Proposed Orleans landfill expansion under study

Town of Albion residents may once again be faced with an operational landfill within their town's limits. Waste Management of New York has recently received approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to expand the existing Orleans Sanitary Landfill and begin operations.

The landfill, located on Transit and Densmore Roads, straddles three towns: Murray, Gaines and Albion, Stop Polluting Orleans County (SPOC) member Charles Applegate said. "Waste Management is offering a benefits package to Albion," he said. "The package is an inducement, or more of a bribe, for the damage they will cause to the area."

Because the DEC has granted Waste Management an operating permit, Town of Albion board members have 60 days in which to review the application. Without the board's approval of the permit, Waste Management will not be able to operate the site. "A landfill is not in the town's comprehensive plan," Applegate said.

The piece of land is not properly sited, Applegate said. "It was never scientifically selected for minimum effect on people or the environment, it will be unsafe and will harm growth in Albion."

SPOC members feel Waste Management is an unreliable operator as their public operating record is replete with violations and fines.

If the permit is approved, Albion will see 950 trucks a day, hauling more than 18,000 tons of garbage down its streets for the next 15 years. "The trucks will be traveling down the road right in front of the schools and Washington Mutual," Applegate said.

With all of the communities across the United States vying for industry to come to their towns, Applegate said, there is no competition for a land fill despite the "benefit packages."

Applegate said he is concerned with runoff from the former landfill site entering the Erie Canal.

SPOC members have been contacting state and local representatives urging their support to stop this landfill project, Applegate said.

Assemblyman Charles Nesbitt will not be in attendance because of regularly scheduled sessions of the Assembly.

The Town of Albion board will be meeting Monday, March 10 at 7 p.m. Town Supervisor Eugene Christopher said that the landfill is not on the agenda. "This is a regular business meeting," he said. "I know this (the landfill) is an important issue to a lot of people."

Christopher said individuals will be given an opportunity to speak during the regular open forum. "We will listen to their concerns," he said. Christopher reiterated that this is not a landfill meeting and it is not a public hearing.