PDA Okays Scrap Storage Plan With Recycler

The Pease Development Authority, N.H., board of directors approved a draft of an agreement between Rensselaer Iron & Steel to use the PDA port for scrap storage.

Lynn Hinchee, attorney for the PDA, said the agency is in substantial agreement with representatives from Rensselaer Iron & Steel about the terms of the contract.

The length of the agreement is from July 1, 2002, to June 30, 2003. Rensselaer Iron & Steel will pay $150,000 to occupy 3 acres of space at the terminal.

Hinchee said the one continued unresolved issue is the amount of security the company will have to provide to the PDA in case there is any damage to the premises from the scrap.

The scrap metal contract had somewhat of a rocky history over the last few months.

The board had voted in May to terminate the company’s initial use of the port because of concerns about the type of scrap coming into the port. Clean, small "frag" scrap had been promised, but Portsmouth officials were expressing concern about the larger pieces of scrap that were coming into the facility.

The company had been using the terminal without an operating agreement up to that point.

At the last PDA meeting, the company had received a 90-day contract to continue to be able to use the facility.

Last week William Bartlett, PDA chairman, asked if there had been any problems with the scrap metal at the port lately and Geno Marconi, port director, has reported no problems.

Bartlett, Peter Loughlin, vice chairman, and board members Bob Allard, Arthur Nickless and Bob Preston voted in favor of granting the contract. John Bohenko and Margaret Lamson voted in opposition.

Bohenko had expressed concern about misrepresentations by the company about the type of scrap being delivered. Lamson said she thought the scrap was not a very good use for the port and would prefer to see container cargo.