Monroe County Legislature
votes to take more trash to Mill Seat

Monroe County Legislators pushed through the issue of accepting out-of-county garbage at the Mill Seat Landfill in Riga as a 'Matter of Urgency' at their January 11 meeting.

Legislator Robert Colby (R-20th), who represents the Riga area, requested the proposal be tabled.

"I'm fully aware of the situation because I attended three of the four meetings in Riga," Colby said. "Even though I was prepared to vote I felt the citizens of Riga should have had the right to explain their feelings about the matter to the legislature."

The proposal was presented to county lawmakers by County Executive Maggie Brooks and many legislators said they didn't have adequate time to review the proposal before being asked to make a decision.

Colby said the vote to table the motion failed across party lines.

Following an hour of discussion and debate by legislators, a vote was taken and the motion to accept out-of-county trash and haul it to Mill Seat passed by 21-8.

The reasoning for the "Matter of Urgency", Colby said, was that the proposal had been held up by the town officials.

"The feeling was that town officials had been hanging on to the issue for a while rather than moving it forward in a timely manner," Colby explained. Riga town officials, by a vote of 4-1, approved changes to the Host Agreement on January 3. The board's approval was needed before the county could proceed.

The county indicated they needed to move the issue ahead so it could stop incinerating its sludge. It is anticipated that 100,000 tons of sludge from the VanLare treatment plant will be taken to Mill Seat. The sludge will mix with the solid waste, giving the landfill the potential to produce methane gas and eventually "green power." Colby said the sludge also helps break down the solid waste, potentially extending the life of the landfill.

The proposal passed by county lawmakers makes way for 100,000 tons of solid waste a year from outside the county to be hauled to Mill Seat. In the past, it was prohibited to haul in garbage from out of the county, except from the neighboring Town of Bergen in Genesee County.

Riga Town Board member Pamela Moore said, "The fact that County Legislature approval was obtained using the 'Matter of Urgency' procedure instead of following the normal procedure of review is proof that the county wanted input from no one."

Moore said she is troubled that the County Executive, Maggie Brooks, wanted to consult with the groups "that previously felt cut out of the process" with respect to other pending county proposals, but as to the landfill, the county cut out the residents of Riga and the members of the County Legislature.

Colby said after lawmakers addressed concerns in the Host Agreement it was decided that delaying the vote wouldn't have changed the outcome.

"It was obvious the legislators had a good grasp of what the issues were," he said.