Plymouth Hires Firm to Provide Independent Oversight of Covanta

Following two recent plant malfunctions and subsequent odors believed to stem from the Covanta Plymouth Renewable Energy facility, the Plymouth Township Council voted unanimously to appoint an environmental law firm to provide independent oversight.

The governing body appointed Jordan Yeager of law firm Curtin & Heefner to serve as special counsel. The firm specializes in environmental matters.

Council Vice Chairman Chris Manero said Yeager would serve as an “independent advocate to work on behalf of the township.”

Yeager said he will help Council find an environmental engineer who could work on the township’s behalf. The goal is to have an engineer in place by September, he said.

Once an engineer has been selected, Yeager said they would “conduct an investigation to get to the bottom of what’s going on.” The professionals’ work entails gathering documents from Covanta, as well as the Department of Environmental Protection and Plymouth Township to “determine if there’s been violations” related to Covanta’s air quality permit.

Depending on the nature of what’s uncovered through the investigation, Yeager said DEP may need to implement more stringent protocols as it relates to plant operations and emissions.

By law, Covanta is required to self-report to DEP any incidents involving emissions beyond the predetermined threshold. With the independent analysis, the governing body wants to ensure that Covanta’s reporting is accurate. In addition, the environmental experts will be able to ascertain if odors stemming from a recent controlled shutdown, for instance, pose any harm to residents.

“There should be a lot of benefit of working with them,” Manero said.

“The most important thing is the independent look at the whole operation of Covanta,” Council President Marty Higgins added. “We’ve needed an independent body to come in … to get a fresh look, an independent look. This is going to go a long way to help us as council to understand what happened and prevent what happened in the future.”

Several residents commended the governing body for being proactive and making the public’s wellbeing a high priority. One resident inquired about Covanta’s obligations or cooperation as it relates to an independent oversight.

At the Council’s meeting in July, Covanta Director of Business Management David Sharp told the governing body that Covanta is “fully committed to working transparently with DEP, with all the agencies” and said the company supported Plymouth Township’s decision to hire an independent expert.

“So far they’ve been open and honest and transparent,” Higgins said of Covanta. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t cooperate.”

Councilman David Gannon called the addition of environmental experts “a logical, good step for us.”

Plymouth Township began talks with Covanta in January following a concerning plant malfunction in December which produced loud noise, emissions and what residents characterized as the smell of burning plastic. The Council invited a Covanta representative to its January meeting to discuss the Dec. 30 power supply shutdown and answer questions.

A similar plant incident in early June produced another strong odor. As a result of concerns related to the plant’s emissions, the Plymouth Township Council tabled a resolution in June to renew its trash contract with Covanta. That five-year contract will expire on Dec. 31.