SLG Urges Statewide Action on Toxic "Forever" PFAS Chemicals, Joined by NYPIRG, EANY + EWG

SENECA FALLS, NY (11/18/2022) (readMedia)-- On Friday, Seneca Lake Guardian – joined by New York Public Interest Research Group, Environmental Advocates NY, Environmental Working Group and Senator Rachel May – urged aggressive statewide action on toxic "forever" PFAS chemicals. 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 as Seneca Meadows, the State's largest landfill standing 30 stories tall and a major PFAS contributor, aims to expand another seven stories and continue operating past its 2025 closure date.

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"Seneca Meadows is dumping millions of gallons of leachate containing toxic PFAS into drinking water sources all across the state; a major public health concern and cost burden on local municipalities which may or may not be effectively removing it from the system. We need the Governor to stand with everyday people and not the for-profit company fighting to keep Seneca Meadows open beyond its closure date of 2025. But this can't be a town-by-town fight. New York needs a real plan to achieve a zero waste future, and to lead on treating PFAS contamination like the public health threat it is," said Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian.

"The true scale of PFAS contamination is likely dramatically underreported," said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group. "We know PFAS in landfills end up returning either the same chemicals or their byproducts back into the environment. New York, as well as the EPA and waste management companies, must take strong action to protect communities from exposures to these toxic forever chemicals. As PFAS are found to be harmful at lower and lower levels, it is critical to identify all sources of contamination and take steps to protect downstream communities who may be unwittingly exposed."

Rob Hayes, Director of Clean Water for Environmental Advocates NY, said, "On Election Day, New York voters overwhelmingly approved the Environmental Bond Act, saying loud and clear that they want stronger environmental protections, not weaker ones. Unfortunately, the NYS Department of Health is not doing enough to protect our drinking water from toxic PFAS chemicals. DOH has proposed new PFAS drinking water standards that are weaker than what states like Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have adopted. We urge Governor Hochul to listen to voters, follow the science, and get toxic PFAS chemicals out of our water by setting standards as close to zero as possible."

"No one wants their drinking water to be 'sort of' safe," said Anne Rabe, NYPIRG Environmental Policy Director. "Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that PFAS drinking water standards should be set at "near zero" levels, since there is no known safe level of exposure. The Governor should heed their advisory and create a state action plan to investigate and remediate PFAS contamination such as the Seneca Meadows landfill site, and require the Department of Health to follow the Hippocratic Oath of 'first do no harm' by setting drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals at the detection level of 2 parts per trillion."

"Last year New Yorkers enshrined the right to clean water in the state constitution. Now we have to follow through by making sure that municipalities have fundamental tools to protect drinking water from contamination. The PFAS Discharge and Disclosure Act will give them crucial information about where these forever chemicals are entering public waters," said Senator May (D-Onondaga, Madison, parts of Oneida) Next year Senator May's new district will include the City of Syracuse and all of Cayuga County.

Assemblymember Kelles said, "It is critical that New York enacts strong protections from exposure to 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS, which we know can affect fertility and overall health. We must 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 sustaining our agritourism industry, a key 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."

Landfills are one of four major sources of PFAS – or toxic "forever chemicals" – in drinking water including fire training/fire response sites, industrial sites and wastewater treatment plants/biosolids.

Toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals'' are a family of thousands of chemicals found in many everyday products including GORE-TEX, non-stick pans, popcorn bags, 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, increased risk of asthma and thyroid disease, to name a few.

Once those items containing PFAS make their way to landfills such as New York's largest landfill, Seneca Meadows, leachate containing PFAS flows into 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 may or may not be testing for and removing the PFAS.

Standing at 30 stories tall, Seneca Meadows is permitted to accept up to 6,000 tons of waste per day. A quarter of the landfill is made up just of waste from New York City, and the operator plans to add another seven stories and extend operating beyond its 2025 closure date if the DEC grants their permit to do so. 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 planned seven-story-high expansion.

Senator May and Assembly Member Kelles recently 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.

In addition, New York is currently determining how strictly to regulate PFAS in drinking water. On October 5, the NYS Department of Health?proposed new drinking water standards for 23 toxic PFAS chemicals. The levels set for these standards will determine when drinking water contamination is cleaned up and when New Yorkers are directly notified about what's in their water. Advocates argue that DOH did not propose levels in line with the latest science from the US EPA, which will leave at least half a million New Yorkers exposed to dangerous contamination when they turn on the tap. DOH is accepting public comments on the proposed standards until December 5.

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., 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. 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.