An unlikely body came down hard Thursday on the possibility that CWM Chemical Services is granted more capacity to continue operating as a hazardous waste landfill.
A resolution amended to include sponsorship by all 15 members of the Erie County Legislature passed unanimously at a regular meeting.
The document mentions the highly anticipated proposed Hazardous Waste Siting Plan and says it could be out in a few weeks.
Wording in the plan, which has been worked on for years and through several drafts by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, could have a significant effect on CWM’s proposal for a new landfill, RMU-2. Its current landfill, RMU-1, has about five years of remaining permitted capacity.
“The Erie County Legislature supports sustainable and attractive economic growth and regards hazardous waste landfills as a non-renewable use of the community’s assets,” the resolution states, “posing permanent risk to the environment and imposing an undesirable image on our community, thereby impeding tourism efforts in the Buffalo-Niagara region.”
CWM spokesperson Lori Caso responded to the action Thursday evening, calling CWM a “safe facility that properly disposes of hazardous waste” and calling the facility “central to the (hazardous waste cleanup process) that cleans up our state.”
Without CWM, New York state’s only hazardous waste landfill and one of only 17 commercial hazardous waste landfills remaining in the country, costs for New York state businesses to cleanup such sites would raise prohibitively, she said.
“Alternatives presented in the resolution carry negative environmental and economic impacts that haven’t been considered,” Caso said, including trucking costs to facilities in the Midwest and the carbon footprint of projects. “This could have a crippling effect on brownfields and remediation projects.”
Additionally, Caso added that CWM has taken over 116,000 tons of hazardous waste from Erie County in “recent years.”
Environmental groups disagreed with CWM in a release sent Thursday, congratulating the Legislature and saying the federal Environmental Protection Agency ruled in 1995 that current hazardous waste disposal capacity is adequate.
“For too long, Western New York has stockpiled massive amounts of chemical waste in a landfill facility only two miles from the Niagara River and three miles from Lake Ontario,” Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Executive Director Julie Barrett O’Neill said in the release. “The Great Lakes hold 95 percent of the surface fresh water supply in the United States and that is precious.”
Included in the release are comments from local residents Amy Witryol, Residents for Responsible Government President April Fideli and Art Klein, vice chairperson of the Sierra Club group representing the Buffalo-Niagara region.
The resolution includes a number of points anti-CWM advocates have pointed out recently, saying CWM imports more waste from other areas than it accepts in-state, that the facility could be “restraining investments in safe, alternative solutions” and past trucks which have arrived at CWM gates with leaks.
Local News
CWM: Erie County lawmakers criticize expansion
- Local News
-
-
Child run over be car on Niagara Avenue
Falls Traffic Division investigators said an 11-year-old boy was struck after he darted into the street, in front of a car as it pulled away from a stop sign.
-
Militello paid $50K to leave Niagara-Wheatfield
Former Niagara-Wheatfield Superintendent Carl Militello is receiving a $50,000 from the district, according to a separation settlement agreed to on Feb. 1.
-
Autopsy unable to determine cause or time of Judith Burr’s death
An autopsy by an Erie County Medical Examiner has failed to determine either the time of death or the cause of death of Judith Burr.
-
Gerber resigns from SPCA board; calls for adding veterinarian to staff
A Town of Niagara veterinarian and long-time member of the SPCA of Niagara Board of Directors has stepped down.
Dr. William Gerber submitted his resignation on Tuesday. It was effective immediately. -
Has NYPA relicensing agreement led to a revival?
A state senator is calling for an audit of the low-cost power and cash used in the last seven years by Niagara County entities that have shared in the benefits of the 50-year relicensing agreement with the New York Power Authority.
-
Joseph Davis State Park gets some green
Officials in the Town of Lewiston received approval Thursday to spend a significant portion of the community’s incoming greenway funds on the redevelopment of Joseph Davis State Park.
-
Search continues for Falls jumper
State Park Police were still searching Thursday for a Falls man who jumped from the rapids bridge at Goat Island on Wednesday morning.
-
NU gets helping hand for campus projects
A new county entity formed to help organizations secure bond financing agreed on Wednesday to assist Niagara University in the development of its new science center, a proposed refurbishment at Meade Hall and other campus improvements totaling $48 million.
-
One Niagara tax break denied
It’s a no-go for a proposed tax break at One Niagara.
At least for now. -
County IDA adds local hiring clause
From now on, applicants seeking assistance through the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency will be expected to demonstrate their “best efforts” in hiring local workers for subsidized projects.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
