In a press release sent to local media Friday morning, Niagara County Legislator Irene Myers urged residents to contact Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office and urge her to accept a hearing judge’s decision that recommends denying CWM’s bid to site a new landfill in the Town of Porter.
Not so fast, urged a second release sent out by Residents for Responsible Government.
Myers was reacting to news that a hearing judge issued a 220-page decision that recommends all permits for the CWM proposal be denied. Before it can built, two state agencies must approve the new landfill. The Commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation must issue several permits, and the state Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Board must approve the site. CWM first applied for the state approvals it needs in 2003. CWM also needs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to approve a permit under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
The hearing judge is recommending that the state Siting Board deny approval, and that the DEC Commissioner decline to issue any permits since a denial by the Siting Board would mean that the proposal is not viable. In his decision, the hearing judge said there is a lack of need for another hazardous waste landfill in New York, it is unfair to continue to make Niagara County home for the state’s only hazardous waste landfill, and there is an absence of any other public interest in building the project.
“The hearing judge’s recommendation marks a major victory for the health and welfare of our community,” Myers said in ther release. “Our region has been a dumping ground for way too long to the detriment of our residents and it’s time to stop it. But this battle is not over yet, as CWM is putting on a full lobbying effort for the state to reject the hearing judge’s decision. We must fight back.”
Niagara County lawmakers signed on in support of the hearing judge’s non-binding recommendation that siting certificate be denied, which moots the permits at their June meeting.
Myers urged people to contact the governor’s office through an online form and demand the hearing judge’s recommendation be accepted and all CWM approvals be denied.
In a release issued later Friday morning that called Myer’s release “well intentioned,” RRG officials said there’s no need for residents to contact Hochul’s office.
“RRG disagrees with the suggestion to contact the governor for the following reasons:
First, the CWM State Hazardous Waste Siting Board must render its decision on CWM’s application within 60 days after final briefs are filed. Final briefs are due on July 25 from approved participants, which include CWM, RRG, Niagara County, the Town and Village of Lewiston, the Village of Youngstown, the Lew-Port Central School District, the Niagara County Farm Bureau, the Tuscarora Nation, Buffalo-Niagara Waterkeeper and resident Amy Witryol.
Second, the suggestion that the governor would improperly interfere with the State Hazardous Waste Siting Board would seem an insult. It would be inappropriate and improper to contact the governor at this juncture.
Third, and most importantly, the public should have every confidence that the Siting Board will agree with RRG and the hearing officer’s recommendation that a new commercial hazardous waste landfill should not be approved. The last CWM hazardous waste landfill operation closed 10 years ago.
RRG is extremely confident in the outcome and urges the public to refrain from contacting the governor’s office on this matter for the reasons noted above. RRG may have more comments after the July 25 final briefs are submitted by the parties.”
Summing up her call to action, Myers said, “This is our opportunity to move on from a past that included CWM discharging PCBs and other toxic substances into the Niagara River,” said Myers. “This river provides our drinking water, it is instrumental to our fishing industry, it drives recreational tourism. Please let the Governor know our community is united in our opposition to permitting a new CWM hazardous waste dump in Niagara County.”