The Town of Goshen Town Board on Oct. 9 reviewed a revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement from IWS and heard questions about whether the town’s community payment is $1 per ton of waste or 10¢ per ton as stated in the filing.

The revised DEIS was submitted Sept. 19, and Sean Hoffman, a town staff member, told the board they have 30 days under state statutes to determine whether the revision is complete and ready for public review. “I will be getting you a written, report on it for your next meeting,” Hoffman said, noting the board earlier found the DEIS inadequate for public review in 2014.

Why it matters: The board must decide within the statutory window whether the revised DEIS contains the information called for by earlier comments. That completeness decision determines whether the project proceeds to formal public hearing, public comment, and a required response-to-comments from the applicant.

Board members pressed staff and one another on a long-running discrepancy about compensation to the town. Board member George raised the fiscal math: “Additionally, IWS has made an agreement with the town of Goshen to pay the town 10¢ per ton of waste handled at the facility. The only thing I've ever heard over and over and over again is we're getting a dollar a ton.” George then ran the numbers aloud: using 312 operating days, “it comes to, 209,000 roughly $209,000 if it is a dollar a ton. If it's 10¢ a ton, same arithmetic, it comes to $20,900.”

Town staff told the board the 10¢ figure in the DEIS referred to an inspection-related tipping fee in that document, while the town’s separate host-community agreement included a non‑revocable $200,000 payment and a $1-per-ton host fee that would take effect if a permit is issued. The town attorney and staff agreed to review the two documents and report back; the board did not adopt any final interpretation during the meeting.

Board members and the Environmental Review Board (ERB) also flagged technical and environmental issues that they expect to see addressed in the DEIS or subsequent filings: adequacy of boring/soil data where a proposed tower would sit, stormwater runoff and leachate collection, fire protection for personnel, handling of recyclables versus construction and demolition (C&D) waste, and the IWS lease and vehicle tarping on site. An ERB representative told the board they would submit written comments to complement the board’s review.

Next steps: Staff will deliver a written report for the board’s next meeting; the board must act on DEIS completeness by Oct. 24 under the review timeline described. If the board finds the DEIS complete it would set a public hearing and require the applicant to respond in writing to public comments. If it deems the filing incomplete the applicant must revise and resubmit.

Board members emphasized they were not making any permit decisions at this stage. “Right now, you just wanna make sure that it's in there,” Hoffman said, describing the limited scope of a completeness review.