Town officials have scheduled a public hearing on the proposed re-zoning of several town parcels owned by an aggregate shale manufacturer based in Cohoes.
Four properties owned by the Norlite Corporation are to be re-zoned from residential to commercial classifications.
The company is seeking to use the property to store removed topsoil as it looks to get at more shale.
Last year the state Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation renewed Norlite’s mining permit for another five years. No mining will be done in the town, according to Arnis Zilgme, Colonie town attorney.
There is a lot of dirt they have to get out to get down to rock. They want to take it and move it from the (Cohoes) site to the Colonie portion of operation rather than driving it out through Cohoes or Colonie, said Zilgme.
The four parcels comprise 34-acres that run east to west along alternate Route 7.
The removed soil will be terraced so as the redirect water back toward the mining operation in Cohoes. Town officials had raised concerns of water runoff from the site, and the company agreed to terrace the land.
United Industrial Services Ltd., which owns Norlite, is a large-scale company that recycles and disposes of hazardous waste produced by industries from pharmaceutical companies to automotive service and repair shops.
The wastes are filtered at the Cohoes site and then burned to heat shale near to the rock’s melting point. The process yields a light, porous stone that is used in products such as wallboard, cement blocks and cement.
Norlite became the focus of area residents and grassroots organizations in 2002 after a series of violations and fines were imposed on the company for improper storage of the wastes. The company has changed ownership since the string of violations and operates under on-site state monitors.
Norlite’s property straddles the city of Cohoes and the town of Colonie.
Their current mining permit allows them to harvest shale from a 90-acre site within Cohoes. Engineers have estimated enough shale is available to keep the operation going for the next 100 years. Of the 250 acres the company owns in the area off of Saratoga Avenue in Cohoes, 200 acres lie in Colonie.
As of now, there are no discussions between Colonie and Norlite about mining the Colonie property. If mining were to come into the town, Norlite would have to seek a permit and then remove the soil it plans to dump on the property if the re-zoning goes through.
Attempts to reach Norlite officials were unsuccessful.“