Town board seeks extended embargo
ALBANY COUNTY — The Bethlehem Town Board postponed its plea for Albany County to extend and potentially make permanent a moratorium on the use of biosolids and fertilizers derived from biosolids.
The resolution, introduced as part of ongoing discussions surrounding source water protection, was tabled Wednesday, April 9, to allow Town Board member Maureen Cunningham, a principal author of the measure, to participate in the vote.
The board will revisit the resolution when it meets again on Wednesday, April 23.
Originally drafted in response to concerns about chemical contaminants in biosolids, the resolution affirms the town’s support for Albany County’s temporary 90-day moratorium and calls for a six-month extension. It also encourages state regulators to provide greater transparency and impose stricter safeguards on biosolid use statewide.
“Bethlehem’s Source Water Protection Plan… concluded that the source waters that supply Bethlehem’s drinking water wells and reservoir are of the ‘highest quality,’” the resolution states. “One of the most effective ways to keep drinking water safe is to keep potential contaminants out of the source water supply.”
The moratorium, issued by Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy in January, restricts the land application of treated sewage sludge, also known as biosolids, due to concerns over the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, heavy metals, and other chemicals.
Much of the discussion in Bethlehem has centered on the Vly Creek Reservoir, one of the town’s two primary drinking water sources. The reservoir lies in the neighboring Town of New Scotland, outside Bethlehem’s jurisdiction. Board members emphasized the county’s broader authority to regulate activity near shared water sources.
“Although I am a big proponent of working on biosolids… this won’t affect our reservoir, which is outside of town boundaries, and we don’t have the authority,” Cunningham said at the March 26 board meeting. “That’s why the county ban is super important.”
The town’s proposed resolution outlines several requests for action from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, including more accessible data on where biosolids are applied and what they contain, along with the development of updated testing protocols and regulations related to landfill leachate, a known source of biosolid contamination.
Class B biosolids — the focus of local concern — are treated to reduce but not eliminate pathogens and are subject to stricter usage restrictions, including mandatory permitting and limited public access to treated land. Officials noted the difficulty in identifying the material used on properties near the Vly Creek Reservoir.
Officials noted the difficulty in identifying the material used on properties near the Vly Creek Reservoir.
“There is that possibility that we may be preempted,” said Town Attorney Jim Potter, referring to the state’s comprehensive regulation of biosolids. “But that’s not to say we shouldn’t be looking at it as well.”
