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Finger Lakes Times: New York's highest court dismisses SMI appeal of Seneca Falls' Local Law 3-2016
Louise Hoffman Broach
April 11

SENECA FALLS — The New York State Court of Appeals has dismissed Seneca Meadows Inc.’s latest effort to get the town’s Local Law 3-2016 rescinded, a measure that requires that the landfill close by the end of this year.

The decision, dated April 10, was made public by environmental groups Friday morning. It means the closure requirement for the state’s largest landfill stands, although the town voted 3-2 in March to give the landfill a local operating permit through 2040. The town also agreed to a new host community agreement with SMI, provided the Department of Environmental Conservation OK’s the landfill’s application to expand.

The laws that are seemingly diametrically opposed to each other aren’t something that Town Supervisor Frank Schmitter said he wanted to untangle without discussions that include the rest of the town board and the town attorney.

“We are reviewing the decision to determine what it means,” he said. “We have to see what the town’s options are. I don’t know anything more at this point.”

Kyle Black, SMI’s district manager, did not return a request for comment from the Finger Lakes Times asking what the Texas-based owner of the landfill, Waste Connections, will do next. The April 10 decision has dead-ended the company’s state appeals path.

A local citizens’ group called the Court of Appeals’ action “a major legal victory for home rule, clean air and water,” and a major turning point in the long-running fight to shut down SMI.

“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 news release. “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. Today, the court made clear what we’ve known all along: Local Law 3 is the law of the land. 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.”

The makeup of the town board in 2016 was different than the council seated now. Since that time, there has been much back and forth in the courts, and with DEC, regarding SMI’s future.

SMI most recently asked the seven-judge Court of Appeals to hear its arguments against the 3-2 decision issued by the Rochester-based New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department. On Dec. 20, 2024, that court reversed a June 8, 2023, ruling by State Supreme Court Justice Dan Doyle invalidating the local law that mandated the closure of the SMI landfill by Dec. 31, 2025.

The five-judge Rochester court majority said SMI did not have standing to challenge the local law on the basis of an alleged violation of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. SMI claims the town board of 2016 did not take the required “hard look” at possible environmental impacts of the law. Three of the five Appellate Court Division judges said SMI did not prove any environmental harm from passage of the local law, although the company presented evidence to the contrary.

The town board did not appeal Doyle’s decision. However, Doug Zamelis, the attorney representing neighboring property owner Dixie Lemmon of Waterloo and Concerned Citizens of Seneca County, filed an appeal.

It was expected SMI would appeal the Rochester court’s ruling, given the Appellate Division was not unanimous, which is a requirement for the Court of Appeals to hear a matter.

SMI has applied to DEC to expand the Route 414 landfill upward in the valley infill area of the property, creating enough new disposal space to allow the facility to stay open until 2040.

Concerned Citizens of Seneca County and Seneca Lake Guardian are calling on the DEC and Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject SMI’s permit application outright in light of the Court of Appeals’ decision.

“For all intents and purposes, this ends a decade of litigation,” Zamelis said in the news release. “Seneca Meadows took its best shot, and Local Law 3 is still standing. If the valued partner, trusted neighbor now thinks it can thumb its nose at this law, it’s in for several more rounds.”