Seneca Meadows Submits Revised Environmental Statement – Finger Lakes Daily News
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Court ruling clears way to close Finger Lakes landfill, but the matter may not be settled yet
The state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, this week dismissed an attempt by the owners of the Seneca Meadows landfill to block a local law calling for it to shut down. The 2016 law passed by the town of Seneca Falls would close the huge landfill off Route 414 in Seneca County by Dec. 31, 2025. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is still reviewing a request by the landfill owners to expand the already gigantic landfill even more. The proposed expansion would allow new waste to be deposited in about 47 acres of space between two of the large existing hills created by old waste. The landfill covers 350 acres and rises about 300 feet above ground level, making it one of Upstate’s tallest man-made structures. It has been owned by Texas-based Waste Connections since the 1980s and currently has about 160 employees. It could also keep the landfill operating until at least 2040.
The state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, this week dismissed an attempt by the owners of the Seneca Meadows landfill to block a local law calling for it to shut down by the end of the year.
The 2016 law passed by the town of Seneca Falls would close the huge landfill off Route 414 in Seneca County by Dec. 31, 2025.
Meanwhile the Seneca Falls town board last month approved a new operating permit for the landfill that could extend its operations for 15 years. And the state Department of Environmental Conservation is still reviewing a request by the landfill owners to expand the already gigantic landfill even more.
Seneca Meadows, which gets most of its garbage trucked in from New York City, looms over the Finger Lakes landscape between the villages of Seneca Falls and Waterloo.
It covers 350 acres and rises about 300 feet above ground level, making it one of Upstate’s tallest man-made structures. The proposed expansion would allow new waste to be deposited in about 47 acres of space between two of the large existing hills created by old waste.
Frank Schmitter, the Seneca Falls town supervisor, had this to say about the Court of Appeals ruling in a statement today:
“It has come to my attention there was a decision of the high court in the State of New York on Local Law 3 and we will be reviewing this decision as a board with our attorneys to determine what it means for the town.”
The environmental activists and other opponents of the landfill and its expansion welcomed the court ruling.
“The highest court in New York has declined to disturb Seneca Falls’ right to determine its own future,” Glen Silver of Concerned Citizens of Seneca County said in a statement.
“For years, the people of Seneca Falls have demanded an end to the pervasive odor, pollution, and injustice of hosting a landfill that never should’ve been allowed to grow this large and out of control in the first place. … The town board has not only the authority but the responsibility to protect its residents and enforce this law. This is a huge win for our community and the Finger Lakes region.”
Trucks rotate in and out of the Seneca Meadows landfill in Seneca Falls, N.Y., Monday, January 27, 2025. (N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com)N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com
In its brief summary dismissing the landfill’s appeal of the 2016 law, the court wrote the decision was made on the grounds that “the order appealed from does not finally determine the proceeding/action within the meaning of the Constitution.”
The new landfill operating permit approved by the Seneca Falls town board in March also included a new “host agreement.” That calls for the landfill owners to pay the town $150 million over the next 15 years and sets new operating procedures, such as a complaint process and pollution control system.
The town board had been putting off votes on the new permit and host agreement for more than a year.
Before approving the new permit, the town board held a public hearing on Jan. 21 in which most of the speakers opposed the landfill and its expansion.
The expansion plan, dubbed the “valley infill,” could increase the height of the tallest portion of the landfill by about 70 feet, or to roughly the equivalent of a 35-story building. It could also keep the landfill operating until at least 2040. The state DEC is expected to issue a ruling on the plan sometime this year.
A landfill on the Seneca Meadows site dates back to the 1950s. It has been owned by Texas-based Waste Connections since the 1980s and currently has about 160 employees.
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.