John Baymore on sun 27 oct 02
Thank you, John Baymore, for your
thorough report on the Susan Beecher
woodfiring case which is impending
in the Catskills .... and for taking the
time to interview Susan B. before
writing it. So many gaps were filled
in that I now feel knowledgeable enough
to write a letter to their Town Council.
It seems that I recall a situation described
on Clayart which happened in British
Columbia .... on an island between the
mainland and Vancouver island. In
that situation, a claybud requested logical
reasons why an operating woodfire kiln did not have to be hazardous to =3D=
its rural neighbors.=3D20
Hi Joyce. Thanks for the "thanks" . No problem.
The Beecher case is a bit "scary" to all of us potters because of the
location (very rural mountain top setting), the vehemence and apparent
"deep pockets" of the plaintiff, and the possible approches that he is
using to get it shut down. Some of those approaches have NOTHING to do
with wood kilns per se.
It is clear that he is using a "shotgun approach" to the case. That mean=
s
that even without a clear focused "aim", if you shoot enough pellets at t=
he
target............ at least one of them will get through and make a solid=
hit. So he is bringing up just about every possible avenue he and his
lawyer can think of to shut her down. He just wants it shut down.....
doesn't care how it happens. At the moment, Susan said he is focusing on=
the chemical content of the kiln's emissions based on his contention that=
the volatiles coming out of the glazes and clay body are an illegal
pollution source. Susan said that she has had to hire her own
environmental engineer already to address this claim as total nonsence.
If he makes that approach "stick"....... it raises the "precedent" saying=
that ALL of us firing to stoneware temperatures have "illegal pollution"
coming from the volatiles in our glazes into the kiln gases of wood, gas,=
oil, or electric firings.
My real hope is that we can get enough broad-based support going behind
this issue.... and make it clear that there is also the FINANCIAL
backing.... so that Mr. Middleton will not feel that if he can just keep =
at
it long enough, Susan will just have to give up out of frustration,
inability to produce work and income, or particularly lack of money for
legal defense. If you read his background........ this guy is mainly a
polititian.... and I am sure that he knows how to "work" people and how t=
o
raise a public outcry. And he knows how to raise money. =
If she looses........ I want it to be a hard fought battle.
Susan said that so far she has gotten a favorable ruling from the NY Stat=
e
Department of Environmental Quality on the kiln....... which is a REALLY
positive thing for her defense. But she also got a favorable ruling from=
the town Zoning Board...... and Mr. Middleton is challenging that ruling =
in
court. So it would not surprise me if he went after the NY DEQ ruling
also.
All this takes MONEY!!!!!! He's got it and she doesn't. Again......
anyone who can contribute ANYTHING to help her.... please do so.
The Tozan kiln thing that you are thinking of happened in Canada, and I
can't remember the year either. The person involved posting it onto
CLAYART was Maureen Beardsley, if I remember correctly. I and a lot of
others contributed here on CLAYART and off-list to helping with that
situation. I gave them information on afterburner systems to cut the
visible smoke. The kiln is sort of a cooperative effort of the "Tozan
Society of BC". I think the header was something like "Save the TOZAN"
.... if you are looking in the archives.
I was talking with a few of the Canadian artists from the west coast at t=
he
Aomori, Japan International Wood Fire Festival about this subject while w=
e
were there in August. It is still a nagging problem for them. They are
firing.... but the smoke is still an issue. BTW.... that is a BIG
noborigama (chambered climbing kiln). And the afterburner system that
they put in was done apparently without upgrading the refractories of the=
chimney area..... resulting in a serious meltdown of the hot face lining =
in
that area.
The problem with the Canadian Tozan kiln along with a couple other US woo=
d
kilns was a topic of informal discussion running around the Festival. Th=
e
potters from most other countries didn't seem to have those problems exce=
pt
in very specific "bad air circulation" locations....... like the huge bas=
in
forming the Kyoto area of Japan.
Best,
..............................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JohnBaymore.com
JBaymore@compuserve.com
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