COMMENT DEADLINE FOR GARBAGE TRANSFER STATION DUE THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH!

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

COMMENT GUIDE:

A few tips:

• Personal comment letters (emails) are preferable to duplicate submissions, even if they are short. If they are handwritten, they can be scanned and emailed.

• Comments are due on Thursday, 9/24. Email them to Guillermo R. Saar at: DEP.R8@dec.ny.gov

• The subject line should note the project – “County Line Materials Recovery Facility” or “County Line MRF”


Potential comment outline:
Introduction – indicate the purpose of your correspondence. Example:

Mr. Saar:
I am writing [in opposition to/to provide comments on] the permit application filed for the County Line Materials Recovery Facility, Application ID 8-4422-00051/00001.

Describe your personal interest in the proposed project
Example:

I [live near the facility, live/own a business along the route between the facility and the landfill]. I have [lived nearby/owned a business there] for __ years with my [spouse/partner/ children/elderly parents].


Describe your particular concern(s) about the proposed project Examples:

I am opposed to the project because… or
I am concerned that…

• the applicant seems to have illegally built the facility without the necessary environmental review and permits.

• DEC has not thoroughly evaluated the environmental impacts of the project.

• there will be an increase in trucks and emissions in the vicinity of the facility and between the facility and the [Seneca/Chemung/Steuben] County landfill.

• there may be noise and odors emitted by the facility that will interfere with ___.

Tell DEC what action(s) you would like them to take. Note that you can ask for more than one result, including all three of the following:

I request that DEC…

• stop processing the application pending an investigation and resolution of the apparent illegal construction of all or part of the facility.

• retract its negative declaration and perform a thorough review of the applicant’s application and the project’s environmental impacts, taking into account the applicant’s questionable conduct to date.

• require, at a minimum, that the applicant undertake a complete traffic analysis.



ADDITIONAL DETAILS/ CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Truck traffic Routes: trucks would turn onto Route 224 from Route 13 and proceed to Route 228, and thence to Route 96 to Route 414 N. Communities impacted by this additional truck traffic include: Alpine Junction, Odessa, Mecklenburg, Trumansburg, Covert, Interlaken, Ovid, Fayette, and Seneca Falls. Trucks could alternatively take Route 224 through Odessa to connect with Route 14, then turning onto Route 414 additionally impacting the communities of Montour Falls, Watkins Glen, Hector, Valois, Lodi, and points North. The concern is the negative impact on tourism, and the VOCs created by diesel trucks and their negative impact on agriculture, particularly grapes. Trucks taking Route 13 to the Chemung County Landfill will have to pass through the Village of Horseheads.)

The project is inconsistent with the Schuyler County Comprehensive Plan, which stresses the need to reduce truck traffic, places an emphasis on the value of agricultural land over other industry, and encourages a reduction of waste produced and managed within the county.

• Air emissions from diesel trucks
• Air pollution
• Noise pollution
• Light pollution
• Water pollution
• Odors
• Vermin

• Threat to human health via releases of disease or allergy-causing matter to the air, soil or water. The threat may take the form of disease-causing organisms, cancer-causing substances, dust or other respiratory irritants, noise or odors

• Possibility of expansion from 7.49 acres proposed to the over 80 acres of land currently owned

• Possibility of the site transitioning to a landfill upon closure of Seneca Meadows in 2025

• Site is less than 1 mile from Newfield State Forest and Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area. What impacts will this facility have on the wildlife and environment of those natural resources, including noise and light pollution for recreational use? How will the facility impact the viewshed at these State Lands?

• There are federally regulated wetlands /water bodies on site and adjoining the site

• The project site is located over or adjoining a Principal Aquifer
• Loss of unrecoverable agricultural land
• Potential for long term negative economic impact on Town, County, and region


FOR MORE INFORMATION OR copies of the application, please send an email to: senecalakeguardian@gmail.com