Albany makes pitch Landfill expansion dumped on board
Albany makes pitch
Landfill expansion dumped on board
GUILDERLAND The city of Albany made a pitch Tuesday night for a controversial 10-acre landfill expansion into the Pine Bush Preserve. Guilderland Town Board members listened to a presentation from engineer Frank LaVardera on the proposed Rapp Road Landfill expansion along the Guilderland-Colonie-Albany city line.
The city of Albany is the lead agency for the Capital Region Solid Waste Management Partnership. Several other municipalities make up the partnership including Albany, Rensselaer, Watervliet, Green Island, Guilderland, Bethlehem, New Scotland, Berne, Knox, Rensselaerville, and Altamont.
Most individual municipal landfills were closed in the early 1980s, and now the members of the partnership all send their waste to the jointly-owned landfills. The Rapp Road Landfill is located in the area adjacent to Exit 24 of the New York State Thruway and the Pine Bush Preserve
The Rapp Road Landfill currently has only four years before it reaches maximum capacity. LaVardera told the board that the 10-acre expansion would add 10 to 12 years to the landfill’s potential capacity, which he described as "vital to the Captial District."
A proposed landfill in Coeymans, known as Site C-2, is being delayed due to federal wetlands discovered on the site.
LaVardera told the Guilderland board that Albany is also contemplating annexing the Fox Hill trailer park, which he said only has about 10 current residents, to add to the landfill.
"I think there’s a number of hoops they’re going to have to go through," Runion told The Enterprise yesterday. Runion added that Albany will need to get the New York State Legislature to act in order to get the proposal through, saying Pine Bush proponents have worked hard to add land to the preserve.
The preserve protects a globally rare inland pine barren, home to the blue butterfly on the federal and state list for endangered species.
"It’s not something that will be supported easily," said Runion.
Albany sells the gas that is created during the decomposing process at the landfills and is looking to acquire additional vendors to sell the gas byproduct to, according to LaVardera. He added that the trash shredder that the city uses adds 25 to 30 percent to the compactibility of the waste. Included at the Rapp Road Landfill is a large plant that recycles over 13,000 tons of material annually.
If the current Rapp Road Landfill is filled to compacity before it is expanded or before a new site is developed, then waste would have to be shipped out of the county, or even out of the state, LaVardera said.
Shipping waste out of the area costs much more than processing and burying it here, he said.
Runion isnt so sure.
"There are places to ship it out of the county," he told The Enterprise yesterday. "From my understanding, with the tipping and the cost of the transportation, it wouldn’t be much different than what we’re paying now."
LaVardera told the board that the landfill would not adversely affect the surrounding wildlife and would not have a negative impact on the environment. The process could take up to two years before anything is officially approved, said Runion.
"It’s going to take at least two years after acts from the legislature," said Runion. "We need to start looking at options, that’s my opinion."
