The Akzo Brine facility in Leicester on Rte 63. (Photo/ Josh Williams)
LIVINGSTON COUNTY — According to sources, the Akzo desalination plant on Cuylerville road is scheduled to be shut down on Oct 15.
A source with close knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the GeneseeSun.com that employees were notified of the shutdown on Thursday.
The plant is in operation as a result of the 1994 Akzo Salt Mine collapse where it desalinates water and dumps it into local creeks. Sources speculate that the plant will be broken down and transported to Pennsylvania where it will treat wastewater from hydrofracking.
The county has reached out to the state’s attorney general’s office and is awaiting a response. This topic is scheduled to be brought up at the Livingston County Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, September 25. Sources speculate that the Board is likely to move the matter to Executive Session, which would be closed to the public.
The plant is financed by Zurich insurance group, and has been in operation since 2005. It is reportedly operating at a loss of $200,000 per month.
Editor’s note: A revision to this article was posted on September 20 that corrected typographical errors, but inadvertently deleted part of the paragraph about the upcoming Livingston County Board of Supervisors, specifically the reference to the possibility of an Executive Session. That material has since been restored.