GUILDERLAND — A company wants to store up to 1,850 wrecked vehicles in the Northeastern Industrial Park. The proposed location, the same site used by a controversial mulching facility in 2003, is near the Black Creek which feeds Guilderland’s main water source.

The company, Insurance Auto Auctions, made a presentation about its proposal at last Wednesday’s zoning board meeting. Representatives showed a film clip that included footage of shrink wrapping wrecked vehicles.

Some worry that wrecked vehicles may release contaminants into the Watervliet Reservoir.

Insurance Auto Auctions is an auction company that holds wrecked vehicles, purchases and transfers their titles from insurance companies, then sells them to the highest bidder. The company does not sell to the public, only to other businesses and car dealers. Not all of the cars it deals with are necessarily wrecked; some are held as evidence by certain agencies, and others are stolen cars recovered after an insurance pay out, said Michael Madden, vice president of Insurance Auto Auctions.

Both of these types of vehicles are driven on and off the auction sites, and are generally in good shape, said Madden.

What is a junkyard"
I.A.A., a nationwide corporation, wants to store and sell "total-loss" vehicles out of Guilderland Center, but the zoning board has to first make a decision on the language and interpretation of the zoning laws. The industrial park is zoned as an industrial area, where junkyards are not allowed.

And the area is already dealing with environmental mishaps, since it was the site of a previous Army depot.

A total-loss vehicle is traditionally defined by insurance companies as any vehicle in which repairs cost more than the vehicle’s total value.

The big question last Wednesday between zoning board members and I.A.A. executives was the exact definition of a junkyard.
"What we do is far from anything done in a junkyard....We do not cannibalize vehicles. We do not part them out. We do not sell parts," said Madden.
He went on to explain that his company is not a "pick and pull" operation, like most traditional junkyards. Much to the contrary, he says, I.A.A sells whole cars to "parts guys, vehicle rebuilders, mechanics, and junkyards."

Some of the board members did not agree with this depiction.
"Acres of wrecked cars look like a junkyard, no matter what," said alternate board member Thomas Remmert, who did not appear swayed by the presentation.

The zoning board’s chairman, Peter Barber, asked what the company was if it was not a junkyard.
"[I.A.A] is far from anything done in a junkyard," said John Stockley, from the firm Stockley Greene, representing I.A.A.

Stockley described I.A.A. as a very different kind of business and a great alternative to traditional junkyards. Instead of crushing cars or sending them to junkyards to be slowly stripped down and rot away, I.A.A takes whole vehicles and sells them to buyers, he said. This helps alleviate the buildup of wrecked cars in actual junkyards, and no parts selling, or salvaging, will take place in Guilderland, said Stockley.
"We make money by selling the car as a whole...and that basically is our business model," said Madden.
The zoning law states, "A junkyard is a lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used for...the collecting, dismantling, storage, processing or salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in running condition or for the sale of parts thereof, operated as a business on site where an employee is in attendance."
Stockley described the wording of the current zoning laws that define a junkyard as, "language meant for past practices," and could currently be applied to dozens of other businesses in town, he said.

Barber asked how long vehicles typically stay in storage before they are sold and taken away. Madden said he could not give a concrete answer because of all the variable involved, including state agency regulations, but he said, around 60 days on average.
"We sell the car as soon as we get the title. That’s how we make money," Madden said.

The longer state agencies take to transfer titles, coupled with various other state regulations, the longer the vehicle stays in storage, said Madden.

Environmental breakdown

Guilderland residents are worried that the auction company is nothing more than a glorified junkyard, and they say if I.A.A. is permitted to do business in the industrial park, leaking vehicle fluid could pose an environmental hazard.
"Anything that’s going to have wrecked autos is a bad idea for the area...They need something more environmentally sound," said Charles Rielly, co-chair of the Restoration Advisory Board, a group formed by the Army Corps of Engineers to advise it on cleanup of the former depot site.

Rielly, who previously spoke out against a mulching operation at the same site, told The Enterprise this week that idea of permitting thousands of wrecked cars in the industrial park next to the Black Creek, is crazy.

When Barber asked about wrecked vehicles leaking potentially dangerous fluids, Madden quickly reassured the board that all leaks will be stopped, and fluids will be contained, and disposed of properly once the cars arrive on site.

Explaining to the board that most vehicles do not leak when they arrive, Madden said, if a car is going to leak after a bad accident, then it would leak at the crash site, it would leak while stored at a garage, and it would leak while being towed to the site, which could take days or even weeks. If the vehicle still leaked upon arrival, it would be handled properly, Madden said, adding that his company has never violated environmental laws or regulations.
"They say they drain everything out, but they can’t get everything out of those cars," said Rielly.

When asked about possible runoff getting into the Black Creek from the proposed location in the industrial park, Rielly told The Enterprise, "It all drains down there."

Steven Porter from the Northeastern Industrial Park, spoke on behalf of I.A.A. during the meeting, saying Auto Placement, which dealt with cars and car parts, was next to the proposed site for years and the board never had a problem with it.
"We have a company committed to us with state-of-the-art equipment," said Porter, on the practices used by I.A.A. to ensure environmental safety.
Porter claims vehicles have been on the industrial park’s property for years, and that historically, the town has never made it an issue before. He described the auto auction more like recycling, rather then using the label "junkyard."
The board inquired about vehicles that did not get sold during the auctions, and what was to become of them. Madden responded by saying, badly burned or unwanted vehicles were to be crushed for scrap metal, "and probably, quite frankly, shipped off to China."

The next zoning board meeting is Feb. 1, and the interpretation of a junkyard will be specifically discussed and decided upon. If I.A.A.’s operation is defined as a junkyard, it may still apply for a special-use permit but the company would have to meet several more regulations and requirements for it to get the permit.
"I don’t think it will look very nice, a pile of 1,800 wrecked cars in the industrial park, especially since they are trying to bring in high-tech companies," said Rielly.