Colonie landfill granted permits to expand
WATERFORD, N.Y. » The state Department of Environmental Conservation last week issued four permits to the town of Colonie allowing it to expand its 212acre landfill and remain open for another 20 years.
In an April 5 letter to the town from DEC Deputy Regional Permit Administrator Angelo Marcuccio granted permits for solid waste management, freshwater wetlands, water quality certification and an air pollution control Title V permit.
In the letter the agency said the town must ensure that a local solid waste management plan is in effect for its Planning Unit no later than July 1.
The town of Colonie requested permits in 2014 asking that its landfill be allowed it to continue operations for another 20 years by expanding to unused sections of the site at 1319 Loudon Road (Route 9), Colonie.
Opponents of the expansion include the town governments and many residents in the towns of Halfmoon and Waterford. Many of the towns’ elected officials, state legislators, and residents spoke out against the project at two public hearings before the DEC in September 2016
The DEC approvals stated the Town of Colonie must provide funds to DEC on a yearly basis to support the activities in the annual environmental monitoring plan, that the agency would select the monitor, and that the town was responsible to contact the agency in case of a spill.
Waste approved for the expansion site, per the DEC letter, includes municipal solid waste, industrial waste that is specifically approved in writing by the department, ash residue resulting from incineration of municipal solid waste generated by facilities that have current DEC permits to operate, stabilized sludge that has solids content of 20 percent or greater and construction demolition debris.
On the issue of odors, the Town of Colonie is required to maintain a 24-hour per day odor complaint hotline and notify the department of all complaints within 24 hours. Reports of all odor complaints are to be sent to DEC monthly.
Odor inspections by the town will be conducted a minimum of one per day on Fonda Road, Green Mountain Drive, Arrowhead Lane, Route 9, and Cohoes-Crescent Road in the Town of Colonie. They are also required on Church Hill Road in Halfmoon and on Pheasant Run, Towpath Lane, Mallards Landing North and Mallards Landing South in the Town of Waterford.
Newly proposed leachate tanks must be installed by June 3 and all noise monitoring must be conducted at a minimum of once per week at all receptor locations.
In the DEC’s Findings Statement, also part of the April 5 letter to the Town of Colonie, the agency put in writing that the proposed revisions to the expansion plan, made by the town, had been accepted.
The town must reduce the proposed height of the accepted waste pile by 50 feet to 93 feet and increase its setbacks from the Mohawk River to 500 feet.
The town is also required to relocate the entrance to the landfill from Route 9 to Arrowhead Lane and increase its daily or annual waste tonnage acceptance rates.
The Findings Statement went on to note that extending the life of the landfill to the requested 20 years will provide long term waste disposal stability to the town and surrounding area and give the town a chance to consider longer-term options.
If it were to close, the Findings Statement stated that it would increase costs to those communities that use the facility. The landfill was described in the Findings as “an important local resource” that provides cost-effective means of waste disposal for residents of the town and surrounding communities.
The Findings went on to speak to the issues of air quality, freshwater wetlands, traffic, visual impact, noise, odors, community character, and property values.
Town of Waterford Supervisor John Lawler said he was extremely disappointed with the DEC’s granting of the permits.
“The facts presented throughout this process clearly do not support the decision by DEC,” he said. “This is especially true of their denial of our request for an adjudicatory hearing. The DEC’s decision places the Mohawk River at great risk of pollution and contamination from PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid), runoff from the landfill. We intend to initiate litigation in the very near future to reverse the denial of the request for an adjudicatory hearing and the issuance of the permit itself.”
Lawler went on to say DEC was failing in its mandate to protect the environment, in this case the Mohawk River, and he and his town were going to try and protect it even if DEC wasn’t.
Fresh water advocacy group Riverkeeper is also opposed to the granting of the expansion plans.
“Riverkeeper is very disappointed with the DEC’s decision,” said John Lipscomb, Riverkeeper’s patrol boat captain and vice president for advocacy. “The fact that the scale of the expansion has been reduced is no reassurance, and doesn’t work for us in the slightest. More of a bad thing doesn’t make it a good thing. Through this decision, the DEC hasn’t conserved the environment; it has put off for decades the eventual cleanup of this landfill. The only correct course of action for this landfill is to remediate it, not expand it.”
Lipscomb called the Findings Statement notation that the extension gives time to find alternatives for solid waste disposal, bogus. He noted the issue has been discussed for years.
George Harris, a resident of Halfmoon who is opposed to the expansion was another who was unhappy to hear of the approvals.
“We’re disappointed that the NYSDEC has gone ahead and approved the revised landfill expansion plan without adequate public review or any opportunity for public input,” he said in an email. “Public review of the initial proposal in 2016 identified several significant issues with the original proposal that the department acknowledged required further study and modifications. Initial review now of the department’s Final Approval and Findings of Fact on the revised plan indicates again there are significant issues remaining that have not been adequately addressed.”
Town of Colonie Director of Environmental Services Matt McGarry could not be reached for comment.