Published: June 03, 2009 11:09 pm      

MIDDLEPORT: FMC gives the community a behind-the-scenes look

MIDDLEPORT — FMC Middleport has changed over the years.

First opened as the Niagara Sprayer Co. back in 1904, the Middleport facility was purchased by FMC in 1943 as a chemical manufacturing plant. Now the plant is now into formulations, a facility that mixes and packages a number of chemical product lines. There are 57 employees at FMC Middleport.

To give people a better idea of what FMC does, Middleport residents were invited to tour the plant Wednesday. The tour covered current plant operations, explaining the mixing and packaging of some of FMC’s key agricultural product lines. People had a walk-through of FMC’s on-site water treatment facility, which collects and treats 50 million gallons of surface water runoff and groundwater in an average year. The tour included members of the Middleport Community Advisory Panel, a group of FMC employees and community members who provide information on issues and plant activities.

Part of the tour took went to the plant’s warehouse, where there is some change coming, said Andy Twarowski, FMC plant manager.

“We will be repurposing the warehouse to make it more organized,” he said.

As a result of a plant closing in Jacksonville, Fla., some new products were moved to the Middleport plant. The new products include insecticides Hero, Mustang Max and Fury, so more space is needed to increase efficiency. The products mixed and packaged at FMC Middleport are used on nearly 100 different crops and in more than 75 countries around the world.

FMC Environmental manager Robert Wojcik told residents that the plant collects rain water and ground water and sends it through the water treatment facility on-site. In addition, the plant has systems in place to make sure there isn’t any impact on the environment.

“We have zero emissions,” he said.

One thing FMC does for the community is ask for input, which is done with another group. Recently, the Middleport Community Input Group was awarded the EPA Environmental Quality Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Each year, EPA Region 2 recognizes and honors individuals and organizations who have contributed significantly to improving the environment during the past year in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is one of the highest awards given out by the EPA.

The Middleport Community Input Group was formed in 2006 as a citizen-led forum to provide community input to FMC and the involved government agencies, such as the EPA, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Department of Health. Working on behalf of the community, the group has provided to FMC and the government agencies their expectations of how the project should be conducted and how decisions should be made.

The group has held community seminars where residents can hear from FMC and government representatives, in addition to scientists in the field of arsenic contamination and cleanup. Residents have been encouraged to express their opinions and concerns. Input has been solicited from residents through one-on-one discussions and surveys so the concerns can be understood. The group has a Web site where residents can read documents pertinent to the plant, express opinions, vote in polls and read notes from our meetings. People can go to the Web site at www.middleport-future.com.

The EPA award will be presented to the group at it’s next meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday by a member of the USEPA from New York City.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

FMC MIDDLEPORT

• WHO THEY ARE: A chemical mixing and packaging plant

• EMPLOYEES: 57 with seven temporary workers

• BRIEF HISTORY: Originally founded in 1904 as the Niagara Sprayer Co., the plant was purchased by FMC in 1943