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New York Town May Reverse Course on Solid Waste Facility Ban
The Town Board voted 3-2 last week to introduce a new local law that would rescind the law passed last December.
2 Min Read
Seneca Falls, N.Y., last year enacted a local law prohibiting any new solid waste disposal facilities in the town and allowing the Seneca Meadows Landfill to operate until Dec. 31, 2025.
Now it’s considering reversing course.
The Town Board voted 3-2 last week to introduce a new local law that would rescind the law passed last December.
The move comes after the landfill operators filed a lawsuit against the town challenging the legality of Local Law 3 and asking that it be declared null and void.
Last spring, the Town Board was considering Local Law No. 7 of 2016, which states that no solid waste management facility shall be constructed or allowed to continue operating within the town. The landfill was exempt from the proposed law.
Then in November Local Law No. 3 was introduced as an amended and modified version of Local Law No. 7.
In April, the landfill’s operator sought a 10-year renewal of its solid waste facility permit, which, if approved, would end in 2027.
The Finger Lakes Times has more:
“We need to work cooperatively with businesses in the town,” Lazzaro said after the meeting. “Local Law 3 impacted a town business and that is wrong. We should sit down at the table with this business in a non-contentious way.
“Local Law 3 was contentious to Seneca Meadows. They were specifically targeted,” he added.
Lazzaro said he hopes negotiations can be set up soon to discuss modifications to the host community benefits agreement between the town and the landfill. That agreement provided the town with $3 million for 2017, based on 2016 tonnage and other factors.
Lazzaro said the new local law was drawn up by Town Attorney Patrick Morrell, who consulted with lawyers from Boylan Code, the outside law firm hired by the town for environmental matters.
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