The Mayor of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has submitted a proposal to the City Council requesting approval to use funding from the Pittsfield Economic Development Funds to keep Covanta’s facility in the town open for four more years.

In a letter submitted to City Council at its meeting Sept. 27, Mayor Linda Tyer noted that Covanta Pittsfield LLC had announced plans to close the facility by the spring of 2017.

To prevent the closure of the plant, Tyer submitted a letter addressing the problem, as well as a possible solution. “The city has been working toward a viable solution to maintain the facility's operation. Pursuant to this effort, I am respectfully submitting for your consideration a request for economic development funding in the amount of $562,000 for Covanta to establish a Recycling Consolidation Enclosure and incorporate upgrades to its fossil fuel boiler, which will facilitate continuing operations for the next four years,” Tyer writes.

The Covanta facility has been operating in the city since 1981 and providing waste-to-energy services to the city for the past nine years.

However, in her letter, Mayor Tyer noted that in recent years high operating costs have made it fiscally difficult for the Covanta facility to operate, which resulted in the New Jersey-based company announcing plans to shutter the facility.

According to the letter, if City Council approves the funding, Covanta would receive the financial assistance to incorporate necessary upgrades to the facility, one of which includes a mandate from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The funds represent one-third of a strategic partnership that must work in concert for Covanta to continue operations.

The other elements that could allow Covanta to continue to operate in the city include a renegotiated four-year agreement with Crane Currency (which has relied on Covanta’s steam for their manufacturing operations), which has been reached; and energy credits available through the amended energy bill, for which State Senator Ben Downing advocated and Governor Charlie Baker signed this summer.

In conclusion, Mayor Tyer noted that if Covanta were to close, the city would stand to lose nearly $900,000 a year, a figure which reflects the lost revenue and the increased expenses incurred for outsourcing waste, far outweighing the city's capital investment.

“It is our position that providing city funding to continue operations at Covanta is both economically and financially sound.”

In a statement, a Covanta spokesman noted, “We are still evaluating the future of the Pittsfield facility, but appreciate the support we have received from the state and Mayor Tyer to improve the economics of the facility. We continue to explore options that will enable us to remain open and hope to make a final decision in the near future.”