The Village of Colonie will hold a public hearing Wednesday, April 22, to discuss the expansion of the Rapp Road Landfill that is being planned by the City of Albany.
The city intends to use a portion of the Pine Bush Preserve, located in Albany County, for the expansion, however, the plan also includes the restoration of other parts of the preserve.
Residents and environmental organizations attended a Monday, April 20, press conference to voice their concerns about the landfill expansion infringing on the fragile Pine Bush ecosystem, and ask New York State Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone questions about the wildlife at the preserve.
Among the organizations at the press conference were Save the Pine Bush and the Sierra Club.
Lynn Jackson, a volunteer with Save the Pine Bush, said the organization does not approve of the expansion plans for the landfill.
Save the Pine Bush does not believe that the [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation] and other officials really understand the consequences of this expansion for the residents, Jackson said.
She said those consequences include the stink of the landfill, respiratory problems, water pollution, public health effects, toxic fumes, quality-of-life issues, declining property values, and the loss of more pine barrens habitat.
`We don’t have to have a landfill ` there are other solutions to our issue,` she said. `We don’t have to have a lot of garbage. We spend a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy to create these objects, only to throw them out.`
Village of Colonie Mayor Frank Leak spoke about the numerous complaints he has received over the years from residents who live near the landfill.
`Many back yards have been rendered useless because of the smell,` said Leak. `[We have] residents who cannot open their windows in the summer because of the odor.`
Leak also warned the crowd that `the decision of the DEC looms closer,` and that Wednesday’s public hearing will be the last chance for the village to make its views known.
While many Colonie and Guilderland residents have complained about the odor of the landfill for a number of years, a number of residents also expressed concerns about the animals that live near the landfill.
Grace Nichols, a representative of Save the Pine Bush, spoke of research she had conducted that indicates the Karner blue butterfly ` which is listed as an endangered species and has made a habitat in the Pine Bush ` is at risk because of the pesticides that are being sprayed at the landfill to keep flies from surrounding the garbage.
Nichols also said that several other animals found in the Pine Bush, including coyotes and great horned owls, were discovered to have measurable levels of Brodifacoum, a pesticide used to kill rodents, in their livers.
`It’s time for New York state to ban Brodifacoum,` Nichols said.
Stone reiterated the dangers pesticides pose to the many species that have built their homes at the Pine Bush.
`With Grace’s work, [and] looking at our data, it indicates that pesticides could well be a problem,` he said, blaming their use on the declining Karner blue population. `I had anticipated that the Karner blue would be in better shape than it is right now.`
Stone said he has not had a chance to dissect a Karner blue that has died in the Pine Bush to determine whether pesticides were the cause of death, although a Freedom of Information Law request made by Stone revealed that pesticides have been used at the landfill.
Stone did not know the decrease in population size of the Karner blue in recent years, though he did say it was `tremendous.`
One conference attendee asked Stone what would be lost if the Karner blue went extinct.
`It’s the symbol of the ecology of the Pine Bush,` replied Stone.
He said that in order to keep the ecology going, what is left of the Karner Blue population needs to be preserved.
The public hearing about the Rapp Road Landfill Expansion will be held at the Village of Colonie Family Recreation Center, 2 Thunder Road in Colonie, on Wednesday, April 22, at 7 p.m.
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