SLG, Earthjustice + NY Lawmakers Urge Action on Pervasive PFAS Chemicals, Contaminating Water

SENECA FALLS, NY (09/19/2022) (readMedia)-- On Monday, Seneca Lake Guardian – with Earthjustice, Senator Rachel May and outgoing Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried – urged aggressive statewide action on pervasive PFAS chemicals. These 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 75 million gallons of leachate every year which is hauled, untreated, to Buffalo, Watertown, Chittenango, Steuben County and even Newark, New Jersey, all of which bear the cost burden of filtering it out of local drinking sources.

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In response, Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles announced legislation – the "PFAS Surface Water Discharge Disclosure Act" – which 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.

According to the 2021 Annual Report, Seneca Meadows landfill produces 75 million gallons of leachate each year which is distributed not just to Seneca Falls but also to Buffalo, Watertown, Chittenango, and Steuben County, and the leachate eventually ends up in sources for drinking water. Only a third of the leachate is treated, while the rest of the untreated leachate is trucked to communities across the state and in New Jersey, which bear the cost burden of filtering it out of local drinking sources.

"Seneca Meadows landfill is poisoning our air, pumping a putrid odor far and wide, and threatening our $3 billion, 60,000 job agritourism industry in the Finger Lakes. But it's also threatening the health of New Yorkers across the state by dumping millions of gallons of leachate containing toxic PFAS into our drinking water sources, and forcing localities to cover the cost of removing it. These are toxic "forever chemicals," that have been linked to cancer. This is a public health crisis in the making, and it requires aggressive action. That's why we're calling on Governor Hochul to direct the DEC to close the landfill in Seneca Falls in 2025 as originally planned, and we hope lawmakers pass Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles's bill requiring PFAS testing early next session," said Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian.

"PFAS contamination is an urgent issue across New York and the nation. While New York has stepped up to set drinking water limits for just two out of hundreds of PFAS pollutants, there are no federal or state limits on any company dumping PFAS pollutants in our water in the first place. Worse, there are no federal or state requirements even asking if a company is discharging these pollutants into our waters. Understanding who is putting PFAS into our waters is a first step to solving this growing health crisis, before it's too late. The legislation proposed by Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles is a no-brainer for anyone interested in keeping PFAS out of our drinking water," said Jill Heaps, senior attorney at Earthjustice.

"New York lakes and streams sustain us, enrich our communities, attract people from around the world, and bring us beauty and delight. We must be good stewards of our precious freshwater resources and part of that is ensuring companies maintain environmentally friendly practices. That's why I've introduced the PFAS Discharge Disclosure Act to require the DEC to create rules for testing and reporting on the discharge of so-called "forever chemicals" to the waters of the state," said Senator Rachel May (D-Onondaga, Madison, parts of Oneida).

Assemblymember Anna Kelles said, "This bill will enact critical protections from exposure to 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS, which we know can affect fertility and overall health. It is essential that we protect our water and our own health for this and future generations. Our lakes and natural groundwaters provide our most basic food and water needs, in addition to feeding agritourism that is part of our state's economic engine. New Yorkers deserve transparency and access to the health related data that will result from this bill, which requires the identification and reporting of PFAS at publicly owned treatment facilities."

"New York has been a leader on water quality protection, and we must remain pro-active in monitoring and enforcing the most protective environmental health standards," said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried. "The Health Department should require annual testing for facilities that discharge water for toxic PFAS and other chemicals as low as technologically feasible and maximally protective of human and environmental health."

Assembly Members Gottfried and Englebright recently wrote a letter to State Health Commissioner Mary Bassett urging the Department of Health to set drinking water limits for PFAS "as close to zero as possible."

Background

Seneca Meadows Inc. Landfill

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., contributed around $280,000 in 2021 to 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. Seneca Meadows produces 75 million gallons of leachate each year which is distributed not just to Seneca Falls but also to Buffalo, Watertown, Chittenango, and Steuben County, contaminating drinking water across the state.

SMI is located two miles from Cayuga-Seneca Canal and three miles from every school in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, 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.