The Cement Plant
STOP...! SUPPORT...! Before September 11, what seemed to matter most in Columbia County was where you stood on the proposed St. Lawrence Cement plant.
By picking a side, you branded yourself. The petition signature, the bumper sticker, T-shirt or casual comment became shorthand for who you were and what you believed about all sorts of unrelated issues, as if the totality of a person's life could be summarized on a lawn sign.
That kind of absolutism should make us all uneasy now: It bodes ill for a society that rests on pluralism. We need no reminders of the peril we face from intolerance.
We don't suggest there's a practical middle ground on the cement plat. We have no right to tell St. Lawrence how to make cement, and we have no basis to propose alternatives to the $300 million industrial colossus on the table -- the largest cement plant on the continent. Maybe somebody still claims to be neutral, but that's a fantasy. Neutral means you acquiesce to the proposal, which amounts to the same thing as supporting it. Once you enter this debate, you're either for or against the plant.
In the absence of middle ground, at least we can strive for perspective. We've thought about this project a long time, asked people on both sides for their opinions, tested our own arguments -- even the staff at The Independent is divided -- and finally come to a conclusion. The plant, as presently proposed, is not in the best interests of the people of Columbia County and the surrounding region.
Supporters make strong points on behalf of the project. We don't deny it. Take the economic questions, for example. The construction and operation of the plant would provide a financial boost for the Hudson School District, the Town of Greenport, the City of Hudson and the county. The percentage increases aren't large, but any new source of revenue is welcome. As are the jobs.
The financial analysis used in support of the plant offers specific figures based on models created by an eminent economist. It all sounds quite certain. But as any one who has prepared these types of projections can attest, the numbers are based on assumptions, and altering a few assumptions can change the outcome in surprising ways. We'd like to see a model that accounts for some of the potential economic costs of the plant, what amounts to a worse case scenario. Perhaps weighing that against optimistic projections would give a different picture of the costs and benefits of this project.
No matter what the projections say, the nation faces an uncertain economic outlook for the near term. But Columbia County has an unemployment rate activity, thriving farms, strong tourism and a bustling real estate market. The plant would alter this local equation. Where some see the project as a welcome mat indicating the county's business-friendly approach, we see a symbol of retreat from diversity in favor of one economic sector, heavy industry.
Huge projects like this one create their own momentum, sometimes overriding common sense. St. Lawrence Cement has proposed a plant that would use the latest technology designed to meet or exceed current federal air, quality standards. But the 400' tall smokestack would rise just a half mile or so from the only hospital in the county.
Thirty-five physicians who practice at the hospital have said the proposed plant, regardless of its adherence to regulatory standards, would represent a serious health risk. We trust these doctors to exercise the judgment necessary to save our lives. We think now is no time to selectively ignore their warning.
We hope at some point in the prolonged regulatory and legal journey that lies ahead the, state or the company will determine that this plant is not right for this place at this time. At the same time, we accept the possibility that the company will obtain its permits and build its plant. Either way, what concerns us more than the outcome of this issue is what happens afterward.
The plant debate has grown so bitter -- precisely because each camp cares passionately about the future of Columbia County. But our world has suddenly expanded. As we adjust to threats from enemies we don't know and can't yet find, we have an obligation to put our local concerns in their place. Divisions over the plant pale in comparison to our need for unity. In the post-9/11 world, we no longer have the luxury of allowing any local issue to define ourselves or our neighbors.
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