Tri-county trash plan gets cautious reception
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County legislators were cautiously receptive to a proposal to create a regional solid waste authority to oversee garbage disposal in Greene, Ulster and Sullivan counties.
During a special meeting Tuesday night of the Ulster County Legislature, Robert Sochovka, of the Middletown-based consulting group Cornerstone Engineering and Land Surveying, outlined the findings of a study it conducted to determine the feasibility of the three counties forming a joint solid waste management authority.
“Our recommendation, or what we are saying, is we believe [a regional authority] is a feasible project,” Sochovka said.
He said that, by creating such an authority, the counties could save on transportation costs and negotiate better deals for solid
waste disposal. All three counties currently truck the solid waste they collect to the Seneca Meadows Landfill in Waterloo, N.Y., between Syracuse and Rochester, more than three-anda-half hours by truck from Kingston. That landfill has permitted capacity to operate only until 2025.
Several Ulster County legislators, though, said the
“end goal” must be the creation of a sustainable solid waste disposal system and not just saving money on disposal costs.
“I get a little concerned when I hear talk of ‘buying power’ and ‘tonnage’ because we really need to be focused on diversion,” said Manna Jo Greene, D-Rosendale.
“I don’t want to step into a regionalized model just to get a better rate on [transportation and disposal],” agreed Tracey Bartels, IGardiner.
Bartels said she would
like a commitment among the three counties to look at disposal alternatives so leaders aren’t lulled into complacency by economic savings.
“I really do not want to see a partnership just to keep doing the same thing,” she said.
Legislature Chairman Ken Ronk said the creation of the three-county authority would be the first step toward finding a new solid waste disposal plan.
“There is a desire to move toward something different,”
said Ronk, R-Wallkill. “I don’t know how you choose a next step before getting together.”
“The goal would be a new final disposal option,” he said.
The concerns were similar to those expressed in Sullivan County, where some lawmakers also wanted more information about potential solutions before creating an authority.
Greene County Legislature Chairman Kevin Lewis, who attended Tuesday’s presentation in Kingston, said
legislators in his county also want to see a more sustainable solid waste plan.
He said without a regional authority, Greene County is unable to look at alternatives because the county generates so little solid waste on its own.
According to the Cornerstone study, Greene County generated about 50,000 tons of solid waste in 2016. Sullivan County collected about 38,000 tons of solid waste that year, while Ulster County generated roughly 125,000 tons.
If the counties were to agree to create a regional authority, Sochovka said, Sullivan and Greene counties would have to adopt flow-control laws that mandate where waste is disposed. Such laws, like the one already on the books in Ulster County, create a monopoly on disposal, guaranteeing volume to meet contractual agreements.
Each county would have to adopt legislation agreeing to the creation of the regional authority and seek state approval to create it.