Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - The Environmental Protection Agency says the crew demolishing the H-O Oats grain elevators at the Senecas' downtown casino site is in violation of Clean Air Act laws. The EPA's Alan Steinberg tells NewsRadio 930 WBEN the crew failed to properly wet materials know to contain asbestos during the demolition.
That's resulted in visible dust going from the site. However, Steinberg says earlier tests revealed no signs of high asbestos levels at the site, but "there remains a chance asbestos could migrate off-site--a chance the EPA is not willing to take." Steinberg says there are also concerns workers on the site are not being adequately protected.
Meantime, at the site, work has shut down for now.
http://www.wben.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=05195
People who wonder if the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable.
Oh well. They'll spray more water on & finish the job.
Now, what is the EPA going to do about the dust and exhaust that's been coming off the Thruway into that neighborhood for the past 50+ years?
hah.
Wondering how the EPA has any authority on that Soverein Nation's land.
Last edited by Edisonic; June 17th, 2006 at 12:23 AM.
From what I've read..... the Senecas are sovereign only when speaking of NYS and are still subject to all US Federal law. (EPA being federal)Originally Posted by Edisonic
Okay, makes sense.... so, they are a Sorta Sovereign nation. hehe
They should just do what all the other contractors do in Buffalo - work all weekend, when the inspectors aren't around. So many Friday night roofing jobs, around here.... driveways, sheds, decks magically appear over the weekend .... buildings disappear....
This man is a lousy writer , but mostly he is a menace. The following slop was obviously written before the EPA announced that they found NO ASBESTOS in the dust leaving the demolition site. We'd better not hold our breath, while we await a retraction .
"According to documents obtained by casino opponents last week, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office has for some time possessed Seneca Gaming Corporation studies indicating that the silos comprising the H-O Oats grain elevator were coated with a 54,000-square-foot skin that was between eight and 14 percent asbestos. Brown’s office did not include the studies in its response to a FOIA request. They came to light only because of repeated requests by plaintiff’s lawyers in one of the anti-casino court actions.
Starting on the Memorial Day weekend, the SGC set about tearing down the silos using a process that could not help but release huge quantities of asbestos-laden dust into the air. The dust drifted all over the neighborhood, primarily to the east—to the offices and homes in the Elk Lofts and the hundreds of apartments in the Perry Street projects. Sometimes, when the wind shifted, the dust drifted toward Dunn Tire Park, where thousands of people watched evening baseball games and came out to find their cars coated with the stuff.
The only mitigation used by the SGC’s wrecking crew was a water spray that didn’t come within 30 feet of the tops of the silos, and some of the time it wasn’t even pointing at the same side of the wall being wrecked, so whenever the wrecking device smashed into the wall, you’d see some dust and wreckage fall down, and other dust drift up and away.
If you stood in the driveway of the Elk lofts across Perry Street from the site, you could sometimes feel a fine, moist spray on your skin. When the water dried the dust would be left on your skin or clothes or on the ground or on buildings where the water had fallen, ready to join the other dust blowing eastward, toward the Perry Street projects.
According to SGC spokesman Philip Pantano, there was nothing to worry about because the asbestos covering the silos wasn’t dangerous asbestos. His theory seemed to be that all 54,000 square feet of asbestos covering the silos fell to the ground where it was wetted down and carted away. (Pantano seems to have replaced SGC President Barry Snyder as the gambling organization’s public face, perhaps because Snyder almost always said something so arrogant or contemptuous that his statements wound up angering more people than they assuaged.)
It is difficult to believe that only concrete but none of the asbestos skin was pulverized when the 1,500-pound wrecking device hit, or that none of that pulverized asbestos was in the dust drifting across and down Perry Street. Dust like that settles on things; people breathe it; it gets into the water supply.
Pantano’s theory is so unlikely you would have thought that at least one of the neighborhood’s elected representatives would have demanded some guarantee of public safety beyond the SGC’s assertion that they’d do nothing harmful to anyone. You would have thought they would have done their own independent evaluation of the likely effects of pulverizing that asbestos covering the concrete. And after the wrecking started and it became clear that the demolition company was doing nothing beyond the single water spray, you’d have thought they’d have demanded an independent analysis of what was being dumped in the street and the air.
Not a word or a question from Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, who had the SGC’s own reports documenting the 54,000 square feet of asbestos covering.
Not a word from Common Council President David Franczyk, in whose district all this has been going on. Not a word from State Senator William Stachowski or State Assemblyman Mark Schroeder.
The SGC says it’s not subject to New York environmental law, so perhaps those elected representatives kept quiet because they thought they were impotent. More likely, they had other reasons.
Any one of them could have asked for federal intervention, as Giambra did. Not one of them did it.
And neither did the district’s and area’s three federal representatives. Not a word from Congressman Brian Higgins. Not a word from Senators Charles Schumer and Hilary Clinton. (The senators may be silent because they don’t want to annoy the Sullivan County business interests who are trying to get an Indian casino in the racetrack there. Who knows why people don’t do things they should?)
Not a word from the Buffalo News, at least not until the EPA came to town on Sunday, after which, in Monday’s paper, Michael Beebe detailed the whole sorry affair.
It’s now all up in the air, along with the asbestos-laden dust. There’s a huge amount of money and political pressure encouraging politicians to emulate the three monkeys who see, hear and speak no evil. Why else would Buffalo’s city hall have maintained this exquisite silence?
Will the EPA shut it down? Will the EPA force a major cleanup? Will the EPA seal the site? There is great pressure on all federal agencies these days to let casino things slide. Indian casino money is fattening many Congressional PACs (notably that of Tom Reynolds, who regularly receives big checks from several Western gambling tribes). But the EPA was embarrassed when word got out that it had given in to White House pressure and softpedaled environmental dangers in New York City after the September 11 disaster. It may want to use the Buffalo case to show that it really does take its job of protecting the public seriously, however much money is being thrown around and however much political pressure is being applied. Stay tuned." - Bruce jackson, perfesser of American Kultur.
Last edited by Edisonic; June 19th, 2006 at 04:32 AM.
If the Casino operatives where white, and the local prefered developers were involved in the project, the right palms greased, this project would be far ahead of schedule.
It amazes me that Bass Pro hasn't turned a shovel, are taking upwards of fifty to seventy million of our money to create seventy part time minimum wage jobs with no Benes is still be hailed as the saviour of the district.
The Indians are moving the headquarters of a major gaming corporation to the area. They are going to employ over a thousand, mostly full time, decent paying jobs with bene's. The people they hire may want to live near where they work, the bass pro employees won't be able to afford to. The casino employees are not allowed to drink or gamble in the Gaming corporation facilities. A thousand people are going to stop for dinner or a happy hour off casino property, they have to. But opponents say there will be no casino spin off.
How about the argument that the casino won't be on the tax rolls? What large new development pays taxes around here? We give them all tax breaks as an incentive to come here. How much is Bass Pro going to pay? Thats if they ever even build the damn thing. The Senecas have already started their complex.
The last thing is the assumption the local people don't want it. I watched a hockey game less than a quarter mile from the site the other night. After the game the news came out that the EPA cleared the contractors from asbestos concerns in the dust and the whole bar erupted in cheers and applause.
People have to understand whats going on here. That is that the Senecas, behind closed doors, refused to roll over for the traditional groups that are used to "wetting their beaks" as the saying goes. So they are going to make it as hard as possible for the Senecas to get this up and running.
They'll show them.
Personally I am with the Senecas on this and I wish them all the best.
"If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at the people he gave it to."
By the way, what happened to biker? I miss the old coot.
If they were white (i.e. Not Sovereign) I'm sure the local Unions would have stopped construction anyway with all their picketting. Just like on Delaware.
Your not the only one.It amazes me that Bass Pro hasn't turned a shovel, are taking upwards of fifty to seventy million of our money to create seventy part time minimum wage jobs with no Benes is still be hailed as the saviour of the district.
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About the 1,000 casino jobs: Note that the Senecas have stated that they need 700 of those jobs for their own people.
If they were white (i.e. Not Sovereign) I'm sure the local Unions would have stopped construction anyway with all their picketting. Just like on Delaware.
Hardly. Unlike the good ole' boys that run development in Buffalo, and are trying to break organized labor and the building trades, the Senecas employee union shop contractors to do the work. They have a good working relationship with the trade unions. You won't see picket lines. They aren't needed.
Which is another reason the Bass Pro crowd dosen't want them there.
"If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at the people he gave it to."
By the way, what happened to biker? I miss the old coot.
Your point being? Does it matter what color the people they hire are?
It's a good bet that alot of them will move in to Buffalo and spend the money they make here.
Jobs are jobs no matter who works them.
"If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at the people he gave it to."
By the way, what happened to biker? I miss the old coot.
How can you make the assumption that most of them will move to Buffalo? Most would probably stay wherever they live now and commute, just like most people do when they get a different job within WNY.
Apparently it matters to them, since they require 70% to be Seneca.
Where did you get that?Apparently it matters to them, since they require 70% to be Seneca.
Havent seen any requirement, only that seneca's get first dibs
I'm just referring to Edisonic's post above...
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