Governor Hochul Signs Bill Banning PFAS in Clothes, What About Drinking Water?

SENECA FALLS, NY (01/04/2023) (readMedia)-- Today Seneca Lake Guardian urged Governor Hochul to take aggressive statewide action on pervasive PFAS chemicals after she signed a bill banning the use of PFAS chemicals in the production of apparel and clothing in New York. PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals'' are a family of thousands of chemicals found in many everyday products including GORE-TEX, non-stick pans, food packaging, and more. Instead of breaking down, they build up in the environment and in our bodies, often entering through drinking water sources contaminated by landfills. In our bodies, these chemicals primarily build up in the blood, kidney and liver. According to the CDC, exposure to PFAS is linked to harmful health impacts such as cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility, a weakened immune system, and increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease, to name a few.

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.

"We applaud the Governor's initiative on these forever chemicals. However, if she is concerned about PFAS in clothes, wait until she hears about the millions of gallons of PFAS-laden leachate that Seneca Meadows is trucking to her hometown of Buffalo. Landfills are one of four major sources of PFAS in drinking water – and municipalities across the state lack a mechanism for removing them. That's why we're calling on Governor Hochul to direct the DEC to close the state's largest landfill in 2025 as originally planned, and urging lawmakers to pass Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles's bill requiring PFAS testing early this session," said Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian.

Located in Seneca Falls and standing at 30 stories tall, Seneca Meadows landfill produces 75 million gallons of leachate annually. Less than one-third is treated to remove PFAS and other contaminants. The rest – over 50 million gallons – is trucked, untreated, to Buffalo, Watertown, Chittenango and Steuben County wastewater treatment plants, which are not required to test for and don't have the mechanism for removing the PFAS. The discharges from those plants flow into and potentially contaminate drinking water sources. The landfill, which is slated to close in 2025, has requested an expansion that would add another seven stories and an extension allowing them to operate through 2040.

The "PFAS Surface Water Discharge Disclosure Act" – introduced by Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles 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.

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 produce up to 200,000 gallons of polluted leachate – formed when rainwater filters through waste – per day. A quarter of the landfill – which stands at 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.

Leachate and wastewater runoff from the landfill contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can cause widespread contamination of drinking water and harmful health impacts. Landfills are one of four major sources of PFAS, and landfills account for 17 percent of total methane emissions.

SMI is located two miles from Cayuga-Seneca Canal and three miles from every school in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, potentially exposing students to airborne particulates and unseen gasses known to contribute to respiratory illness, asthma, and migraine headaches. The landfill cannot process all of the methane that is generated and is forced to burn almost a billion cubic feet per year in 5 flares, contributing to climate change.

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.

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.