Representatives from WSP take the state at McHale Performing Arts Center in Logansport to discuss the zinc plant being built west of the city. Staff photo by Tony Walters
The public forum happened less than 12 hours after the Cass County Council had tabled voting on ordinances for two potential bond issues for the Waelz Sustainable Products [WSP] plant, one for $23 million and the other for $70 million.
The ordinances were sent back to the Cass County Redevelopment Commission with the stipulation that changes be made after renegotiation takes place between WSP and the Cass County Citizens Coalition [CCCC], which sponsored the forum at the McHale Performing Arts Center.
The results of the renegotiation should change the nature of the bond agreements.
This is the first such forum since the project became public knowledge in March at a Cass County Commissioners meeting.
On Friday, CCCC and WSP each had four speakers who gave presentations on their arguments to about 100 people attending, and then took written questions.
The biggest question from the audience, based on the number of cards submitted after presentations, was why WSP decided on Cass County, according to moderator Zach Szmara. Attorney Matt Conrad, of the firm Frost Brown Todd, which is advocating for WSP, said WSP sent out requests for proposals and received 70 back.
The Logansport site in the Cass County Agribusiness Park has the critical access to rail lines and access to utilities like natural gas were adequate, he said.
The WSP plant is a joint venture between Heritage Environmental of Indiana and Zinc Nacional of Monterrey, Mexico, to build a plant that will heat arc furnace dust in kilns to separate it into iron and zinc for resale. The dust is waste product from mills’ recycling steel, and the two planned kilns would use anthracite coal to make the heat for the separation.
WSP officials also said they liked the community, which has people available who are skilled and the community is near universities for further education.
The WSP panel refuted that they’re not wanted in Cass, saying they’ve heard from a number of people who want the plant, and that those against it are a minority, but those people are afraid of social media attacks and won’t come forward.
A petition against the plant on Change.org had 10,780 signatures as of Monday afternoon.
WSP’s speakers also said they left a similar project in Muncie because a group had turned the Muncie City Council against it in one meeting.
For the CCCC response to the question, Dr. James Rybarczyk, retired associate professor of analytical chemistry at Ball State University, said that Logansport was WSP’s fourth choice, after an attempt by WSP to build a plant in Muncie, which ended last August, was followed by Rushville and Wayne County before Cass, Rybarczyk said.
“Unfortunately, you guys were the consolation prize,” he said.
Before the question session, though, the presentations started with Darci Ackerman, senior vice president of Growth & New Ventures at Heritage and a 26-year employee of the firm. Heritage is working with Zinc Nacional.
She differentiated WSP from American Zinc Recycling plants. American Zinc Recycling has been brought up by those opposing the Cass County project because it has had troubles in the past with regulations.
She also said an $80,000 fine at the company’s Alabama plant was from the previous owners over the certification of a storage building, and that was rectified.
The CCCC speakers started with Hoosier Environmental Council’s Dr. Indra Frank, a physician who specialized in pathology and who went into environmental health in 2004.
Frank started by apologizing to WSP consultant Dr. Kathryn Kelly, president of Delta Toxicology, who has a doctorate in environmental toxicology, for not sharing information Frank used Friday morning.
Frank had said that Kelly’s lead statistics about land around WSP’s Alabama Waelz kiln were based on government website samples taken from 1978, 30 years before the plant was there.
Kelly’s presentation, which came before the CCCC speakers, stated that the difference between activists and scientists is that activists do “surprise” revelations and look for mistakes.
Frank, who later said she felt that was directed at her, told Kelly that she’d only gotten that information the prior day and didn’t pass it on to Kelly.
Kelly had also said that based on Indiana statistics, Cass doesn’t have the highest cancer rate in the state and that the infant mortality rate is so low, it doesn’t show on a state graph.
“How can you say it’s the highest?” she said, referring to past accusations.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health website, Cass was fourth in the state’s 92 counties for infant mortality rates from 2013 to 2017. First was Jay County at 13.2, Grant and Shelby counties at 9.2 and Cass at 9.1.
“The rate is calculated by dividing the number of infant deaths in a calendar year by the number of live births during the same calendar year,” the website states.
Frank also said that retired Indiana state toxicologist Jim Klaunig, whom Kelly said deemed the project safe, is an acquaintance of hers.
He responded to links mentioning him on the WSP website with an email to her stating, “I never endorsed anything with this project,” Frank said.
On the Title V air permit that WSP is requesting from the state, engineer Russell Kemp, managing principal of Ramboll, said that nothing will be allowed from the plant that’ll be harmful to people.
Kemp, who wrote WSP’s application for the permit, specializes in air quality management and environmental regulatory compliance.
“WSP will meet or exceed all state and federal health and environmental regulations and standards,” he said.
“You’re not going to have to take WSP’s word on this,” he said. The permit “will have teeth.”
The WSP speakers also included Patricio Madero, head of strategy and new business development for Zinc Nacional, who spoke on the economic advantages and said WSP is making a $110 million investments that will bring in 90 jobs in both phases.
Financial firm Baker Tilly said the ripple effects will create 239 jobs as a result.
Dr. Morton Marcus, a CCCC speaker and director emeritus of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University, asked why Millport, Alabama, hasn’t seen that multiplier in jobs. Madero said a restaurant close to the plant has expanded.
Marcus also said that one benefit WSP has been touting, the $6.6 million in property tax money left over after the property tax increase pays off a bond issue, is the amount of tax already paid on the property and is no increase.
The fourth CCCC speaker was Dr. Vivek Sahgal, a physician who specializes in infectious disease, internal medicine, lung diseases and tuberculosis.
He talked about the effects of heavy metals on the body if they’re in the ecosystem.
A video of the forum is posted on the CCCC Facebook page.
WSP plans to have the first kiln, Phase I, operational by the end of March.
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