Editor’s note: This op-ed is by David Hallquist, CEO of Vermont Electric Cooperative and board president of Lamoille Economic Development Corp.
The Belvidere Mountain Quarries (Eden Mines) have been an important part of the Lamoille County landscape since 1899, when the Lowell Lumber and Asbestos Co. started prospecting and mining the mountain. In 1902, New England Asbestos Mining and Milling also began mining. In 1936, the Ruberoid Co. took over, which became the General Aniline and Film Corp. (GAF) in 1967. The mines continued to provide employment for local residents until 1975, when GAF ceased operations due to health concerns. Workers bought the company under the name of the Vermont Asbestos Group (VAG) and continued to operate the mines until 1993.
We have a unique opportunity to revitalize this important resource and once again work with the natural resources of Lamoille County to provide employment. The Lamoille Economic Development Corp. (LEDC) has been working with a developer on the concept of creating energy from wood from the local forests. Through a process called pyrolysis, bio-mass can be converted to a syn-gas, which then can be converted to electrical energy and liquid fuel. The Eden Mine site is ideally located for the project. There is a sub-transmission line that is already in place, and the location is centrally located in the forests of northern Vermont. This central location helps reduce the cost of transporting the wood needed. The use of wood as an energy source provides financial security for those who enjoy working in the woods.
The key to enabling this to happen is cleaning up the mines. In order to clean up the mines, the mines will need to be designated a Superfund site by the EPA. A Superfund designation is required before we can start the process of budgeting and obtaining federal funds to make the cleanup a reality. While this question has created some stress with the local communities in the past, LEDC wants to make sure the issue is discussed and considered thoroughly before this opportunity is lost. One reason residents have been opposed to this designation as some believe that their real-estate values will degrade as a result of this designation. The reality is, if there is negative effect on land value, it already has happened. It is pretty tough to hide those mines.
Cleaning the mines up will take a long time, probably about 10 years. However, at the end of that time frame, this location will be ready, and the markets will be ready, for local bio-mass to become an important part of our energy picture.
LEDC has asked the towns of Eden and Lowell to put this question to the voters during the March town meetings.
LEDC will be hosting informational meetings in Eden on Feb. 22, and in Lowell on Feb. 23. We hope to see as many local residents as possible to ensure that everyone makes a fully informed decision when they cast their vote.
