Liz Grace Photo
Peeling back the onion: A plan for a structural addition to this dome has sparked new questions about what's happening on a trash company's property.
Officials of the “Circle of Life” transfer station on Middletown Avenue showed neighbors plans for a new semi-circlular structure on their site — and heard back questions, claims and complaints about the broader conditions on their property.
That presentation-turned-roundtable took place during a public meeting held Thursday night at the Fair Haven branch library.
It has sparked new questions that the city is pursuing this week about what exactly is happening and where on the east side property.
Circle of Life representatives came to the meeting Thursday night to present a preview of the potential site addition as part of an “environmental justice public participation plan.” The company told the Independent that it was required to hold the community meeting in order to apply for a needed permit modification application review from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
An update to the company’s current operating permit would mark the first step needed to begin a more formal process of regulatory reviews from the city and the state.
Reiser shows a photo of the "onion" dome currently on the property while Ozyck points out holes — literal and figurative — in the company's operations.
The company’s aim with the addition is to generate more shelter for the workers who currently sort out recyclables at the station, said Matthew Reiser of CMG Environmental, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm, who has been contracted to advise Circle of Life.
Circle of Life could do that, he said, by erecting a hoop-shaped cover on top of two concrete walls, creating a structure approximately 24 feet high at its peak, with a matching length and width of 30 feet.
The “hoop” would be located immediately adjacent to the west side of a larger dome located on the property, which functions as the dumping and sorting grounds for construction and demolition waste.
Circle of Life accepts only construction and demolition waste. It operates as a volume reduction facility that isolates recyclables before shipping off garbage to out-of-state landfills.
The private station, which is part of Circle of Life’s property stretching from 158 to 159 Middletown Ave., is positioned to the west of I‑91 behind an expanse of the Quinnipiac Meadows marsh and between a set of rail lines.
Right now, all construction and demolition debris — like wood, steel, concrete, plaster, metal, etc. — is dumped into that extant dome. Waste workers pull materials out of that covered “onion,” as Reiser referred to it, in order to separate out any recyclables. A machine within the dome condenses all remaining solid waste which is then loaded into rail cars.
Reiser said all trash held in those cars are “transferred off site within two business days.” The trash is moved to out-of-state landfills, he said.
Reiser promised that the new building would not mean any changes to the current volume or type of waste accepted or changes in traffic patterns, noise levels, or environmental and health impacts.
The idea behind the hoop is to create a ceilinged-space in front of the dome where waste can be dropped off, so that employees no longer have to work outdoors but can find refuge from the elements while sorting through waste.
Reiser added that the structure would improve operational efficiency and boost the amount of recyclables workers could theoretically isolate because the debris would be arranged in more accessible and smaller piles rather than layered within the onion.
“That’s the quick and dirty description,” as Reiser put it.
Define "Justice"
Chris Ozyck: Would very much like to visit the site.
The presentation prompted an extended back and forth between Matthew Reiser and one particular audience member. That attendee was Chris Ozyck, a Fair Haven Heights-based environmental advocate who is also the associate director of Yale’s Urban Resources Initiative.
“Environmental justice, is that the purpose of this meeting?” he inquired as Reiser loaded his slide deck onto a screen.
“We’ll talk about it briefly, I suppose,” Reiser said, explaining that the meeting was a formality required by DEEP before the state would review the site addition plan and consider granting them a permit modification.
Ozyck pulled up an aerial visual of the site on Google Maps — which showed the dome in question.
“You’re aware that there’s a large debris pile that’s on the site and that you can see from aerial views?” he asked.
“That’s actually not C&D waste, and it’s not on the site,” Reiser said.
“Then what is it?” Ozyck retorted.
“It’s not part of this, and it’s not part of the business. It’s not part of the permitted property.”
That sparked a cascade of theories regarding what the material Ozyck was referring to could be.
Finally, Reiser followed up that he did not know whether a Google Maps image would in any case offer an accurate and current depiction of the grounds. “Currently, there is no waste outside of the dome to my knowledge.”
“I feel like a site visit would answer a lot of these questions,” Ozyck said. He inquired whether a visit to the transfer station would be possible.
“I’m not sure we can do that because the site is on federal railroad property,” Reiser replied.
“How long ago did you visit the site?” Ozyck continued.
“In June,” Reiser estimated.
“What was the condition of the onion dome roof at that time?” Ozyck asked.
“Fair condition,” Reiser said.
How many holes were in the dome covering?
Reiser said he didn’t remember.
“More than two?” Ozyck pushed.
“How big holes are we talking about?”
“Big enough for a car to go through,” Ozyck stated.
Reiser then stated that Circle of Life has been working to repair the roof of the dome following a storm that tore the panels off of the garbage container.
Alice Soto, a representative for Circle of Life who was also present at the meeting, later told the Independent that the storm ripped off “probably three quarters” of the dome cover. She said the company is currently working with a vendor to manufacture new panels that could more effectively protect the building from similar catastrophes in the future.
She also said that a solid cover over any waste on site is key to ensuring that rain cannot fall on the waste and create dangerous and dirty runoff (which could trickle into the nearby marsh).
Asked what kinds of materials the company might use to construct the new hoop addition, Soto said it is still too early in the project’s development to know.
The dome — according to Google Maps.
It turns out visitors have already seen such a “hoop” building on recent visit.
Ozyck, for example, revealed that, unlike Reiser, he has seen the transfer station within the last two weeks.
Then came the claim: “The building is already built. I saw it.”
Reiser, puzzled, said: “We haven’t had authorization from DEEP so we haven’t built it yet.”
Following the meeting, the Independent visited the property and saw the hoop as well.
It was not situated directly next to the onion, where Circle of Life said it intends for any future structure to be.
Asked again after the meeting as to whether the company had already installed the hoop, Soto responded that the structure Ozyck was referring to “is on an adjacent site.”
Whose site? The Independent asked.
“By that I mean that it is not a part of the Circle of Life, and it doesn’t fall under the permit,” she responded.
New Haven Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli, who attended Thursday’s meeting, told the Independent that he had the same questions following the live Fair Haven Library back and forth.
So the city dispatched the assessor’s office to visit the site.
It did, and found the hoop on the property, as well.
Piscitelli said the city is now following up to determine where property lines run on the land and how they match up with different permits.
In the meantime, Ozyck reminded Circle of Life that a site visit is not required to observe the transfer station’s operations.
“You can see the site when you travel I‑91. It’s very easy to monitor the site — and to see the large amount of debris that’s been stored outside the onion dome,” Ozyck commented at Thursday evening’s meeting.
“Is there air quality monitoring done at this facility?” Ozyck subsequently asked.
Soto said that an outside lab tests the site’s air quality on an annual basis.
“For the first eight years it was quarterly,” she said. “At this point it’s down to annually because the quarterly testing was all fine.”
“If there’s a problem,” Soto said, the frequency of those tests “will obviously change.”
Ozyck suggested the company work with Fair Haven leadership to craft a community benefits agreement. “Luckily the site is right next to the New Haven transfer station and dump — it would be pretty easy to set up a permanent air quality monitor and a camera,” he said.
Piscitelli: Site is "embarrassing."
Piscitelli offered a few words at Thursday evening’s meeting during what he called “the wild interplay” among Ozyck, Reiser and Soto.
The site is “the welcome to New Haven,” he said. “Driving down I‑91 it’s the first thing you see as you look across the beautiful salt marsh.”
“The site looks terrible,” he stated. “It’s embarrassing. And you really do need to focus on getting it cleaned up as you go through this process.”
He concluded: “It’s just disgusting, and you’ve really gotta acknowledge that.”
Nora Grace-Flood’s reporting is supported in part by a grant from Report for America.
Why is there a waste facility near a marshland?
Clearly environmental protection has not been a priority in New Haven in the past, but it should be now.
Is there really no other location available for both the Transfer Station and this facility as well?
Flooding already occurs in the area and flood projection maps show increased risks along many waterways.
New Haven has to start rolling back the poor decisions made decades ago and start supporting the health of our residents by completely reviewing all such sites and finding alternate locations.
Once again, big thanks to Chris Ozyck for his advocacy for environmental justice.