Businesses urge passage of Assembly bill to block Romulus waste incinerator

Almost 500 businesses from throughout the Finger Lakes region released letters to the Assembly, Senate and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday urging them to pass bipartisan legislation to stop the proposed waste incinerator in Romulus.

The letters note that “the mere threat of the incinerator has already impacted the Finger Lakes region” and urged the Legislature and governor to “to pass and sign” Senate bill 8109 introduced by state Sen. Pamela Helming (R-24th) and Assembly bill 11214 introduced by Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-63rd).

The Senate on Monday voted unanimously in favor of the legislation, which would ban Rochester-based startup Circular enerG from building a $365 million waste-to-energy facility in Seneca County between Seneca and Cayuga lakes. The facility, which would rise 180 feet from the ground, would burn trash to create steam and produce energy.

If approved, trains and trucks would transport over 2,000 tons of solid waste each day from New York City to the proposed incinerator.

After the project met stiff local opposition, sponsors opted to shift strategies and ask for approval from the state's Public Service Commission rather than local planning boards in an attempt to circumvent the local review process.

In May, Cuomo issued a strongly worded statement calling the plant a threat to the environment and public health and urging the PSC to reject the proposal.

Among the concerns are the location of the proposed plant, which is 3,200 feet from the Romulus Central School and near the Hillside Children’s Center (a residential facility that houses troubled youth), the Five Points Correctional Facility, the Seneca County Jail and the Willard Drug Treatment Center.

More:Activists support bill against incinerator

More:Romulus resident attempts to thwart waste-to-energy facility

Residents and businesses also worry about how the increased truck traffic, the plan to withdraw 445,000 gallons of water from Seneca Lake every day, and the plant's smokestack emissions would affect the region's economy, particularly the Finger Lakes wine and tourism industry that employs more than 60,000 people.

Opponents also say the plant does not fit with New York’s renewable energy standards.

“The families and businesses in the Finger Lakes consider Sen. Helming a champion for her Herculean efforts to protect the region from this ill-conceived garbage burning facility," Joseph Campbell, president of Seneca Lake Guardian, said in a press release.

"She has worked tirelessly across party lines to ensure that the bill gets passed unanimously in the Senate this session. We appreciate Assembly Members Cusick and [Barbara] Lifton [D-125th] for all their efforts, and are counting on the Assembly to quickly pass this bill, and Gov. Cuomo to sign it into law,”

More: Debate on Romulus trash incinerator heats up at meeting

More:Romulus trash incinerator withdraws special use permit, pushes on

Before Monday, 30 local governments and school boards and over 20 local, environmental and business organizations had come out in opposition to the project.

"This is a tremendous victory for the entire Finger Lakes region," Helming said in a statement. "For the last eight months, I have worked with local residents, environmental advocates and business owners to craft this legislation and get it passed.

"We brought together many diverse groups, including statewide business organizations and environmental advocacy groups, who are typically on opposite sides of the table to pass this historic legislation. All levels of government worked together to get this done."