Cortland County Legislature votes down proposal Thursday night
CORTLAND -- Thursday night, a crowded room listened as Cortland County lawmakers debated whether to hire an outside company, EnSol, to market it's landfill.
The idea prompted people fears that the proposal could someday lead to trash being dumped from outside areas. "It would turn our beautiful city which is called the Crown City into the dump city," said Cortlandville Councilman Ronal Rocco. "We don't want that here."
In 14 to 5 vote Cortland County legislators voted that proposal down. Many lawmakers saying it's not what their neighbors want. In recent weeks, concerns had spread that the landfill could eventually expand, bring in waste from downstate and possibly contaminate the water supply.
"It's juvenile to say that landfills don't leak. Landfills do leak," said Lee Miller who is against the proposal. "It's time we take very seriously that we have a sole source aquifer. It's a critical problem."
County Administrator Martin Murphy says the landfill is losing nearly $750,000 a year. He says bringing in new trash, called BUD material, would help boost revenue. Right now, the landfill can handle 44,000 tons of trash per year, but only takes in about half that.
"It's of vital importance that we somehow increase the revenues at this facility and begin to offset those losses," said Murphy. "Simply, they are not sustainable. It's about 2% of our current tax levy. And it's dollars that are going down the drain."
The landfill is currently not permitted to take in bud material, in order for it to do so, the local law would have to change and the public would have to approve it.
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Battle lines are being drawn in Cortland County over a landfill and whether or not it could someday accept garbage from as far as New York City.
On Thursday evening, the Cortland County Legislature is expected to vote on a resolution to hire a company called EnSol as a marketing and operations consultant for the county's landfill. County Administrator Martin Murphy tells CNY Central's Jim Kenyon the landfill is losing about $750,000 a year. Murphy says the landfill only accepts half the amount of trash it is permitted to handle (44,000 tons) and is heavily in debt. "We're trying to keep everyone focused on the short term alternatives to slow the bleeding." Murphy said.
EnSol recently came out with a report that recommended short and long term solutions to the landfill dilemma which opponents say could lead to New York City trash being imported into the area. Among the recommendations: changing the law to allow for trash to be imported from outside Cortland County. A long term proposal would be to declare the landfill as a regional site.
Opponents including Lee Miller point out that EnSol is connected to the Seneca Meadows landfill near Geneva which already accepts waste from New York City. "They made it clear this is what they want to do," Miller said. "Big trash is big money."
Murphy feels predictions that trash could be imported from New York City are exaggerated. "Most people have focused on this concept of a regional facility and becoming another Seneca Meadows, and we're nowhere near that point."
Miller claims such a regional landfill threatens Cortland County's "sole source aquifer" which supplies the City of Cortland with water. Administrator Murphy however says the landfill is outside the primary drainage area for the aquifer and has barriers and collection systems in place to prevent pollution.
Miller and others are organizing a protest prior to tomorrow evening's vote.
