Working with Regulators to Keep Good Plants Open

Like many manufacturing facilities in the United States, the Unilever plant in Clinton, Connecticut, is a financial foundation for its hometown. However, after more than 100 years of operations and with over 500 jobs at stake, the viability of the plant was in jeopardy. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP) requested that Unilever to stop discharging highly treated industrial and sanitary wastewater into Hayden's Creek, a local waterway that leads through town to the Hammonasset River and eventually opens into the Long Island Sound. With the potentially significant added financial costs associated with the CTDEP's request and with few apparent alternatives, the company was faced with the possibilities of massive layoffs or having to close the plant altogether and relocate just to survive.

Bridging the regulatory divide.
To add to the pressure surrounding the situation, local residents and media attacked Unilever's environmental practices and called for action. The media attention drummed up the local community, which was caught between the fear of economic decline and the uncertainty of living with an environmental issue. To remedy the problem, Unilever sought the help of GeoInsight to liaise with regulators and uncover options that would benefit all the involved parties -- the company, the Town, the local shellfishing industry, and the community as a whole. Through continued dialog with Town officials and the CTDEP (including filing a number of petitions and permits), GeoInsight's efforts allowed Unilever to keep the Clinton plant in operation for four years while exploring possible solutions.

Filtering concepts into answers.
One potential resolution (building a pipeline direct to the Hammonasset River) was pushed aside after strong opposition arose from local residents and environmentalists, who were backed by State representatives and the Attorney General's office. Then, a novel idea for a remedy resurfaced inside the Unilever plant: Reuse the plant's wastewater instead of discharging it into the environment. Elimination of the discharge through reuse was initially explored by GeoInsight, but was put aside as a viable alternative due to financial considerations. However, in light of the opposition to the pipeline, Unilever reevaluated the financial viability of reusing the wastewater within the facility.

Unilever decided to finance and construct a two-stage reverse-osmosis treatment facility in-house to resolve the situation for the long-term. To help Unilever flesh out components of the complex plan, GeoInsight conducted an engineering evaluation for building an on-site septic system for the 100-year old facility that could accept the sanitary wastewater portion of the discharge. In the end, Unilever was able to gain approval from the CTDEP of the proposed reuse plan and funding from the Connecticut government, allowing the project to go into production in 2007.

The touch that counts.
"What we needed most was time ... to keep the plant open until we could figure out the best course of action. GeoInsight helped soothe the public's concerns and worked with regulators on their terms, engineer to engineer. So, when we determined the right direction for the plant, they were already in a position to take our idea and turn it into a realistic, feasible solution."

- Larry Gibson, Plant Manager, Unilever