Great Lakes Cheese Expansion Update
Great Lakes Cheese Expansion Update
Comments invited on permits nearing final stage for proposed cheese manufacturing plant in Franklinville
Announcement of a March 25th comment deadline and some updated project details were on the agenda in two March 17th virtual public sessions about the Great Lakes Cheese Company's proposed expansion and relocation in Farmersville and Franklinville.
The $500 million manufacturing project will bring 430 new jobs to Cattaraugus County and has been promised numerous incentives for relocating its Cuba, NY plant to an undeveloped site north of the Village of Franklinville on Route 16. The new facility is projected to process 8% of the state's milk to manufacture American and Italian-style mozzarella and provolone cheeses, which are sold in grocery stores. The plant will also repackage larger cheese quantities that are not made at the plant.
Each of the two Zoom sessions were attended by 22 viewers, about half of them local residents, and including several GLC staff, designers and engineers, as well as officials from National Fuel and National Grid and others.
GLC President Matt Wilkinson updated viewers about recent developments, such as additional property purchases and a reconfigured site entrance, but he wasn't certain of the date when site work would begin. A ceremonial groundbreaking is tentatively planned for April 28th, he said, adding that earth moving should begin later in the season, with full 24-hour operation in 2025.
Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency Director Corey Wiktor said the project is "historic" in its economic impact to the county and region, contrasting the potential for growth to the recent market conditions in the pandemic that caused farmers to dump milk and stalled haulers.
His agency has offered an attractive 25-year real property tax abatement, with a full exemption for the first 20 years and 10% annual reductions in the final five years. The county is funding the Village of Franklinville's $5.8 million upgrade in municipal water and wastewater systems, along with help to drill a new well and water tank, and water and sewer lines to supply 632,000 gallons of water and process waste. He invited residents to contact him with questions at 716-699-2005 or Corey@cattcoida.com. Permitting documents and comment information about can be found on the agency's website, www.cattcoida.com.
Wilkinson said the facility will include its own 16,000 square foot wastewater treatment plant, paved employee truck parking and driveways moving trucks generally away from the highway around the east side of the plant. GLC is purchasing 230 acres of cornfield and forest land, with about 100 acres of that for the manufacturing site straddling the town line. An easement on the west side of Route 16, through property of Ischua Valley Country Club to Ischua Creek, will accommodate an underground outfall pipe to manage the daily discharge of about 700,000 gallons of treated processing wastewater daily.
Traffic engineer Rogerio Alcantara said he studied traffic conditions from the village center at Chestnut and Main Streets, to the intersection of State Routes 16 and 98. "The main takeaways are you will see an increase in traffic, with the bulk of traffic arriving from the south," said Alcantara, noting 80% of the arriving milk trucks and reefer trailers will travel north on Route 16 from I-86.
He added that the route meets the state's "level of acceptability" for traffic movement, but there will be some delays at intersections. He said he anticipates little traffic arriving from County Route 17 from the direction of Ellicottville to the west.
At the site frontage, Route 16 will be widened to provide an entrance/exit lane bordering the property, along with a center turn lane. The speed limit will be lowered from 55 to 45 mph and facility truck travel will be coordinated to avoid school bus travel times.
A Traffic Information Map can be viewed with other project documents on the IDA's website. It shows, for example, 305 vehicles arriving daily from the south, while a remaining 80 vehicles will enter from the north. It also shows 457 vehicles traveling at the Franklinville Central School's entrance between 7:00am and 8:00am and 229 between 4:00pm and 5:00pm, with about 2% of those buses.
"There are no significant environmental impacts," said Ted Baudendistel, project engineer. He described some of the features of the 504,000 square foot facility, to be powered by natural gas, and biogas emissions will be burned in a covered flare as a waste management process.
Project documents state that the power grid serving the facility is inadequate to provide enough electricity so natural gas will be permitted. Air emissions, which include particulates, hydrogen sulfide, and other emissions are considered lower than the major source-permitting threshhold. Air emissions are expected to travel to the east of the plant due to the prevailing winds. Processing waste will go through an anaerobic treatment facility and settling lagoons, with stormwater containment areas to prevent runoff. About 25 residents of an environmental justice area have been identified along the site's southern boundary.
Comments on the stormwater pollutant discharge and an air emissions permits, and other aspects of the project, will be accepted through Friday, March 25th. Comments may be sent to Michelle Wiznick, Permit Administrator, Department of Environmental Conservation, 270 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, NY 14203. To contact Wiznick, call 716-851-7169 or email DEP.R9@dec.ny.gov.
Besides information posted at cattcoida.com, documents may be viewed at one of four official repositories: The Blount Library, 5 N. Main St., Franklinville; State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Environmental Permits, Region 9 Office, 182 E Union St. Suite #3, Allegany; Cattaraugus County IDA, 9 E Washington St., Ellicottville; and Cattaraugus County Center, Dept. of Economic Development, Planning & Tourism, Second Floor, 303 Court St., Little Valley.
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