Last Updated on May 5, 2020 by Mercedes Brugh
SOURCE: News release from Mercedes Brugh
Opponents of the WSP smelters coming to Cass County will stage their second demonstration on Wednesday morning at 8:30. Demonstrators will urge county commissioners to reverse course while the Commissioners speak on their monthly radio show.
Cass County residents were surprised to learn that on March 2 their Commissioners had, that day, signed an agreement pledging free land and a $23 million bond issue, among other inducements, to a Secondary Metal Processing Facility that plans to process approximately 320,000 tons of hazardous Electric Arc Furnace dust and an additional 160,000 tons of coal or coke per year. The company, WSP, reserves the option to burn 10% of “unknown” feedstock. The City of Logansport is three miles downwind of the proposed plant’s location; farms and homes are even closer.
Residents object to the secrecy leading up to welcoming WSP; to health-endangering emissions of lead, mercury, PM 2.5, dioxins, and dioxin-like components; and that there is no preventative maintenance plan and no backup plan for emissions controls.
Demonstrators will assemble downtown at Second Street and Melbourne at 8:30 a.m. and practice social distancing. Masks are encouraged and signs are extra credit.
For more information contact Mercedes Brugh at 812.272.7417.