Franklin County may add 600 acres to landfill

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May 4, 2008

By DENISE A. RAYMO The Press Republican Sun May 04, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

WESTVILLE -- Franklin County wants to expand its regional landfill by 600 acres, and the environmental impact will be discussed at a public meeting May 22.

The county's Solid Waste Management Authority intends to buy 326 acres from two homeowners north of Route 20 and 261 acres from two more owners south of Route 20.

The landfill is situated in the towns of Westville and Constable. One of the properties that may be purchased is in Constable, and the other three are in Westville.

Property values to the west of the landfill will be impacted by the proposed expansion, and Westville will have to rezone the area, according to preliminary information.

At the same time, the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is investigating whether a brick building and barns on an abandoned farm on one of the properties meet requirements for the state and national Registers of Historic Places.

SIZE UNDETERMINED

Brian Stewart, the attorney who represents the authority, said the agency included all four tracts in its draft environmental-impact statement but might not acquire it all.

He said that until public comments are taken and the final plan is drawn up, the authority is unsure how much property it might buy.

The plan says the authority would use 325 acres for proposed expansion and the rest for problem mitigation, according to a draft document posted on the Franklin County Web site.

A draft environmental-impact statement determines whether there would be negative impacts from the proposed expansion.

PUBLIC INPUT

Now, it's the public's turn to comment on any concerns.

A public-scoping meeting is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at the Franklin County Courthouse.

The public is allowed to speak on specific impacts the proposed land purchase and expansion might have on, for example, the land, water, air and plant life in the area around the current landfill footprint.

Other areas that are open to question are possible impacts to agricultural, historical and archeological resources; open space and recreation opportunities; transportation; energy questions; public-health concerns; noise, odor or views; and the impact on the local community.

The authority used environmental studies, field-investigation results and information from public, state, local and federal agencies to support its environmental findings.

Excavation, erosion, impacts to surface, ground water and wetlands, wildlife issues and property-value impacts are expected to be explained in the environmental-impact statement, along with mitigation plans.

Questions from the public will be limited to these topics, Stewart said, and it is not the proper forum to object to the landfill or its operation or the authority as a whole.

If speakers finish by 8 p.m., the meeting will be closed.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments may do so until May 30.

FLOW CONTROL

The authority has an approved annual capacity of 125,000 tons of municipal-solid waste.

Last summer, the agency instituted flow control, which directs all garbage generated in Franklin County must go to the county's landfill. The only exception is the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, which negotiated a trash-disposal deal with the Clinton County Regional Landfill in Schuyler Falls.

Stewart said the landfill has taken in 1,500 extra tons of trash since flow control started in July.

draymo@pressrepublican.com