O&G plans to replace washplant

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O&G has submitted an application to remove its washplant and replace it with a modular washplant at its facility on Railroad Avenue in Beacon Falls. The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Feb. 15. –LUKE MARSHALL

BEACON FALLS — O&G Industries is seeking to replace its washplant facility on Railroad Avenue.

O&G submitted an application last month to the Planning and Zoning Commission to improve and modernize the washplant facility. The commission scheduled a public hearing on the plan for 7 p.m. on Feb. 15.

The foot print of the current washplant on the 14.94 acre site is 2,050 square feet, including the concrete pads. According to the application, O&G plans to dismantle and remove the current plant and install a new modular washplant.

The new modular washplant has a footprint of approximately 20,000 square feet, according to the site plan.

Since the plant is modular, it will only be erected on an “as needed” basis, the application states.

The application states the new washplant will have a number of benefits, including the removal of components of the washplant that have been the target of vandalism and theft.

The modular washplant is also more efficient than the current plant, O&G states in the application.

O&G is also seeking to bring in and clean 41,000 cubic yards of fill to level off the section of property where the outside storage units are currently.

“In the short term, the purpose of this filling plan is to provide flexibility in the siting of the modular plant with associated stockpile areas and to improve general circulation. Long term, this area may be developed to include other industrial uses,” the application states.

The long-term use could include the construction of buildings, the application states.

According to the application, the land will be graded to the same level as the railroad tracks that run adjacent to the property.

Messages left with O&G and commission Chairman Kevin McDuffie seeking comment weren’t returned.

This application comes shortly after the town questioned whether O&G was in violation of an ordinance, passed in 1988, that bans the trucking of excavated earthen fill materials into the town for processing. It turned out that O&G was granted nonconforming use status for the property when the ordinance was created.

According to the application, the new proposed washplant will operate under the same nonconforming use agreement.

The company’s right to have a nonconforming use extends through 2028, when it can apply for an extension.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to O&G Industries’ concrete facility in Beacon Falls as the washplant facility in the photo caption.