The proppants are created from slag that would come from the steel mill.
Mr. Morton,
"I brought to the city several weeks ago, perhaps three or four weeks, a business venture by a company called Blue Sky International seeking the need for about ten acres to develop what’s called proppant plant. Proppants are metallic balls that are created from slag material. And all this obviously comes together because of the steel mill and the slag that is ultimately produced from making steel. It’s then reprocessed by Stine, which is, I guess the old Brown Company…
Essentially, the company that the office represents is a company called Blue Sky International. Material has been given to Rob Barry and Ted Reed. A business plan and executive summary also the request for information has been received by your office."
Mr. Barry, “Right, and all those documents, reports have been recorded accepted and we have received."
Mr. Morton, “Additional reports by the company, labiality.”
Mr. Morton, “The initial meeting that I had was with Mr. Gary Smith from the Chester County Economic Development Council bringing the project to his attention for its violability for financing. I think we see a vital positive response. Our investors in this project are financially very capable….
But what we have is a thirty million dollar plant to be erected that will produce about a thousand tons of proppants a year. Which is essentially the amount of slag produced from the mill; or a thousand tons a day, I should say…
The concept is; ArcelorMittal makes the steel, there is slag produced, Stine… takes that slag reprocesses it. They take out all the remaining metals and what have you and then sell it back to the steel mill. The remaining is to a large degree used…for roads et cetera. That material…we would make the units called proppants which are used in the oil and gas industries to force down into the well to open up the fissures that allow low producing wells release their gas and oil actually making Marcellus Shale a lot --- We have a relationship with Halliburton…
We use 100 percent of the slag material that comes into the facility; it’s not a noisy facility. It’s clean; we have scrubber and everything, its waste water going in and scrubbers, recycling systems all in play. The company in the long run will probably be a one hundred million dollar producer plus. It will employ directly somewhere around eighty people, twenty four-seven….
As a result of coming to the City and speaking with Rob and Ted we identified the flats the north side of the flats, although it did stress the velodrome’s position et cetera… That’s where we are today… So we’ve got one hundred thousand dollars for the corner of Lincoln and Church and a million dollars for the eight acres or less on the north side of the flats. We think we have the financial wherewithal to meet the requirements for the Economic Development Council….
The principals are meeting with Stine on Monday…. A letter of interest has already been submitted to negotiate a contract to sell to Blue Sky all the slag they need to do this project."
Mr. Pat O’Donnell, “Have you had any discussions with the velodrome people about a shared space?”
Mr. Morton, “No I haven’t. Again we just started three or four weeks ago with talking with Barry and Ted. We’re open, you know, being a real estate broker and looking at high investments for real estate, It seems to me that we can co-exist on the site…"
Mr. Reed has talked to a local industry about the possibility of some land, seventy nine acres outside of the City limits of Coatesville. The Blue Sky Company was not interested in that. Mr. Reed wants the staff to work on the possibility of finding another site near the steel company.
Mr. Reed said, “Certainly we would like to have it in Coatesville, but if there is some other area outside of the area at least that could be jobs for Coatesville residents. But we would like to work everything we can to see if you could do it inside the City limits.”
Mr. Morton, "It’s got to go somewhere.”
“It’s got to go somewhere.” Sure, companies look for low income black or minority cities to put their polluting dangerous plants into. Places where people have less political clout and where public officials can be paid to play. Actually I don’t think it needs to go anywhere at all. The gas companies don’t need to mine for gas and Halliburton doesn’t need fracking chemicals from Coatesville or anywhere in Chester County.
We don’t have to run the risk of spilling fracking chemicals into the Brandywine Creek, destroying our ground and surface water. We don't need tap water that you can light with a match like in the video below. Right now, I think because of Dick Cheney, there are no United States EPA regulations regarding fracking chemicals. That is likely to change.
I don’t think a company that manufactures fracking chemicals should go in downtown Coatesville or anywhere on the Brandywine Creek.
This is what proppants for fracking do:
Citizen’s Comments:
John Pawlowski, “I’m trying to piece together what I heard here... I think the area this gentleman is talking about is north of the viaduct and one time 84 Lumber wanted to buy some of that and put in one of their establishments and the entire RDA turned it down. I don’t know much about everything, the details, I can only comment on what I think I heard. And what I think I heard is that something like that does not belong in Coatesville. I don’t care where in Coatesville you look, it does not belong in Coatesville. Perhaps there’s space right in the middle of the Mittal property down it South Coatesville somewhere where this will fit very nicely and still maybe contribute to employment of one or two Coatesville people.
But I think Coatesville deserves something better on the flats than an environment that I just heard described there. I can’t believe, I think even the fact it’s called ‘Blue Skies’ makes me suspicious of what it might be or end up being.
I led the march against the crazy idea of putting in a gas fired electrical plant down there. I cannot believe anybody would seriously consider putting anything down there (like that). Coatesville is not that hard up for a couple of jobs. I don’t think so. And I can’t speak totally against it because I don’t know that much about it. I don’t what to be presumptuous; I’m only commenting on what I think I heard. That area down there has become prime area now that always wasn’t.
But now people want to come in and kind of kill a dream. That’s what it is. When the RDA bought that property it was with the idea of putting in something good down there, something nice.
G.O. Carlson could have stayed there and had this stuff right in their building they wouldn’t have to tear them down. What’s the point?”
Maria Hess, “With all due respect to this company that came in, we do not need another company like this in the City of Coatesville. We’ve had enough poor air quality with Lukens, ArcelorMittal … We need something like the Velodrome we’ve all come in here tonight and seen how much we need the velodrome. We do not need another chemical in our air. We don’t need anybody that is supplying to ArcelorMittal; they’re tearing buildings down they’re not raising buildings... We don’t need somebody who is supplying them with any more material. In Coatesville, we’re not looking for dollars. We are looking for something that will bring quality of life here in Coatesville. We are looking for a price tag anymore. We’re not selling Coatesville. We’re selling a quality of life here. If you can’t bring quality of life here in Coatesville, we don’t need your money. We need a better life for our citizens. Our City is not for sale. We are not going to pick any old company that’s made a dollar anymore. It’s a new administration. It’s a new life in Coatesville. Thank you.”
Kadisia Almein, “I agree with Maria and the rest of the folks. Folks in Coatesville are not for sale. The City’s not for sale for junk. What he’s presenting will not go hand in hand with the velodrome. I don’t even know how he could picture that going hand in hand with the velodrome. The velodrome is a good idea and over all long term, it’s going to make the quality of life better. It’s going to bring money here a lot of money. We don’t need any more chemicals. And I would say no. It’s a foolish idea. We didn’t want the power plant and we don’t want Blue Skies either here.”
Laurie Root, "I’m with Coatesville Guardian Angeles who along with several other members here have gone out through this community two to three days a week to clean up the graffiti, pick up the trash with no assistance from anybody, just our own wills for a better life. Why are we doing this, that there is even any consideration to have a company come in that’s going to pollute the air, going to throw water waste products into our system. One thing that I hope has been considered Is the water table. We have a creek where my grandchildren can catch little fish. You can’t eat them, they’re toxic from the sewage overspill. I think this would probably ruin the ecosystem that we currently do have.
The velodrome that encourages health, physical health for the community, get out an exercise, work your heart, do something, and be something in life.
The Blue Skies seems to be the exact opposite. We need to consider, we’re in a valley here. We live in a valley. There have been other circumstances where there’s been large industrial plants, as well as steel plants and on foggy days has created a death cloud where people have died, had severe allergy problems, asthma problems. I just studied that in my class in school. It’s not healthy. How can you put something not healthy next to something that’s promoting physical health and well being? I just hope you really consider everything as well as the wildlife in the area, what the Riverwalk is supposed to mean. No one is going to go out and walk on that Riverwalk, if there’s soot on it, if there’s pollution of water, If there’s no aquatic life in there. I think it’s absurd and we deserve better."
“Gasland” Now PBS
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