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UPDATED: Bristol businessman begins work on $157 Million plant

The empty American Phoenix plant on Vance Tank Road could soon be home to a waste to ethanol manufacturing business.

By Debra McCown (dmccown@bristolnews.com)
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: October 23, 2009 (Link to this article)

Developer says $157 million Reclaimed Resources Inc. facility will employ 100 people at average pay of $42,000 annually

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Work has already begun to convert the old American Phoenix building on Vance Tank Road into a plant that will turn trash into ethanol, said Ted Cox, the Bristol, Va., businessman behind the $157 million project.

Though city and county government officials have yet to approve a proposed $4 million incentive package for the project, both have indicated support – and Cox said he has the 660,000-square-foot building under contract.

“The process would take municipal waste – solid waste and other organic products including municipal sludge – and make them into usable products without having to be put in a landfill,” Cox said.

Mike Sparks, deputy city manager for development, said the building has been sitting empty for more than a decade – and city officials are thrilled that someone has found a good use for it. He also said Sullivan County officials have expressed interest.

“It’s very big,” Sparks said of the project’s significance. “Our intent in the community … is to try to foster job growth and economic development to help this area prosper, and to be able to use a piece of real estate that had value but was not being used is a very good thing.”

Cox said the building’s availability will greatly cut the time it takes to get the business, Reclaimed Resources Inc., into operation, which he now estimates at about 16 months. He said the plant will open in early 2011 and employ more than 100 people at an average wage of $42,000 a year plus benefits.

“We’re reclaiming it,” Cox said of the building. “Everything that we do is a product of recycling or reclaiming something that is not being used, into a renewable system.”

He also said that while his investors are primarily outside the United States, he hopes to draw some federal economic stimulus dollars for the project.

While eight plants similar to this one, which grind municipal waste into slurry and send it 2,000 feet underground as part of the treatment process, are being built around the United States, Cox said, his will be the first to open.

During early discussions on the project, the newness of the technology was a major reason Washington County, Va., officials expressed skepticism for it locating in their county.

Wise County officials – and ultimately Bristol, Tenn. – welcomed the prospect of being the first to have it.

Those three localities emerged in recent months as the most likely contenders for the plant, though Cox said three of the four other localities where he presented his plan expressed interest. Ultimately, the building’s availability cinched the deal for Bristol, Tenn., he said.

Cox said he might build a second, smaller plant in Wise County, and officials there are hopeful it will happen, said Bob Adkins, a Wise County Board of Supervisors member who serves on the county’s landfill and solid waste committee.

Adkins said even if Wise County doesn’t get a plant, “it could save big bucks” by allowing the county to avoid all of the costs associated with landfilling its garbage.

In Washington County, the proposed plant has become a central feature in the reelection campaigns for two sitting supervisors.

Challengers in those races have long blamed sitting board members for driving revenue-generating potential out of the county.

“Washington County had a chance to get that ethanol plant here, and of course, as you know, we lost it,” said Vernon Smith, who is challenging Supervisor Dulcie Mumpower for the seat she’s held for 16 years. “It’s just another example of our current Board of Supervisors turning away high-paying jobs.”

Mumpower and Supervisor Jack McCrady both have said the technology was unproven and uncertain, and they didn’t received enough details to make a decision. Mumpower, whose neighborhood sits beside the proposed Washington County site, also objected to the idea of trash being hauled through a residential area to reach the industrial park.

Joe Straten, who is challenging incumbent McCrady for his seat on the board, said many of his constituents are disappointed by the news that the plant will locate elsewhere.

McCrady did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday and Thursday. Mumpower said Wednesday that she had no comment on the new plant site.

Board Chairman Kenneth Reynolds noted that the Bristol, Tenn., site is away from residential areas.

“Not every business or industry fits every site,” Reynolds said. “I just think they looked at the options available and it seems to be that’s a good option down there.”

Sparks said the mixed response Cox received is typical for a major industrial project, particularly one with a new technology.

“Hopefully this will be the beginning of a good marriage,” he said. “I think this is what we’re going to see more of in the future, where projects are built around things that we used to not do and now we see a good social and economic reason to do it.”

Cox said the technology will work – and will produce no pollution. The technology has been in use in Europe for years, he said.

“The technology was proven in the United States [years ago], but because of the low cost of fuel, the low cost of oil and the readily available landfill space, this technology was not needed at that time,” Cox said. “The owners of the patents then chose to go to the Netherlands because of the huge demand for ways of disposing of their waste. Therefore, this has been used there on a daily basis for the past 20 years without being used in the United States.”

Over the past two decades, Cox said, the federal government’s attitude toward ethanol fuel has changed, and there now are incentives that make it easier to finance such projects.

Jeurgen Steyer, a German native who moved here from Florida to manage the plant, said many Europeans, who live in countries where communities are planned and land prices are at a premium, are shocked to learn that, in America, trash is still dumped into landfills.

“You have to look at the whole picture. There’s just so much more to it than smelly waste,” Steyer said. “They [Europeans] just don’t understand how a country as rich as this country can’t get a grip of their environmental issues.”

Cox said the plant will help address several issues in the Tri-Cities: the space consumed by landfills; the need for domestically produced fuel; and the cost to localities of dealing with municipal waste. The trash will come from within a 60-mile radius of the Tri-Cities, Cox said, and consume 750 percent of the 5,000 tons of trash that already travel the Tri-Cities daily.

“We feel like this facility will be the flagship of the waste disposal business for the whole United States,” he said. “We look forward to making this a showplace for Bristol, Tenn., to show the rest of the world that we are a progressive-thinking community and that cooperation between private industry and local leaders can make things happen.”

Flag Comment Posted by scott cottrill on October 23, 2009 at 9:37 pm

Bill, I agree that we need supervisors that are pro-business, but that is only half of the equation.  The point is that we need a lot less taxes than we think we do.  The problem is that everyone is looking for a handout from the government instead of first trying to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps, to use an old metaphor.  Politicians gladly go along with it becasue by doing so they buy our votes.  We should instead be looking to the politicians who recognize that less government is more freedom.

Flag Comment Posted by Radio Bill on October 23, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Scott, the point that I was making was that one person in previous post called the proposed wages a lie. And that any paying job was better than none, which would also benefit the county because of revenue generated from income monies spent here.
Unfortunately, we cannot do away with taxes, but we sure as all heck should be trying to everything get jobs here to help keep taxes lower. We need supervisors and the job is not a thankful one. But nevertheless we need ones that will be pro business, not just at election time when they feel threaten!

Flag Comment Posted by scott cottrill on October 23, 2009 at 1:27 pm

Dear Bill, I do not disagree with your assessment that it might cost more to build this project in a larger community.  However, tehre is high unemployment throughout the region, including in Knoxville and Roanoke and thiose communities would probably have more monies to add to the pot to get the business to their area.  After it is built, their transportation costs will be higher and that will need to be reflected upon by their investors.  I also am glad it’s here, if for no other reason than to demonstrate how elitist our current board of supervisors is.  One thing you said in your last post concerns me.  You wrote, “No matter what the amount of income that each employee would receive, it is one more job with lost revenue to Washington County.“  The tone of your comment connotes a belief that revenue generated for the county government is a major consideration.  I maintain that that is the biggest problem with all elected officials in this area.  When Red Lobster came to Exit 7, there was a Bristol commisioner that lammented that it was no big deal since it was only transferring taxes that were already being generated by other restaurants to another one, with no net gain in tax revenue.  Tax revenue is a plus, but we have got to get over the mentality that business exists to generate taxes!  That is a symptom of hte current entitelment mentality that has infected this country.  If communities want a ball field, the citizens should get together and raise the funds themselves rather than rely on government to do it. Unfortuantely we have come to look at the success of a politicia as how much pork he can divert back to our home.  How about making this a friendly business climate by eliminating taxes?

Flag Comment Posted by Radio Bill on October 23, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Some very good and concerning questions have been posted here today. So I took it upon my self to contact Mr. Cox and ask him about the permits that were brought up. Mr. Cox responded that they have been working very closely with TDEC in reaching compliance on every permit required for some time now. That would tell me that they are ahead of the curve.
Scott, your probably right that larger cities have more garbage that could be processed. But then too that developing a business in those areas are much more expensive. And as already noted the cost being associated with this project is huge. And a great deal of money is coming from outside investors. I would venture to say upon this plant being up and running and he is then able to show to potential investors the return on their investments that will then only bring in more monies for him to expand to other cities. But lets not lose site of an important underlying issue. No matter what the amount of income that each employee would receive, it is one more job with lost revenue to Washington County. How many more jobs will we continue to lose unless voters take charge and make the board of supervisors more accountable. It only appears that can be accomplished with candidates that will support being pro business and jobs. We must take into account three candidates have been saying we need these jobs. Two of the present supervisors have made excuses that business were either turned down and or driven away. And what do they have to say about this current one. No Comment or phone call not returned. We should be thankful that Mr. Cox is at least keeping this project close enough to Washington County that then at least some of our residents will benefit from these jobs.

Flag Comment Posted by expressit on October 23, 2009 at 12:56 pm

As usual our current Washington County supervisors are still sending our jobs to other neighboring counties. This time they got caught.  When our county had a chance to get these jobs they said it wouldn’t work and they were concerned about our safety or they said they didn’t receive enough details.  This is their job to get details before giving away jobs.  Now that Tennessee has the jobs, Dulcie has no comment.  Does she have a mouth full of crow?

Flag Comment Posted by scott cottrill on October 23, 2009 at 12:33 pm

The real question is, “Why here?“  The two nearest major terminals where the ethanol will be shipped are located in Knoxville and Roanoke.  Both of those locations also have more municipal waste than does the tri-cities.  When you couple the transportation costs to ship it to a terminal and the amount of waste that is available, Bristol is not the ideal location.  Therefore why have we been so blessed?

Flag Comment Posted by Unbiased on October 23, 2009 at 10:47 am

I am familiar with the technology.  Installing a 2,000 ft. deep shaft this type of geology that is susceptable to sinkholes can be problematic.  In addition, distillation columns require a little thing called an air permit which are seldom handed out in 16 months.  Distillation columns also have generate wastewater that requires treatment prior to discharge.  I am just saying that more though needs to be given to this before local government begins throwing money at it.

Flag Comment Posted by BlueMnt on October 23, 2009 at 10:46 am

Thank you hugatree for your comment.
My response is based upon what the paper has to say in this column so keeping that in mind I hope that it will poke Media General to give us more detailed information since Reclaimed Resouces has not educated the public.  As for me I am looking into it for the first time.  I have much more to do than study on this but I feel it a must since I have lived here all my life and I want to know what is going on in “our” backyards.  If you have any links with info I would appreciate you posting them here to save time for us all.  My lively hood here in this town depends upon others making a good living so I am all for the plant but I would like to know some more “unknowns” like what you have already shed some light on.  If a bad problem does surface than that too needs to be brought to the forefront and if you know of any problems with other plants in the world, since you have done homework, then here is your chance to let us know.  You must admit that reading this article the way it is written made me a little sick to think that a “slurry” is sent underground under my home. 
I think Reclaimed Resouces needs a good public relations person to educate the public before the media does because right now that is all we seem to be hearing from.
Signed,
“Looking for more info.“

Flag Comment Posted by hugatree on October 23, 2009 at 10:11 am

I would hope that people would educate themselves before they speak, but on this forum that doesn’t seem to be the case. This plant is practically in my front yard and support it!
BlueMnt- This slurry isn’t being dumped into anything. Please check you facts before you start a wave that could scare off jobs. I am a “treehugger” and would never support anything that is bad for the environment, or kids! When I did my research on this project in Wise Co the pressure vessel this slurry goes into is contained. It has been used for years with no problem whatsoever. I also happen to know one of the security guards down there now and the reason they are there is because someone was stealing materials out of the building.
Bulldog-I’m not sure you can compare a project of this size to finger-hut. These are the jobs of the future and I don’t know any executives that would work for $42,000.(myself included)
Unbiased-I’d go so far as to say you are far from “unbiased.“
I’m not sure how you think we as tax payers are getting “fleeced.“ The county is going to save a fortune on handling OUR waste. Not to mention all the money the county will be able to save by not having to take care of that trash in the landfills long term.
Also, in doing my homework on this project all the video’s on this technology clearly show there is no way for ground contamination to happen. If people did live nearby, their wells would be fine.
Why do you all jump to the negative before we do our research. Do we not want new jobs but green jobs here? In my experience industries like this bring other industries which means more jobs.
This is an opportunity for our community to be a leader in something positive, let’s support that.

Flag Comment Posted by BlueMnt on October 23, 2009 at 10:11 am

Reclaimed Resources has a web site were you can ask them questions.  Send them a question direct and see what they say.
http://www.reclaimedresourcesinc.com/

Flag Comment Posted by BlueMnt on October 23, 2009 at 9:34 am

Very excited to hear about the plant coming but I have some concerns.  Since I live less than 1/2 mile from the old Raytheon plant, what is the deal with: 
“While eight plants similar to this one, which grind municipal waste into slurry and send it 2,000 feet underground as part of the treatment process” 
This is a problem no matter how many jobs we get out of it.  I have a creek in my back yard that the kids play in and livestock use for drinking water.  I am not a tree hugger but surely they will not be dumping a toxic slurry into the ground.  East TN and SW Virginia people are not that dumb, are they?  They must have some concern on their part also because they have beefed up security somewhat around the building in the past couple of months.  Maybe this has been misquoted by the press about the slurry.  I hope that some people in the media will get to the bottom of it and fast to let the public know what is really going on.  The Bristol City Manager is already pushing the city council to approve millions in tax relief for this company.  If they can bring in new jobs without killing everybody in the future then I am all for it.  Bottom line is:  If they are going to dump into the ground water then this Conservative Republican, who loves new business, is going to fight back and say take it somewhere else

Flag Comment Posted by Unbiased on October 23, 2009 at 9:26 am

Nope, wasn’t passed by, just very sceptical about “miracle technology” being sold to the unsuspecting and uninformed.  How will the wastewater from such a facility be handled?  Does the existing WWTP have the capacity or technology to handle that waste?  I would hate to see Bristol, TN be like Lt. Thomas Selfridge.

Flag Comment Posted by cold facts on October 23, 2009 at 9:12 am

Unbiased, After reading your two post,uum sounds rather biased to me. Sounds as though Bristol, Tenn. officials passed you by. Washington countys loss is Bristol, tenn. gain. Sure there are some risk, so was flying for the first time.

Flag Comment Posted by Unbiased on October 23, 2009 at 8:46 am

I would also hope that the City and County talk to someone at the State about this project and allow citizens learn about the entire technology.  Installing a 2,000 ft shaft in Karst terrain and injecting solid waste slurry underground could make some people who have wells very unhappy.

Flag Comment Posted by bulldog123 on October 23, 2009 at 7:47 am

yeah! I just wonder if all that is a lie or a joke. Maybe one or two people make that money in management, but for the rest of them people getting hired on it’s a joke just like FingerHut that moved in Pineyflats. They said they paid good wages. LIE,LIE,LIE,.They don’t want nothing around here that pays a good salary, but they will raise your property taxes, no problem.

Flag Comment Posted by Unbiased on October 23, 2009 at 7:16 am

Just one question.  Has this individual already gotten the permits to operate such a venture?  RCRA and TN DEP generally have something to say about such enterprises.  In addition, a facility like this would also likely require a Title V air permit.  Getting a facility like this operational in 16 months is pie in the sky and I do believe someone is going to get fleeced.  Most likely the taxpayers of Bristol, TN.

Flag Comment Posted by NYY-2009 on October 22, 2009 at 6:28 pm

I believe this is about enough proof of how “business friendly” Washington Co., VA is. Mcrady and Mumpower have succeeded in running more jobs out of the county. This time it is HIGH paying jobs. Mccrady talks about libraries and ball fields, which will cost the county money and then helps Mumpower run high paying jobs and much needed tax revenue out of the county. I am not sure we can stand 2 more weeks of this type of BS and definitely not 4 more years. We need people like Straten and Smith to replace these two jokes for supervisors. Straten, Smith and Peters are “Pro Jobs” and will help this county grow which we badly need right now. Please call, email everyone possible to really take a hard look at what a joke our current board of supervisors are. They are ruining the county with poor decisions that seem to be coming out more and more lately. People need to open their eyes to what is going on around them. We need leaders that will help bring oppurtunity and jobs to our area. We can only continue to cut budgets for so long. We need to fix the problem and on Nov. 3 people in these districts have that chance. Make the most of it.

Flag Comment Posted by emptrsn on October 22, 2009 at 5:17 pm

So is Smith and Peters Independent?

Flag Comment Posted by Radio Bill on October 22, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Are McCrady and Mumpower paying attention. 100+ jobs at an average of $42,000.00 with benefits. Hope they are proud of their record now of brining jobs into Washington County, VA. But what can we expect, they won’t even vote for 70-80 lower paying jobs like Love’s travel center. They have an excuse for everything. Time for residents to wake up, call your neighbors, friends and anyone that can vote Nov 3 for Straten, Smith and Glen Peters the write in candidate. They have all committed to be pro business and jobs.

Flag Comment Posted by emptrsn on October 22, 2009 at 4:20 pm

It’s glad to see new business coming in. No thanks to our political figures! If it was up to them, they would probably run the business out of town, sorry rascals! But, it is definetly good to see new business coming up!