Plainfield Trash Facts

The facts on the proposed trash plant
Plainfield, Connecticut

Status State permit applications filed. No public comment window has opened yet. How to be heard →

Frequently asked questions

Plainfield Trash Plant: Frequently Asked Questions

Short, self-contained answers to the questions people actually ask about the proposed Plainfield trash plant. Factual and technical answers are footnoted to official and scientific sources; news is cited only as support.

The Plainfield trash plant is a proposed waste-to-energy gasification facility from SMART Technology Systems, on about 81 acres in a residential zone off Routes 12 and 14.18 The developer’s own filing with CT DEEP describes gasification of refuse-derived fuel into a synthesis gas;11 independent reporting puts the throughput at roughly 1,800 tons of trash a day.15 State permit applications have been filed; it remains a proposal under active review by state agencies, no final permit decision has been issued, and no public comment window has opened yet.16

The basics

What is proposed, and who is behind it

What is the Plainfield trash plant?

It is a proposed waste-to-energy gasification facility that would take in municipal trash, convert it to a synthetic gas to generate electricity, and produce ash and other residues — the technology described in the developer’s own filing on the state regulatory record.11 The site is about 81 acres at Norwich Road and Black Hill Road, in a residential zone;18 the throughput is the developer’s stated figure of roughly 1,800 tons of trash a day, reported in press coverage.15

Who is behind it?

The developer is SMART Technology Systems LLC, whose own response is on file with CT DEEP,11 and which press coverage describes as a partnership of the Connecticut construction and materials company O&G Industries and Advanced Waste Technologies International, using gasification equipment from the manufacturer Valmet.1517

How big is it, and how much trash would it take?

These are the developer’s own stated figures on the state regulatory record, where its filing sets out the gasification project and its scale:11 up to about 468,000 tons of trash a year, roughly 1,800 tons a day, and about 45 megawatts of electricity. Those daily-tonnage, annual-tonnage, and megawatt figures are corroborated in independent press coverage.1518

Where would it be built?

On an approximately 81-acre parcel at the intersection of Norwich Road and Black Hill Road, between Routes 12 and 14, in a part of Plainfield zoned residential. The location is documented both in the developer’s environmental-justice filing with CT DEEP and in independent reporting.318

The plant and the trucks

How it would work day to day

Is gasification the same as incineration?

Gasification is a distinct process: rather than mass-burning trash, it heats waste with limited oxygen to produce a synthetic gas that is then combusted. The developer characterizes its process as gasification of refuse-derived fuel into synthesis gas.11 A technical review by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives reports that when the feedstock includes mixed plastics, emissions from the combustion stage can resemble those of a conventional incinerator.14

What is in the residues and process water?

Gasification of carbonaceous waste produces fly ash, bottom ash or slag, and process wastewater. Peer-reviewed research on gasification wastewater has documented ammonia, cyanides, trace metals (including arsenic, chromium, cadmium, lead, and mercury), phenolics, benzene and other BTEX compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; a technical review of waste gasification reaches similar conclusions about the toxicity of process residues.1314

How many trucks a day would it bring?

More than 100 heavy garbage-truck trips a day, roughly 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to a joint statement issued by Plainfield’s Republican and Democratic town committees.17

How much electricity would it produce?

About 45 megawatts, which the developer states would be sold onto the regional electric grid — the developer’s own figure on the state regulatory record,11 corroborated in press coverage.1518

Water and the land

What it could mean for water and the land

Could it affect the water?

Plainfield’s water comes from the ground. CT DEEP identifies stratified-drift deposits, like those in the Quinebaug River valley, as the state’s most productive aquifers. The state’s own Quinebaug Valley trout hatchery in Plainfield draws 1,290,816,000 gallons of groundwater a year from 12 wells, and the joint town-committee statement warned the area “faces significant risks of pollution to valuable underground water sources.”4117

Does Plainfield already have a groundwater contamination site?

Yes. Gallup’s Quarry, a 29-acre former gravel pit in Plainfield where chemical wastes were dumped without a permit in the 1970s, is a federal Superfund site. The EPA lists contaminants there including volatile organic compounds, PCBs, heavy metals, 1,4-dioxane, arsenic, and PFAS, with institutional controls restricting groundwater use and monitoring continuing today.2

Is there an environmental-justice angle?

Yes. CT DEEP has an Environmental Justice Public Participation Plan on file for the SMART project at Norwich Road and Black Hill Road, which means the state is treating the location as an environmental-justice community. Under Connecticut’s environmental-justice statute, the developer must carry out a meaningful public-participation process before a permit can be issued.312

Approvals and votes

Permits, votes, and timeline

What approvals would it actually need?

At roughly 45 megawatts the plant exceeds the 25-megawatt cogeneration threshold in the state siting statute, so it would require a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need from the Connecticut Siting Council in addition to DEEP air and solid-waste permits. Separately, DEEP may not permit a facility processing mixed municipal solid waste unless it first makes a written determination that the facility is necessary for the state’s disposal needs and will not create substantial excess capacity.91015

What stage is it at in the permit process?

SMART has filed a DEEP air permit application and a solid waste management plan, but no application appears before the Connecticut Siting Council and no public comment window has opened. It remains a proposal under active review by state agencies; no final permit decision has been issued.166

Did the town vote on it?

Yes. In a June 2025 non-binding referendum, Plainfield voted 1,148 to 125 against the plant. The vote does not bind the state, which holds permitting authority.17

If the town voted no, why can it still move forward?

Because state agencies, not towns, decide these permits. In 2025 the legislature passed House Bill 7004, which would have let towns of up to 16,000 residents challenge certain DEEP permit approvals by referendum. Governor Lamont vetoed it on July 8, 2025.819

When would it open?

Not before 2028, by the developer’s own timeline. Manager Bill Corvo said the company does not “anticipate going operational much before 2028,” estimating roughly a year to obtain permits and a couple of years to build.15

Taking action

What residents can do

How can I oppose it?

When DEEP issues a notice of tentative determination, it opens a public comment window. Under Public Act 25-84, a petition signed by at least 25 persons, showing that a signatory’s legal rights may be affected, can ask DEEP to hold a hearing. Any person may also intervene in the administrative proceeding on environmental grounds under state law, and if SMART later files a Siting Council application, residents can apply for party or intervenor status. See Take Action for the current steps and addresses.5712

Has a plant like this ever been stopped?

Yes. The Killingly gas power plant in eastern Connecticut was never built after it was dropped from ISO New England’s capacity auction over missed federal deadlines. And the MIRA trash-burning plant in Hartford ceased combustion in July 2022 as its economics collapsed. Neither was stopped by a town referendum.2021

Sources

Where These Answers Come From

Official & regulatory sources

  1. Connecticut DAS and DEEP, “DAS and DEEP Announce Improvement to Quinebaug Trout Hatchery” — the Plainfield hatchery draws 1,290,816,000 gallons of groundwater a year from 12 high-volume wells, and the state project will “significantly reduc[e] the stress on the aquifer.” portal.ct.gov/das
  2. U.S. EPA, Superfund site profile: Gallup’s Quarry, Plainfield, CT — a 29-acre National Priorities List site from 1970s unpermitted chemical dumping; contaminants include VOCs, PCBs, heavy metals, 1,4-dioxane, arsenic, and PFAS, with institutional controls and ongoing monitoring. cumulis.epa.gov
  3. CT DEEP, Environmental Justice Public Participation Plan on file for SMART Technology Systems LLC, Norwich Road / Black Hill Road, Plainfield — official DEEP-hosted filing establishing the project location and that the state is handling the site as an environmental-justice community under CGS 22a-20a. portal.ct.gov (PDF)
  4. CT DEEP, “Connecticut’s Aquifers” — stratified-drift deposits are the state’s “most productive aquifers” capable of large public-supply yields, while bedrock formations typically yield only enough for individual domestic wells. portal.ct.gov/deep
  5. CT DEEP Office of Adjudications, “Public Act 25-84 and Initiating the Hearing Process” — a hearing petition must be signed by at least 25 persons and show that a signatory’s legal rights, duties, or privileges may be affected. portal.ct.gov/deep
  6. Connecticut Siting Council, Applications and Other Pending Matters — no SMART / O&G / Plainfield gasification docket is listed; the only Plainfield matter is an unrelated solar project, Docket 550. portal.ct.gov/CSC
  7. Connecticut Siting Council, “Public Hearing Participation” — how residents apply for party or intervenor status and take part in evidentiary and public-comment hearings. portal.ct.gov/CSC
  8. Connecticut General Assembly, House Bill 7004 (2025), “An Act Authorizing Municipal Referenda to Challenge Certain Permit Approvals” — bill status and history show passage of both chambers and a gubernatorial veto on July 8, 2025. cga.ct.gov
  9. Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 277a (Public Utility Environmental Standards Act), sections 16-50i and 16-50k — an electric generating facility requires a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need; the cogeneration exemption applies only at 25 megawatts or less. cga.ct.gov
  10. Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 446d, sections 22a-208a and 22a-208d — section 22a-208a bars establishing, constructing, or operating a solid waste facility without a permit from the DEEP commissioner; section 22a-208d bars DEEP from permitting a resources-recovery facility processing mixed municipal solid waste without a written determination that it is necessary for the state’s disposal needs and will not result in substantial excess capacity. cga.ct.gov
  11. SMART Technology Systems, LLC, “Public Response” to the CT DEEP Materials Management Infrastructure Request for Information (official DEEP-hosted PDF) — the developer’s own filing on the state regulatory record. It states that its facility would use gasification of refuse-derived fuel to produce a synthesis gas and Class I baseload electricity, with carbon-capture and beneficial reuse of ash residues; it establishes SMART Technology Systems as the project developer and describes the technology it proposes. The public copy has confidential material (including detailed capacity figures) redacted; the daily/annual tonnage and megawatt figures are corroborated in press coverage (sources 15 and 18). portal.ct.gov (PDF)
  12. Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 439, sections 22a-20a and 22a-19 — section 22a-20a requires a meaningful public-participation process for a facility that would affect an environmental-justice community and authorizes DEEP to withhold a permit under specified conditions; section 22a-19 allows any person to intervene in an administrative proceeding on environmental grounds. cga.ct.gov

Scientific & technical studies

  1. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (peer-reviewed), study of gasification wastewater via U.S. National Library of Medicine (PMC) — gasification process water contains ammonia, cyanides, sulfates, trace metals (As, Cr, Cd, Pb, Hg and others), phenolics, benzene and other BTEX compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that pose a long-term threat to underground water. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), “Waste Gasification and Pyrolysis: High Risk, Low Yield Processes for Waste Management” — technical review finding that with mixed plastic feedstock the combustion stage of gasification can produce an emissions profile similar to incineration, and that process residues carry comparable toxicity concerns. no-burn.org (PDF)

News coverage

  1. Norwich Bulletin via Yahoo News, “Plant to convert trash to gas, electricity to be pitched in Plainfield” — Valmet gasification, up to 468,000 tons/year, roughly 1,800 tons/day, ~45 MW, earliest operation about 2028; Bill Corvo quote. yahoo.com
  2. Norwich Bulletin via AOL, “Here’s the status of the proposed trash-to-energy plant in Plainfield” — DEEP air permit and solid waste plan filed; Siting Council application not yet filed; town permits planned later in 2026. aol.com
  3. Hartford Courant via Government Technology, “Connecticut Residents Object to Plans for High-Tech Trash Plant” — referendum 1,148–125 (non-binding); developer partnership; joint town-committee statement on 100+ trucks 6 a.m.–5 p.m. and risks to underground water sources. govtech.com
  4. Foundation for Fair Contracting of CT, “Plainfield opposing plans for a trash to energy plant in a residential zone” — 81-acre parcel at Norwich Road and Black Hill Road in a residential zone, ~45 MW. ffcct.org
  5. CT Mirror, “Lamont finishes review of 2025 bills with a veto” — HB 7004 vetoed July 8, 2025; the bill was tied to the Plainfield proposal. ctmirror.org
  6. CT Mirror, “Killingly gas power plant … ISO-New England auction … FERC” — the Killingly plant was never built after being removed from the ISO-NE capacity auction over missed federal deadlines. ctmirror.org
  7. Connecticut Public, “After months of debate, Hartford trash-burning plant now officially closed” — the MIRA incinerator ceased combustion on July 19, 2022. ctpublic.org

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