditioning and its own generator. Pose said the department has already acquired computer and communications equipment it can use in the command center through a homeland security grant a few months ago. The environmental problems covered by the consent order with Clean Harbors came to light during inspections at the 761 Middle St. facility made in the wake of its discharge of a potentially dangerous gaseous cloud on Aug. 31, 2005 and two incidents a year earlier in which Clean Harbors discharged excess solids into the city’s sewer system. "It is crucial to the protection of our environment that all companies realize that the failure to adequately follow our state’s environmental regulations has significant consequences," said Gina McCarthy, the DEP commissioner of the DEP. "This consent order with Clean Harbors sends a clear message that the DEP takes very seriously its commitment to the health of our citizens and the environment," she said. In addition to buying the mobile command center for Bristol, Clean Harbors is paying $35,410 to the state for violating hazardous waste management violations, $48,125 for violating its wastewater discharge permit and contributing $48,125 to the DEP’s Central Connecticut supplemental environmental projects fund. Pose said he’s not sure how soon the city will acquire the command center. He said that he and Police Chief John DiVenere may go to New Jersey next week to see some models the city might acquire.
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