Saratoga Biochar Solutions Virtual Public Meeting December 19, 2022
On December 19, 2022, Saratoga Biochar Solutions held a virtual public meeting to discuss the proposed facility at the Moreau Industrial Park. CEO Raymond Apy, President Bryce Meeker, hired engineer Andrew Millspaugh, and Chief Operating Officer Lee Wulfekuhle hosted the virtual public meeting. This meeting was the first of several public information meetings to be held as part of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s application requirements. Community members had the opportunity to email their questions, or ask a question via the zoom meeting function, or through the phone; or, add a question to a chat stream. Each community member was given 2 minutes and 30 seconds to speak; however, that time limit was not enforced. Apy and his team went through the community’s questions until just after 8:00 PM on Monday evening.
More than 100 area residents attended the virtual meeting. When the question and answer period began, the challenges of the virtual meeting format became apparent; the first participant in the public question and answer period was Tom Masso. That call was lost, but he was able to reconnect and successfully ask his question. Gina Laclair could not successfully enable her microphone, and was not able to comment. Apy and The Baker Public Relations team worked to communicate with community members and try to direct community members on how to enable their microphone and camera.
The Baker Public Relation team, who were on hand to assist with the meeting, could be heard giving direction so that the questions could be asked and concerns from community members addressed. On several occasions, CEO Ray Apy went back to community members who could not successfully connect and tried to reconnect with them and answer their questions.
Community members voiced their concerns regarding the safety of the facility for their children and grandchildren. Questions were asked regarding the steps to take if community members did have complaints when the facility was opened, as well as truck traffic. After several failed attempts to connect, Therese Gillis – Co-founder of Hands Off Our Hudson (which Gillis clarified is not an environmental group) – was able to participate in the meeting. She spoke for almost 10 minutes, before the meeting ended just after 8:00 PM. Gillis mentioned the PCBs pollution caused by General Electric that the area is still recovering from.
To view Saratoga Biochar’s 35-page Public Participation Plan, visit SaratogaBiochar.com, click on the menu, and Choose “PPP”.