STAFF CONTACT :
BILL
SUBJECT
DATE
The Business Council opposes this legislation that would prohibit the disposal of any Hudson River PCB wastes within Niagara County. The legislation is aimed at precluding this material from being disposed of at the state's only licensed commercial hazardous waste landfill, which is located at Model City, Niagara County.
In addition, the bill would place new, unreasonable restrictions on the approval of permits for increased disposal capacity at hazardous waste disposal sites.
The Business Council opposes this legislation for several reasons:
- This legislation is not necessary to address Niagara County
environmental concerns related to wastes generated from the Hudson
River project. The Model City hazardous waste landfill, like all
permitted hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities
(TSDFs) within the state, are closely regulated by the Department
of Environmental Conservation under both state and federal law. State
permits already impose limits on a TSDF's basic operations,
including the type and amount of wastes they can accept, and their
treatment and disposal methods. State permits can impose additional
operational limits based on site-specific issues, such as limits
on the number of trucks that can be brought to the site on any given
day. Both types of conditions are currently imposed at the Model
City plant, and acceptance of Hudson River materials must be done
in accordance to the facility's
operating permits.
- This legislation imposes unreasonable conditions on the approval of proposals to expand the Model City facility. In part, the bill proposes that no such expansion can be approved “until such time as the [state] has issued a certificate for a new commercial facility not located adjacent to any existing facility...” In other words, this legislation would not allow for an expansion of the Model City facility until the state approves another commercial hazardous waste landfill elsewhere in the state. This proposal is contrary to detailed assessments of disposal capacity needs within the state conducted by the DEC, which indicate that – from a capacity demand perspective – it is unnecessary to site an additional commercial landfill within the state. Further, delaying expansion of the Model City facility until an alternative site is identified, permitted and constructed would undoubtedly result in having no in-state commercial landfill capacity available for a number of years. This would increase the disposal costs incurred by manufacturing operations and remedial activities within the state – including those activities located in Niagara County.
The Business Council believes that existing hazardous waste management regulations, permitting programs and enforcement efforts are adequate to assure the safe management of hazardous wastes. This legislation would impose unnecessary restrictions on the acceptance of a specific waste material at the Model City site, and at the same time jeopardizing the ability of the state to assure adequate in state hazardous waste disposal capacity.
For these reasons, The Business Council respectfully recommends against approval of A.7234-A.