Published: November 19, 2008 12:25 am      

CWM: Hazardous Facility Siting Plan tonight, Thursday

Niagara County residents will get a chance this week to have their say about a plan for siting hazardous waste facilities in New York.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a public hearing tonight in Niagara Falls to field comments from county residents on the agency’s Hazardous Facility Siting Plan – a controversial document that may eventually serve as the state’s guide for hazardous waste operations, including those currently conducted by Chemical Waste Management, LLC in the Town of Porter. Tonight’s hearing is the first of two the DEC will hold in Niagara County this week. The second hearing will take place Thursday at Lewiston-Porter High School.

Both are likely to be attended by members of one active local group — residents who oppose the disposal of hazardous waste at CWM’s landfill in Porter. CWM opponents fear the current draft siting plan will promote continued use of the facility as a dumping ground for hazardous materials.

“Niagara County has been bearing the burden of hazardous waste for New York for too long,” said April Fideli, a representative from Residents for Responsible Government, the non-profit, volunteer group that has been fighting the shipment of hazardous waste to Niagara County since 2002.

The DEC was mandated to produce a hazardous waste siting plan under the state’s 1987 Hazardous Waste Management Act. A 1993 draft of the plan was determined to be out of compliance with the 1987 law, prompting a state Supreme Court Justice to order the DEC to develop another version. A second draft presented in 2003 met with community opposition, prompting the DEC to once again return to the drawing board.

Critics of the current version of the plan say it wrongfully concluded that there is “equitable distribution” of hazardous waste landfills statewide. They also contend that the draft proposal fails to adequately explain the state’s position on several key elements of waste disposal, including future plans to promote treatment options as opposed to the continued use of landfill operations like those found in Porter.

RRG’s position has drawn support from Republican and Democratic elected officials in Niagara County alike. Lewiston Town Supervisor Fred Newlin, Youngstown Mayor Neil Riordan, Village of Lewiston Mayor Richard Soluri, Niagara County lawmakers Clyde Burmaster and John Ceretto, state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, and state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, have all expressed opposition to the DEC’s siting proposal and are expected to speak out on the plan during the public comment sessions.

“We’ve had 38 years of PCBs and toxic waste landfills operating here,” said Burmaster, R-Ransomville. “It is outrageous for the state to suggest another 40 years of dumping in the same place is fair.”

Newlin called the state’s finding of “equitable” hazardous waste distribution “laughable,” considering the draft plan concluded that only two operations in New York are capable of processing more than 100,000 tons of hazardous material – CWM’s Porter facility and Revere Smelting and Refining in Middletown.

"How can the DEC say that a recycling facility on one side of the state somehow balances a landfill in Niagara County that has 8 million tons of toxic waste?” he said.

Siting plan approval promises to have a long-term impact on Niagara County residents as it is required before CWM can formally pursue expansion of its Porter operation. The company is considering the development of another landfill to be located on the town line between Porter and the Town of Lewiston. By law, the company’s expansion application cannot be considered until the statewide siting plan is formally adopted.

CWM spokesperson Lori Caso said approval of the siting plan will ensure the state maintains a diverse base of regional facilities for hazardous waste recycling, treatment and disposal.

“These facilities, including CWM, play a key role in supporting the cost-effective cleanup of brownfield sites throughout the state, which benefits local communities and economic development,” Caso said in a released statement. “Prompt completion of the siting plan will help struggling counties, municipalities and businesses control the costs of environmental cleanups by providing them with ready access to affordable, in-site options for managing hazardous wastes.”