The supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine's proposed Waste Management Facility will be discussed at a public information meeting Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Borg Warner Room of the Tompkins County Public Library.

A comment period on the supplemental EIS closes Feb. 9.

The proposed facility would replace the college's incinerator for treatment and disposal of animal remains. Instead of incineration, an alkaline hydrolysis process (involving heat, pressure and chemical digestion) is proposed. Leading the discussion and answering questions at the public information meeting will be Veterinary Medicine Dean Donald F. Smith and other staff members of the college.

The original EIS for the Waste Management Facility was drafted in 2002. The supplemental EIS addresses four issues: tests of the ability of alkaline hydrolysis to destroy prions that cause mad cow disease and other spongiform encephalopathy diseases, the potential for generation of dioxins in the waste-treatment process, evaluation of the potential for the dispersion of odors generated by the process and potential impacts of phasing construction of the facility.

The supplemental EIS is available for public review and comment at the Tompkins County and College of Veterinary Medicine libraries and at the Town of Ithaca Hall.