subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Nov 10 2009 

Published: July 17, 2008 08:48 pm    print this story  

CWM: Erie County lawmakers criticize expansion

By Dan Miner
E-mail Dan

Niagara Gazette

An unlikely body came down hard Thursday on the possibility that CWM Chemical Services is granted more capacity to continue operating as a hazardous waste landfill.

A resolution amended to include sponsorship by all 15 members of the Erie County Legislature passed unanimously at a regular meeting.

The document mentions the highly anticipated proposed Hazardous Waste Siting Plan and says it could be out in a few weeks.

Wording in the plan, which has been worked on for years and through several drafts by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, could have a significant effect on CWM’s proposal for a new landfill, RMU-2. Its current landfill, RMU-1, has about five years of remaining permitted capacity.

“The Erie County Legislature supports sustainable and attractive economic growth and regards hazardous waste landfills as a non-renewable use of the community’s assets,” the resolution states, “posing permanent risk to the environment and imposing an undesirable image on our community, thereby impeding tourism efforts in the Buffalo-Niagara region.”

CWM spokesperson Lori Caso responded to the action Thursday evening, calling CWM a “safe facility that properly disposes of hazardous waste” and calling the facility “central to the (hazardous waste cleanup process) that cleans up our state.”

Without CWM, New York state’s only hazardous waste landfill and one of only 17 commercial hazardous waste landfills remaining in the country, costs for New York state businesses to cleanup such sites would raise prohibitively, she said.

“Alternatives presented in the resolution carry negative environmental and economic impacts that haven’t been considered,” Caso said, including trucking costs to facilities in the Midwest and the carbon footprint of projects. “This could have a crippling effect on brownfields and remediation projects.”

Additionally, Caso added that CWM has taken over 116,000 tons of hazardous waste from Erie County in “recent years.”

Environmental groups disagreed with CWM in a release sent Thursday, congratulating the Legislature and saying the federal Environmental Protection Agency ruled in 1995 that current hazardous waste disposal capacity is adequate.

“For too long, Western New York has stockpiled massive amounts of chemical waste in a landfill facility only two miles from the Niagara River and three miles from Lake Ontario,” Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Executive Director Julie Barrett O’Neill said in the release. “The Great Lakes hold 95 percent of the surface fresh water supply in the United States and that is precious.”

Included in the release are comments from local residents Amy Witryol, Residents for Responsible Government President April Fideli and Art Klein, vice chairperson of the Sierra Club group representing the Buffalo-Niagara region.

The resolution includes a number of points anti-CWM advocates have pointed out recently, saying CWM imports more waste from other areas than it accepts in-state, that the facility could be “restraining investments in safe, alternative solutions” and past trucks which have arrived at CWM gates with leaks.

print this story  



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Featured Jobs

Echo Tech
ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY TECHNICIAN, Full-time. Certification by ARDMS or registry eligible. Up to $7500 Sign On Bonus!; MEDICAL...>MORE

Customer Service
Customer Service
CARPET CLEANING
$400-$600/week
Our customers have cleaning fever. Openings for men & wom
...>MORE

Cook Manager
COOK /Manager full time exp. req. Call for appt. 297-2500 ask for general manager. ...>MORE

Nursing
NURSING. RN's. Up to $7500 Sign on Bonus. Thinking of a change? Consider Mount St. Mary's Hospital. Various positions av...>MORE

Driver
Drivers CDLA. Must be able to go to Canada
Good pay, great benefits.
Call 278-2000 Ext. 106
...>MORE

Customer Service
Customer
Service
Immed. F/T position.
Includes weekends. Must be customer
oriented, computer
...>MORE

Nursing
NURSING. ElderWood Senior Care, "Care Without Compromise". We invite you to stop by and learn how you can become part of...>MORE

Auditor/Accountant
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMS
EXAM DATE: 1/9/10
FILING PERIOD:
11/9/09 -11/25/09
Applicants for both exams mu
...>MORE

COLLECTORS
Exp. collectors, high hrly., low cash goals, 20% overage, 500 4 hitting, Chuck @ 597-2538...>MORE

RN
RN, Director of Quality / Education: to plan, organize, develop and direct all staff development and CQI programs. North...>MORE

See all ads

Feature Autos

1996 Mazda L3000
MAZDA L3000 pick-up 1996, 6 cyl, runs good, new tires & battery, just inspect., $1500. 284-7529....>MORE

Chevy 2003 Impala
CHEVY 2003 Impala
25,600 miles, loaded
Exc. Cond. $10,000/bo
297-2199
...>MORE

1991 Dodge Caravan
DODGE 1991 Caravan, exc body, runs great, full power, needs TLC. $1200 or BO. Call 754-4608....>MORE

Ford Windstar 1998
FORD 1998 Windstar $1000 or best offer.
298-5220
...>MORE

Buick 2005 LeSabre
BUICK 2005 Lesabre Custom, excellent condition, fully loaded, $6700 or best offer, 754-4540...>MORE

Dodge 2001 Neon
Dodge 2001 Neon 4 dr, auto, a/c, new tires, c/d no rust, inspected, $3900. white 860-2854...>MORE

Chevy 2007 Impala LT
CHEVY 2007 Impala LT
25,800 mi, ext. warranty
Exc. Cond, $16,500
297-2199
...>MORE

1995 Plymouth Neon
Plymouth ‘95 Neon, 4 cyl, auto, 4 dr, exc in & out, 1 owner, only 56k orig. mi, no rust. $2195. 523-7102 ...>MORE

Ford 1995 Crown Victoria
Ford 1995 Crown Victoria 4 dr, loaded, new tires must see & drive $3500. red. 860-2854...>MORE

Ford 1999 Ranger
FORD 1999 Ranger, 5 speed, 130K, fair condition, $2000 or best offer, 716-310-0531...>MORE

See all ads





 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index