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Seneca Lake Guardian

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GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE April 2, 2018 at 1:30 pm Location: Legislative Chambers Committee members: Tim Dennis Chair, Jim Multer, Vice Chair, Carlie Chilson, Tim Cutler, Earle Gleason, Bonnie Percy Tim and Tim Cutler will sign the audit this month Approve minutes of the March meeting Public Comment o Joseph Campbell, President Seneca Lake Guardian Legislative Operations Tim Dennis – Resolution Opposing Waste-To-Energy Plant Proposed Fro Former Seneca Lake Army Depot Site. Elections – Robert Brechko/Amy Daines State Legislative update March Accomplishments April Objectives Soil & Water –Colby Petersen Program updates Cornell Cooperative Extension – Arlene Wilson Program updates IT – Tim Groth Help Desk calls Program updates County Clerk – Lois Hall Statistical summary DMV updates Clerk updates Clerk of the Legislature – Connie Hayes Nothing to report this month Personnel – Kerry Brennan Various Department updates Policy Discussions Continuing Education Resolution – Amending Resolution No. 129-18 Adopt 2018 Non-Union Salary Schedule County Administrator – Robert Lawton Recruit new Historian Various other activity updates EXECUTIVE SESSION – If needed SENECA LAKE GUARDIAN senecalakeguardian.org PO Box 333 Watkins Glen, NY 14891 [email protected] Know the Facts about the Trash Incinerator Plant Proposed for the Seneca Army Depot in Romulus NY. Sponsor: Circular enerG, Rochester company with no experience handling garbage or energy production, has proposed building a giant waste incinerator. Circular enerG was incorporated in January of 2017 and the names of the investors and officers are a secret. Property owner: The land is owned by Seneca Depot LLC, a subsidiary of Flaum Management. Seneca Depot LLC is promoting the project. Seneca Depot LLC shares a Rochester address with Circular enerG, Rochester developer David M. Flaum and Top Capital of New York. Location: The incinerator is proposed to be built on an 88-acre piece of land in the former Seneca Army Depot, just a few thousand feet from the Romulus Central School where hundreds of students attend class. If students or teachers have asthma, this is an urgent concern. Source of trash: The developer’s representatives will not disclose the source of the trash, but the probable source is New York City. Size: As proposed, it would be the largest incinerator in the state, burning 2,640 TONS of garbage every day. The Facility building will be about 180 feet tall (18 Stories), with a steam stack of about 260 feet (26 stories). The project: The Applicant will construct and operate a waste-to-energy facility at the Project Site, at the former Depot in the Town of Romulus, Seneca County. The Facility will combust municipal solid waste (MSW) and the combustible fraction of construction and demolition debris (C&D) to generate electrical power for sale in the New York market. Residual materials will be recycled, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, which will be diverted from the waste stream, and/or recovered after combustion. Surface Water The Facility will have a raw water demand of approximately 445,000 gallons per day (gpd) (1,685m3/d), which will be withdrawn from Seneca Lake, about 3.75 miles (6.0 km) west of the Project Site, from an existing water intake formerly utilized by the Depot. Required improvements include relining an abandoned 8-inch (20 cm) pipe, and installing a new pump in the existing wet well. There are no easements for the pipe, nor is there space in the existing pump building to add pumps and the required backup generators. The Facility is located midway between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes and the air emissions, including dioxins and furans, mercury and lead will be deposited, depending on the wind direction on both lakes. Air The information provided to date does not specify the technology to be used or actual estimates of emissions from the plant in operation. The developer simply states that the project will meet all state and federal emissions standards. However, it is not feasible to remove all the pollutants from the emissions, so there will be a deterioration of air quality. The other concern is that some of the chemicals bioaccumulate in animals and may affect the dairy, fishing and hunting industries. Here are some projections comparing trash incinerators to a coal power plants. To make the same amount of energy trash incinerators release: o 28 times as much dioxins/furans o 2.5 times as much carbon dioxide, o 2 times as much carbon monoxide, o 3 times as much nitrogen oxides o 6-14 times as much mercury, o Nearly 6 times as much lead, and o 70% more sulfur dioxides. http://www.energyjustice.net/files/incineration/trashincineration.pdf Agricultural and Tourism Resources The wine, craft beverage, agriculture, and agritourism industry is driving job creation and economic growth in the Finger Lakes, which is home to hundreds of family vineyards and wineries, generates $2.9 billion in economic activity and supports 60,000 jobs in the Finger Lakes alone. The Finger Lakes has recently become a nationally recognized tourist destination that now attracts millions of visitors annually to its local wineries, breweries, restaurants, farms and other tourist attractions, with businesses located on and around Seneca Lake at the center of this activity. Visitors are attracted to the natural beauty and rural, unindustrialized, character of the Seneca Lake communities and the surrounding area. The proposed trash burning facility 's emissions, truck and rail activity, and visible smoke stack will negatively impact Seneca, Ontario, Tompkins, Yates, Cayuga, and Schuyler Counties, clearly making this a regional threat. Transportation Truck Traffic According to the developer’s original proposal, for 50 MWs of electricity “The Project (trucks only and at full build out) is estimated to generate approximately: 176 waste hauling vehicles/day; 2 slaked line trucks/day; 1 activated carbon truck/day; 1 urea truck/day; 1 lubricating truck/day; 3 scrap ferrous metal trucks/day; 2 non-ferrous trucks/day; and 52 ash or concrete sand trucks/day. “This traffic would be limited to state highways, either coming from the south on Routes 96 or 414, from the north, via the New York State Thruway, on Routes 96, 96A or 414, or from the east and west on Route 5 (U.S. 20). “These roads are adequate to handle this modest level of truck traffic.” Because the proposal is now for 80 MW of electricity at full build out, these truck estimates are probably low. Rail The proposal would use Finger Lakes Railway. Depending on the trash, railways throughout the region may be used. Trash trains will traverse the FLX Railway system that circumnavigates the lake and would be seen and heard from many wineries and tourism related businesses, 6 days a week. The proposal states that “rail-haul operations would include deliveries of 30 flat railcars carrying 120 sealed containers Monday through Saturday each week. The rail facility is estimated to be capable of delivering up to 2,000 tpd. Opposition to the Incinerator Proposed for Romulus, NY Elected Officials Assembly Minority Leader, Brian Kolb (R) Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R) State Senator Pam Helming (R) Romulus Town Supervisor David Kaiser Municipal Resolutions Seneca County Town of Romulus Town Board Town of Romulus Planning Board Town of Covert Town of Tyre Town of Varick Town of Fayette Town of Ovid Town of Lodi Town of Waterloo Town of Seneca Falls Town of Junius Ontario County City of Geneva Town of Geneva Tompkins County Town of Skaneateles (Onondaga County) Village of Skaneateles (Onondaga County) Town of LaFayette (Onondaga County) Town of Starkey (Yates County) Town of Torrey (Yates County) Village of Cayuga (Cayuga County) Town of Hector (Schuyler County) senecalakeguardian.org PO Box 333 ▪ Watkins Glen, NY 14 89I [email protected] Other Opposition Romulus Central School Board Seneca Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (SWIO) New York State Wine Industry Association (NYWIA) Resolutions Pending Cayuga County (should pass at March mtg) Yates County (should pass in April) City of Ithaca Non Governmental Organizations Opposed Seneca Lake Guardian, A Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate Finger Lakes Wine Business Coalition (FLXWBC) Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition Concerned Citizens of Seneca County Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Romulus Residents Opposed to Trash Trains Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter Sierra Club, Finger Lakes Group Seneca Jet d’Eau, LTD The Seneca County Federation of Sportsmen’s Club, Inc Opposition Pending Finger Lakes Watershed Regional Alliance Owasco Watershed Lake Association (OWLA) Cayuga County Farm Bureau senecalakeguardian.org PO Box 333 ▪ Watkins Glen, NY 14 89I [email protected] TOWN OF ROMULUS David Kaiser, Supervisor Marjorie Van Hyning, Town Clerk 1435 Prospect Street Daryl Morrell, Superintendent of Highways P.O. Box 177 Kyle Collinsworth, Councilman Willard, New York 14588 Michael Joslyn, Councilman PHONE: 607-869-9326 Ralph Walborn, Jr., Councilman FAX: 607-869-5763 Joseph Brodnicki, Councilman Email: [email protected] TOWN OF ROMULUS TOWN BOARD OPPOSED TO SITING THE PROPOSED CIRCULAR ENERG’S WASTE-TO-ENERGY PROJECT WITHIN THE TOWN OF ROMULUS RESOLUTION #16-18 WHEREAS the Town Board of the Town of Romulus Board did meet at their regular public meeting on February 21, 2018 at the Town of Romulus Town Hall, 1435 Prospect Street, Willard, NY 14588; and WHEREAS, a recently formed company named Circular enerG, LLC has proposed building the largest garbage
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