Advocates Applaud Senate Passing PFAS Disclosure Bill, Urge Assembly to Vote

SENECA FALLS, NY (06/07/2023) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, the New York state senate unanimously passed the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act (S277). The bill would require annual testing for all facilities permitted to discharge water. There are no federal or state regulations currently requiring PFAS disclosures from all facilities that might be discharging it. In response, Yvonne Taylor, Vice President of Seneca Lake Guardian issued the following statement:

"Seneca Lake Guardian applauds Senator May and the State Senate for passing the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act. The state's largest landfill – Seneca Meadows – produces 70 million gallons of toxic, PFAS contaminated leachate every year of which only 1/5th is treated. The rest is trucked to Buffalo, Watertown, Steuben County, and Chittenango wastewater treatment facilities that do not have the mechanism for removing the PFAS before discharging it into our waterways and drinking water sources. Until facilities like Seneca Meadows are required to test for and disclose levels of PFAS in their water, these municipalities can't take effective action against contamination. Senator May's bill is a fundamental step toward understanding the sources and volume of PFAS entering New York waterways. We urge the Assembly to pass this bill before the end of session."

Toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are known as "forever chemicals'' because they persist in the environment and are difficult to clean up. PFAS are found in many everyday products including GORE-TEX, non-stick pans and even popcorn bags. Once those items make their way to landfills such as New York's largest landfill – Seneca Meadows – leachate containing PFAS make their way from the landfills to our drinking water sources. Located in Seneca Falls, Seneca Meadows landfill produces 66 million gallons of leachate every year which is hauled, untreated, to Buffalo, Watertown, Chittenango and Steuben County, all of which do not have the mechanism for filtering it out before discharging it to our waterways and drinking water systems. The cost of installing treatment systems at these facilities would be borne by taxpayers.

Background

The Seneca Meadows landfill, located in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of American Women's Rights, is the largest of 27 landfills in New York State. It is permitted to accept 6,000 tons of waste and produces up to 200,000 gallons of polluted leachate – formed when rainwater filters through waste – per day. 30% of the landfill – which stands at nearly 30 stories tall – is trash from NYC, followed by four other states.

Seneca Meadows was previously required to stop receiving waste and halt operations by December 31, 2025. However, Waste Connections, the Texas based parent company of Seneca Meadows Inc., spent around $200,000 in 2021 promoting pro-landfill candidates who won seats in Town Board and County races and are now supporting the Valley Infill, SMI's planned seven-story high expansion. The expansion would keep the landfill operating through 2040 with allowable dumping on the Valley Infill (the former toxic Tantalo superfund site), rising another 70 feet into the viewscape. Even with the planned closure in 2025, the mountain of garbage promises years of problems and remediation that could take generations to mitigate.

SMI is harming the Finger Lakes' natural resources that have led to the region being under consideration for a National Heritage Area Designation, and which the $3 billion, 60,000-employee wine and agritourism economy relies on. The odor from the landfill can be smelled from miles away, including at Thruway exit 41, the northern gateway to the Finger Lakes. Large, sustainable employers in the area are finding it difficult to recruit and retain employees, because nobody wants to raise a family near a dangerous landfill.

SMI's expansion is also at odds with the overwhelmingly popular amendment to the New York state constitution passed last year, which guarantees every New Yorker the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment.

The "PFAS Surface Water Discharge Disclosure Act" – introduced by Assemblymember Kelles and Senator May last year – would require annual testing for all facilities permitted to discharge water. There are no federal or state regulations currently requiring PFAS disclosures from all facilities that might be discharging it.

A recent Rockefeller Institute policy brief showed that New York is one of nine states that falls well short of the EPA guidance on enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos recently tweeted about his agency's intentions to "better serve disadvantaged communities all across New York," which should include SMI. According to the draft criteria of the Climate Justice Working Group – established by the Climate Act – there are three disadvantaged communities in Seneca County.

About Seneca Lake Guardian

Seneca Lake Guardian is a New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) and is dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural community character, and its agricultural and tourist related businesses through public education, citizen participation, engagement with decision makers, and networking with like-minded organizations.