Saturday, February 4, 2023
Subscriber Login
My Profile
SpotlightNews
  • Home
  • News
    • Election 2022
    • Business
      • Spotlight On Business
      • Spotlight on Finance
    • Crime and Police
    • Discover-Towns
      • Discover Coeymans Selkirk and Feura Bush
      • Discover Delmar
      • Discover Glenmont
      • Discover Guilderland
      • Discover Latham and Boght
      • Discover Loudonville
      • Discover Menands
      • Discover Slingerlands
      • Discover Village of Colonie
      • Discover Voorheesville and New Scotland
    • Fire Departments
    • Government
    • Milestones
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Obituaries
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Food and Recipes
    • Health & Fitness
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Hot Spots Calendar
    • Calendar Listings
    • Submit Your Event
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Our Opinion
    • Point of View
    • Your Opinion
  • Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
    • New Scotland
  • Classifieds
    • Employment – Hire Power
    • Services In the Spotlight
    • Classified Listings
    • Advertiser Login
  • Subscribe
    • Subscriber login
    • Give the gift of news
    • Join us – subscribe today
    • Newsletter sign up
    • Renew Subscription
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Election 2022
    • Business
      • Spotlight On Business
      • Spotlight on Finance
    • Crime and Police
    • Discover-Towns
      • Discover Coeymans Selkirk and Feura Bush
      • Discover Delmar
      • Discover Glenmont
      • Discover Guilderland
      • Discover Latham and Boght
      • Discover Loudonville
      • Discover Menands
      • Discover Slingerlands
      • Discover Village of Colonie
      • Discover Voorheesville and New Scotland
    • Fire Departments
    • Government
    • Milestones
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Obituaries
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Food and Recipes
    • Health & Fitness
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • Hot Spots Calendar
    • Calendar Listings
    • Submit Your Event
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Our Opinion
    • Point of View
    • Your Opinion
  • Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
    • New Scotland
  • Classifieds
    • Employment – Hire Power
    • Services In the Spotlight
    • Classified Listings
    • Advertiser Login
  • Subscribe
    • Subscriber login
    • Give the gift of news
    • Join us – subscribe today
    • Newsletter sign up
    • Renew Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Spotlight News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Business

Judge tosses lawsuit against Colonie landfill expansion (updated w/appeal forthcoming)

Jim Franco by Jim Franco
January 30, 2019
in Business, Colonie, Environment, News, Towns
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A neighborhood in the town of Waterford as viewed from the top of the Colonie Landfill. Jim Franco /  Spotlight News

A neighborhood in the town of Waterford as viewed from the top of the Colonie Landfill. Jim Franco / Spotlight News

ALBANY — A lawsuit brought by two towns upstream — and sometimes downwind — of the Town of Colonie Landfill on Route 9 was dismissed based on a judge’s ruling that Waterford and Halfmoon do not have proper standing.

“I feel the decision that was issued is a strong decision and the judge certainly cites enough case law to back it up,” said Colonie Senior Attorney John Spath. “It dealt with the issue of standing, so it didn’t get into the underlying merits.”

Acting Supreme Court Judge Debora Young, in her one-page ruling, said that according to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, for a party to have standing it must allege “specific environmental injury which is in some way different than the public at large.”

A neighborhood in the town of Waterford as viewed from the top of the Colonie Landfill. Jim Franco / Spotlight News

“Generalized environmental concerns will not suffice and, when no zoning-related issues are involved, there is no presumption of standing … based on a party’s close proximity alone,” she wrote. “Here, petitioners have not demonstrated that they will suffer an injury that is different in any way than the public at large. Generalized assertions regarding air quality, water quality and noise are insufficient.”

The suit, filed in May, 2018 named the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Town of Colonie, and Waste Connections, the private firm working under the name Capital Region Landfills while running the day-to-day landfill’s operations.

Jack Lawler, the supervisor in Waterford, said there will be an appeal forthcoming, a notice of which must be filed within 30 days.

“It’s pretty obvious we would strongly, respectfully, disagree with Judge Young’s rationale,” he said. “It’s hard to understand how the people who can see the landfill, and smell the landfill and hear noise from the landfill, have less standing than the general public who don’t experience any of those things.

“The merits of our argument are pretty strong, and we look forward to making our case in court.”

Basically, the towns claimed not enough care was taken before approving a 93-acre expansion, specifically the seriousness of the threat presented by piling more garbage on top of the unlined sections of the landfill and the threat that poses to the nearby Mohawk River. Also, the application failed to follow the legal requirements to explore alternative sites for the garbage that is taken to Colonie now.

Lawler said if it were a new application, the DEC would never have approved piling “12 million tons of waste on an already toxic landfill that is 100 feet from the river.”

“The arguments for the landfill is an economical argument that benefits the Town of Colonie and tramples all over good environmental policy,” Lawler said. “I believe there has been political pressure brought upon the DEC to make this approval. I believe the governor’s office is involved in this, and other government officials have aided the approval.”

Furthermore, the lawsuit claimed, the landfill was injurious to the residents because they would have to view the mound of garbage that will get considerably higher under the expansion. But, Young wrote, the view from Waterford and Halfmoon is not any different than anyone else’s so the petitioners have no standing.

“Finally, it is notable that not one of the petitioners are less than 500 feet from the landfill as there is 500 foot setback from the Mohawk River thereby making any petitioners’ homes beyond the threshold proximity,” she wrote.

The DEC approved a request to expand the 212-acre site in April, 2018 after four years of study, public comment and modification.

The DEC did scale back the original proposal, though, and what is known as Area 7 will now be 500 feet from the Mohawk River rather than 400 feet; and the vertical expansion will rise to 467 feet above sea level, 50 feet less than originally proposed.

Only about 23 acres will be on new ground while the rest will be a vertical expansion over Areas 1 through 6.

Also, the DEC is requiring a third party be onsite to monitor landfill operations.

Without the expansion, the 50-year-old landfill would have reached capacity before the end of this year. The additional acreage will allow it to remain open through at least 2038, depending on how much tonnage is dumped.

Kubricky Construction, a Latham-based company, is currently building Phase 1, a seven-acre “hole” to the south of the transfer station and that will have a life of about 30 months. Sometime within those 30 months, provided the plan is not changed by the courts, construction on the next 12-15-acre cell will begin.

In November 2018, Young tossed a request by the two towns asking the judiciary to stop construction while the lawsuit was pending.

Construction is not relevant to the lawsuit, though, and should Waterford and Halfmoon prevail, the money spent on the expansion to this point would be wasted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: colonieColonie landfillHalfmoonWaterford
ShareTweetShareShare
Previous Post

DISCOVER LATHAM & BOGHT: Guptill’s still provides family fun almost seven decades after opening

Next Post

DISCOVER LATHAM & BOGHT: Nearly 25 years after plane crash we remember how a community was spared a more horrific tragedy

Leave Comment

Stay Connected with Us

Recent News

Colonie High School (Photo by Jim Franco/Spotlight News)

Planning underway for Next Generation Colonie

February 3, 2023

Food: Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

February 3, 2023

Making friends after 50

February 3, 2023

UAlbany’s School of Ed Ranks 4th for online education

February 3, 2023

Hot Stories This Week

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Fear to Storm Cheerleading Competition at Saratoga High School on Saturday, Jan. 28.

SPOTTED: Cheer from Bethlehem and Colonie at Fear the Storm Competition

January 31, 2023
Bethlhem, Guilderland and Shaker Gymnastics travelled to Saratoga on Friday, Jan. 13.

SPOTTED: Bethlehem, Guilderland, Shaker and Saratoga compete at qualifying meet

January 16, 2023

SPOTTED: Colonie wrestlers fall to Saratoga 49-18 

January 24, 2023

A ‘wicked good time’ coming to Xgates

September 2, 2022
Colonie High School (Photo by Jim Franco/Spotlight News)

Planning underway for Next Generation Colonie

February 3, 2023

Food: Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

February 3, 2023

Making friends after 50

February 3, 2023

UAlbany’s School of Ed Ranks 4th for online education

February 3, 2023
Spotlight News

Spotlight News, The Spot 518 and Capital District Family Now are divisions of Community Media Group, LLC. Our local offices are located at 341 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054. You can contact us at 518.439.4949.

Browse

Follow Us

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact the Editor
  • Employment
  • Our Team
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2022 Community Media Group, LLC - 341 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054. 518.439.4949

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Election 2022
  • News
    • Crime and Police
    • Fire Departments
    • Milestones
    • Real Estate and Housing
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Spotlight On Business
    • Spotlight on Finance
  • The Spot 518
    • Galleries
    • Art
    • Theatre
    • Music
    • Food and Drink
    • Health & Fitness
  • Hot Spots Calendar
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Advertiser Login
    • Service Directory
    • Hire Power – Employer Spotlight
  • Capital District Family Now
    • Parenting News
    • Senior News
  • Towns
    • Albany County
    • Bethlehem
    • Colonie
    • Guilderland
  • Log In
  • Subscribe

© 2022 Community Media Group, LLC - 341 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054. 518.439.4949