Stop the SLC Plant

The St. Lawrence Cement’s controversial plan to construct a massive plant resulted in opposition from Friends of the Hudson and Scenic Hudson on the grounds of critical environmental and economic hazards. The Hudson River has extraordinary beauty and a “unique repository.” The aesthetics of the Hudson is a contributing factor to the value and defining characteristic in this town; allowing the quality of life to surpass that expected of a town with a large industrial complex. It presents the people of Hudson with a sense of identity and a place of well-being. The new plant would be a “highly dominate visual element” taking up 2.8 square miles, while the city of Hudson covers only 2.3 square miles.

But aesthetics do not just add to the quality of life; it also helps the economy of Hudson. After a serious financial crash in the 1960’s, the factories shut down and the solution was to move to a different support base, instead of going back towards an industrial economy. Hudson decided to work on “smart growth” by using the beauty of the area to attract tourism and the expanding second home and the antiques markets. By building a plant of this magnitude, the Real Estate market would collapse and “sustainable development” would no longer exist. Therefore, the proposed SLC construction would take the Hudson area two steps back instead of one step forward in establishing economic growth and security.

While many believe that the SLC plant will have a positive effect by creating jobs for locals, the unemployment rates in the area are lower in Columbia County than in Greene County. In addition, The SLC’s own DEIS explained that,”The proposed project would result in little net change to SLC employment.” The plant is not expected to economically help Hudson, but instead stands to have a long term negative impact. With all of the health hazards, damaging environmental, aesthetics and economic issues, the decision not to construct the St. Lawrence Cement Company was a positive move for the community.