New Regulations Could Force Early Landfill Closure, Officials Say

DELHI - Delaware County Supervisors issued comments regarding the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regulations proposed in July that would require additional water filtration for landfill leachate. Solid Waste Director Tyson Robb and County Attorney Kevin Young argue the regulations would force the county to close the landfill, which has roughly 50 to 60 more years of life.

Leachate is the water collected from each landfill cell, which are lined with essentially thick plastic to keep the water from leaching into the ground. The leachate is then sent to municipal wastewater treatment plants in Walton, Sidney, and Delhi.

DEC regulations would require the County to process leachate itself in order to address PEFAS concerns, a roughly $50 million infrastructure build, said Robb.

The proposal also establishes stricter guidelines for how much PFAS must be filtered out. Young explained that the technology to filter at such a level does not yet exist.

If the facility were to close, Robb said the County would be required to continue processing leachate from current cells, as it has always done. All other municipal waste would need to be shipped out to other landfills.

If regulations permit leachate to continue to be processed at other municipal wastewater treatment plants, Robb said the County, along with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), could help them navigate tighter PFAS filtration requirements - something they likely will need to address anyway.

If approved, supervisors would have one year to decide whether to build infrastructure or close, and then another three years to complete the project, Young said. He anticipates the comment period to be extended until after elections.

“I think this is a horrendous proposed rule,” said Hamden Supervisor Wayne Marshfield.

Robb is working with the NYS Association of Solid Waste to submit further comments on the regulation proposal.

Of the 25 solid waste facilities in NY, only 19 are still operated by municipalities and are threatened with closure by this adjustment, Young speculated.

Other Business

The Office for the Aging received a $43,200 grant from the O’Connor Hospital Board for the Food Box Distribution project, which assists the county's elderly population.

The County received an additional $1,429 to administer the $143,636 snowmobile grant issued by the State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historical Preservation.

Supervisors transferred $20,000 from contingency funds to the medical examiner’s autopsy budget as requests for unattended deaths have increased significantly.

Supervisors recognized Sheriff’s Week from September 20th through the 26th.

A public hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. to discuss including agriculturally viable land for District No 6. The hearing is directly preceding the regular monthly board meeting.