Future view from Kneeland Park as proposed by $impson/$olomon(Image by & courtesy of Clint Ferrara)
WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT & YOU GET NOTHING
The Simpson Lumber Company and its child, Olympic Panel, are the biggest air polluters in Mason County. The majority of the pollution is emitted by the biomass incinerator that Simpson uses to produce steam.
By now, most of us are quite familiar with the problems associated with having to breathe the pollutants that the incineration process emits, including the notorious PM 2.5 (particulate matter 2.5 um and smaller). We've learned a lot in the fight against the now deceased ADAGE conspiracy. Basically, PM 2.5 (as well as most of the other goodies produced) is a killer. Exposure shortens lifespans in a number of ways. It is not something you should welcome through your front door to meet the family.
However, here in Shelton we have a special relationship with the PM 2.5 producer, Simpson Lumber. Shelton has been a company town for decades. If you study the way things work, you would think the city's real name is Simpson. The City of Simpson. Cute. Whatever Simpson wants, Simpson gets, and one of the reasons why they have been able to pull that off is jobs. Simpson is responsible for a lot of jobs in Mason County and nearby areas. A lot of people are able to feed their families and have a life because they work for Simpson.
In life, most of us have to make this sort of compromise. We accept a certain amount of risk, or danger, or boredom, etc., in order to do what we really want, or need to do. It's a trade, a kind of agreement or contract, even if it is not realized consciously. Companies like Simpson depend on such situations to function, and most of us accept this as “the way it is”.
Currently, however, Simpson is trying to change the way the game is played. Through some legal magic, Simpson has created the Solomon Renewable Energy Company. This new company seems to be a different sort creature than its parent. It seeks to operate in a whole new way. $impson/$olomon is acting like a transnational corporation "wannabe".
Now, instead of the “trade” we all have come to accept as "the way it is", we are to be exposed to another way of operating a business. It's the “we take what we want and you get nothing” method. Actually it is less than nothing. $impson/$olomon is a privately held company. There are no stock shareholders or employee stock options, or other methods to share wealth beyond what is paid in wages.
$impson/$olomon ($/$) has stated that their new incinerator would provide 2-3 new jobs. We have seen how ADAGE had a tendency to inflate job numbers. Assuming the same tendency with $/$, even the 2-3 new jobs figure is suspect. So, for the sake of argument, let's assume there would be 2 new jobs.
$/$ wants to invest millions to build a new incinerator with an admitted purpose of making money by selling electrical power to the highest bidder. They want to operate it 24/7, and the old incinerator (up to 120 days per year) along with it. The old incinerator, as mentioned above, is a bad polluter, but due to the jobs it helps produce, we tend to ignore that. We are willing to accept the risks.
The new incinerator, however, would add tons and tons of additional pollutants all year long to our air. We and our families, 10,000 Shelton citizens and thousands more Mason County citizens, would be exposed to pollution that is known to cause illnesses and decreased life spans. Children and the elderly would be especially susceptible.
In exchange for this exposure, we get (maybe) 2 jobs. That's it. Simpson/Solomon (aka $/$) has become a greed machine.
If anyone who makes a living by working for Simpson is reading this, please understand: we all know that we all do what we have to do. In some manner, we all make trade-offs in one way or another. We all make compromises and justifications to get and keep the jobs we want and need. But this proposed second incinerator has very little to do with the Simpson operations that create our local jobs. It is designed to make lots of money for the owners, and will give very little back to our community.
Accepting the reality of what it takes to live in Mason County, we are willing to accept the Simpson Lumber Company as it is. But what is not acceptable is the $impson/$olomon plan to endanger the health of our families and community by building a second incinerator which has the sole purpose of increasing their wealth. Theirs, not ours.
Well said John.
ReplyDeleteI hope this helps people understand the opposition in our community is to Solomon, not Simpson.
We oppose the increased health risks the Solomon plant would bring to our community. We expecially oppose those increased health risks when they are not balanced by the jobs Simpson provides.
Solomon brings nothing to this community but increased pollution of our air, water and land; and the possibility of as many as three new jobs.
Sierra Crane-Murdoch, reporting on retired miners fighting to save their land and towns from mountaintop removal mining, got to know the hardworking mountain people and their "complex love/hate relationship with a resource that killed them but sustained them." It could be said as well about Simpson, as they have jobs for people in the area and also make people miserable and/or sick.
ReplyDeleteThe new biomass incinerator called Solomon is not going to add anything other than a couple of jobs and lots of pollution that will cause premature death for some and disease and ill health for many more. They will be building in the largest populated area in Mason County. It is for greed, alone, as the money will go into the owner's private pockets.
Our health is being sold for the sole profits of the owners. We, the citizens, must endure the pollution and all the baggage that comes with it. Or, must we?
submitted by Dick Curtis...
ReplyDeleteQuestion:...Why hasn't Simpson --- in supposedly caring about the town, their workers and families --- proposed to do the following:
...The building of a less polluting, more modern boiler system (Solomon) -- and at the same time, shutting down the Old, massively polluting boiler Completely???
...The newer, less polluting system could, thereby, supply all the steam necessary for their entire operation -- and still provide excess power to sell to the highest bidder.
...Or, if Solomon's parent company, Simpson, TRULY Cared about Shelton and its people --- then, they would construct the new Solomon Only large enough to provide all the power it needs for its plant in Shelton and maybe to its close-in other operations. Thus, further trying, for their part, to minimize the health risks to the community.
...If Simpson/Solomon does NOT listen to rational reason --- then, possibly it is time for the citizens to tell them so!
Before $impson/$olomon revealed the true level of their greed, some of us thought that the proposed new incinerator would mean the old one would shut down.
ReplyDeleteThe old incinerator is a big polluter and this was thought to mean a better situation because the new incinerator would have better pollution control systems installed, so overall, less pollution.
One problem with that possible reality is that the old plant is only used to produce steam for some of their operations intermittently and for example, I haven't noticed it in operation for at least month.
The new incinerator would be in operation 24/7/365. The old plant is dirtier, but it is very doubtful its emissions would exceed the level of the new plant with its full time operation.
We now know that $/$ wants to run both incinerators which is the worst possibility for us, the air-breathers.
Biomass incinerators are clearly an environmental nightmare, but we can't expect Simpson to not use its old incinerator. It is part of the operations that provide MANY local jobs and it doesn't seem there is a workable alternative method to produce the steam needed. But, they could clean it up by installing maximum, up to date, emission control technology (don't hold your breath).
The new proposed $/$ incinerator offers the air-breathers of our community nothing of benefit, and should be the focus of our present efforts to reduce pollution in Shelton.
This second incinerator would have no significant place in the present Simpson operations which provide Shelton's jobs. Why would we want it?