Politics & Government

City Residents Divided over Scrap Metal Business

Some urge Pease Development Authority to get rid of Grimmel Industries while others voice support for Port of New Hampshire firm.

Portsmouth residents were sharply divided over Grimmel Industries' scrap metal operation at the Port of New Hampshire and some urged the Pease Development Authority to seek out other businesses.

The PDA sought public input over the environmental issues that some city residents say Grimmel Industries has created via storm water runoff into the Piscataqua River and fugitive dust that affects nearby residents.

Several city residents, Mayor Eric Spear, several city councilors and newly-elected NH House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-NH, attended the hearing at City Hall to learn more about the plans that the Port of New Hampshire and Grimmel Industries are putting into place to mitigate the environmental issues.

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Tom Carroll, who lives at Noble Condominiums on 500 Market St. across from the Port of New Hampshire, criticized the PDA for not doing a better job of holding Grimmel Industries accountable at the Port of New Hampshire.

Carroll said he has talked to the PDA since 2002 about the dust and the need to make Grimmel Industries compliant.

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“They don’t spray unless we call them,” said Carroll about the practice of wetting down the scrap metal piles so dust doesn't become airborne. He said the proposal made by Grimmel Industries to move the scrap metal pile back toward the fence that runs along Market Street will not solve the problem of storm water runoff into the river.

Ed Solimine of 448 Market St. said the fugitive dust issue affects residents in the immediate area and is of the most concern to them. If the scrap pile is moved back to the fence in the southern portion of the yard, the dust becomes a greater problem.

Robert Hassold of Portsmouth recalled how he once saw a great dust cloud during a windstorm and was shocked by the extent of it.

“You are poisoning the people of Portsmouth,” said Hassold, the former captain of the Tug Alley II boat. Hassold told PDA members that for the last 10 years they have expended so much effort to eliminate the problems posed by arsenic, lead, and PCBs. “Why do we have to have scrap metal in the center of Portsmouth?”

“If you think the dust and the rust are going to be eliminated, you’re fooling yourself,” Hassold said. “You know darn well that you’re not going to be controlling it all so my suggestion is to get the scrap metal out of the city.”

Donald Coker of Strafford, chairman of the Piscataqua Maritime Commission, said “this is a working port” that has been there for hundreds of years.

Coker said the scrap metal recycling has eliminated the junk cars, refrigerators and other metal products and Grimmel has made that happen. “It is recycling on a grand scale.”

He said 1,100 trucks of scrap metal go onto every ship that comes into Portsmouth and the scrap metal industry provides a lot of jobs and economic benefit. He said Grimmel has been a big sponsor of the Tall Ships festival for many years going back to the visit of the American Eagle.

“I urge everyone here to work with the Port as a partner, not as an adversary,” Coker said.

Erik Anderson, a member of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Committee and a commercial fisherman, said people have to give the plan a chance to work.

City Councilor Esther Kennedy also commended Grimmel Industries and the PDA for trying to solve a problem. She said the Port of New Hampshire is bigger than just Portsmouth. She said it is a vital economic driver that benefits the entire state as well as Maine.

Joel Carp of Portsmouth didn't share that view and argued that the city and state is choosing to box itself into a situation where it has decided to hold onto a scrap metal recycling industry that is causing more harm than good.

“We have a very static junk yard with about 10 ships moving in and out every year. I think we can do better than that,” he said.

He also suggested the PDA should approach the State Legislature to cut the Port of New Hampshire loose from the PDA and return it the city, which he said could do a better job of managing it. Carp also suggested the PDA should hire a consultant to find other businesses for the Port of New Hampshire to replace the scrap metal recycling operation that is there now.

During his presentation, Geno Marconi, director of the Division of Ports and Harbors, said Grimmel Industries enabled the division to see $240,000 in net operating income after deducting $170,000 in capital projects. He said if Grimmel Industries was lost as a tenant, the division would be operating in the red with a net loss of $229,000. Marconi said Grimmel Industries contributes 18 percent of the Division’s revenue.

Attorney Robert Cheney, the PDA's general counsel, explained the Division of Ports and Harbors and Grimmel Industries have to comply with existing federal Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Services rules governing storm water runoff and fugitive dust.

He said berms have been installed along the northern and southern sections of the yard to capture more storm water runoff and Grimmel wants to create one scrap metal pile instead of two piles that would be further away from the river's edge. He said Grimmel Industries will also do more wetting and housekeeping to prevent dry fugitive dust from becoming airborne.

Noah Elwood, president of Appledore Marine Engineering, said three treatment units are being installed, one in the southern portion of the Port of New Hampshire's yard and two in the northern section of the yard to collect storm water runoff. He said there will also be more catch basins and treatment lines. He said pavement grades along the edge of the river are also being raised to prevent ponding.

Overall, Elwood said the Port of New Hampshire is making $700,000 in drainage improvements as part of its phase five plan to create a larger marine terminal.

When complete, Elwood said all of the water from storm water runoff will be directed into the treatment units and then into the river.

At the conclusion of Monday night's public hearing, PDA Chairman Arthur Nickless Jr. said both EPA and NHDES will monitor what goes on at the Port of New Hampshire. He also said Grimmel Industries adaptive management approach includes a willingness to take additional steps if necessary to get the right results.

He said the PDA is committed to making sure the fugitive dust issue is dealt with in an effective manner.


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