Riga board agrees to make Monroe County
lead agency in landfill review

It was a divided Riga Town Board that voted on resolutions to allow Monroe County to serve as lead agency in a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process as it relates to proposed changes at the Mill Seat Landfill and on amendments to the wording in the Host Agreement.

At the December 13 meeting, Town of Riga Councilperson Pamela Moore was the lone dissenter to the resolution which would allow Monroe County to serve as lead agency.

"We had three choices," Moore said. "The county could serve as sole lead, Riga could have become the lead agency, or we could have run a parallel review in which each party would be equal in the review process."

Moore said there was a precedent for a parallel review.

Resident Frank Lentine said that with the town allowing the county to be lead agency that it "gave away all of its leverage."

Prior to the board meeting, Supervisor Tim Rowe had asked board members to reply to changes in the memorandum of understanding to change the host agreement.

Some Riga officials and town residents are upset that the town is considering a change to the Mill Seat Landfill host agreement package and are concerned about impacts on the community now and in the future. Some say the benefits to residents could be lucrative, but many only see the darker side of any changes to the landfill's host agreement. Heavier traffic to and from the landfill and safety concerns top the issues.

Currently, the 95-acre landfill receives waste from towns across Monroe County and the City of Rochester. If Riga's Town Board agrees to a proposal with the county, it would allow the landfill to accept waste from both in-state and out-of-state municipalities. The "character of the waste" being brought to the landfill if the Host Agreement was modified is also under scrutiny. Presently, because Monroe County has passed laws that require recycling and special disposal of household hazardous waste, the waste going to Mill Seat is "higher quality" or "cleaner" than the municipal waste of communities that do not have such programs in place.

"At the meeting, I took those proposed changes and comments from the board and put them in the form of a resolution," Rowe said. Some of the changes included: requesting the county to supply water service to two roads in Riga; requested that if, in the future, the county wants to either expand the existing Mill Seat Landfill or add subsequent landfills in the town that the town will receive a host agreement at least equal to the one presently in place; clarified terms on garbage pick up and put in special language covering special waste that includes asbestos and treated medical wastes, among others.

Moore objected to the resolution as she said she, and likely other members of the board, were not privy to the comments made by their counterparts.

"We already have a landfill and we want to protect ourselves for the future if a new landfill is sited," Rowe said. "We've made the resolution and will present the changes to the county and wait for their response."

Rowe said that future landfills in Riga are not a sure thing but it is a "distinct possibility" and the town needs to get protections in place now to protect the future of the town and its residents.

"We are rushing to judgment to amend an agreement and talk about language that's in it before we have a full understanding," Moore said. "The town needs to do due diligence the way any corporation would before negotiating a complex agreement. We should be hiring an outside attorney."

An audience member at the meeting said that no one in the town would object to the supervisor spending money to help protect the rights the town has.

Town Councilperson Bob Ottley said that people need to keep in mind that the landfill is already there.

"What is being asked for in this proposal is not to bring in more waste than they already are, but to bring in the waste up to the limit they are permitted," Ottley said. "It's not like they are asking to expand the landfill."

The landfill is permitted to haul in 597,000 tons per year and currently about 400,000 tons are being deposited, Ottley said.

"One of the things that keep coming up is 'why would you want to fill it up quicker' by operating at full capacity," Ottley said. "I'm just not convinced that is the case when you consider that Waste Management is changing the type of technology they will use to take care of the waste."

When the landfill was built, Ottley said, it was a "dry tomb" operation where trash was put in and water drained off and was taken away to keep the material as dry as possible to entomb it. Attempts are being made now to change to a "wet cell" technology that will process sewage sludge which will generate methane gas. The gas would be captured and would power generators. Ottley said this was the same technology used at the High Acres landfill in Perinton.

"The new technology could extend the life of the landfill by 13 to 20 years," Ottley said.

The town has also been missing out on revenues from beneficial use determination (BUD) material.

"We don't receive royalties on the BUD material right now and we want to correct that and have amended that portion of the agreement so we get paid for it," Ottley said.

Ottley also said that many people don't realize that the current host agreement is only good for the life of the footprint of the landfill. "Once it's full our agreement ends, and if the county wanted to they could move on to other land adjacent to that and we wouldn't have an agreement with them," he said. "I see a landfill being sited in Riga for the next 40 to 60 years. Certainly some day I would hope there are no more landfills but during the next 30 to 40 years there are going to be landfills. As good stewards of the town we are looking to ensure that our host benefit agreement will include any additional expansion in the town. We want our agreement to extend to that. That could be a huge win for the town."

Lentine said the situation was a political ball game between the county and the town and the town will come out the losers.

"We got stuck with this landfill years ago and now the board is looking to make changes that aren't in the best interest of the town," Lentine said. "They forget which team they are playing for."

Environmental issues such as the rock aquifer need to be more fully researched to determine the impacts before more changes are approved, he said.

More than 1,750 petitions were presented to the board members voicing opinions against changes to the host agreement. "There are genuine concerns that people have voiced and all things have to be weighed before decisions are made," Rowe said.

When asked if the town would consider surveying residents to gauge their feelings on changes to the host agreement, Rowe said. "It is the town board's job to make these decisions - decisions that are in the best interest of the town." He said state laws discourage surveys.

Moore said she had been keeping track of written and verbal comments presented and said that by her records the figures show 84 percent tracked are against, nine percent are in favor of the changes and four percent were neutral.