Albany County committee renews Waste Management leachate processing contract despite PFAS concerns

The Albany County Legislature Public Works Committee on March 25 approved a one‑year renewal with Waste Management Greenfield RDF allowing the company to discharge landfill leachate to the Albany County Water Purification District’s North Plant, a motion that passed 5‑3.

Committee members said the agreement preserves a revenue stream for the district while staff and county officials answered repeated questions about contamination risks, testing and disposal of biosolids.

Under the renewal, Waste Management pays an annual fixed reservation fee of $22,000 plus a per‑gallon charge (the county currently charges 2¢ per gallon). County staff told the committee Waste Management discharged about 8,000,000 gallons of leachate to the plant last year; combined receipts from leachate intake across four facilities generate roughly $600,000 in annual gross revenue county‑wide. Staff estimated receipts from this contract this year at about $150,000 and said last year’s total receipts from the single Waste Management account were about $190,000.

Opponents on the committee said leachate and resulting biosolids contain contaminants — including PFAS compounds and heavy metals — that can damage farmland and pose future liability risks. One legislator called for stopping leachate intake until more is known about air, soil and water impacts. Several speakers cited past state guidance endorsing land application of biosolids and said subsequent evidence had shown harm to farmers.

Water Purification District staff told the committee the facility treats organic loads such as ammonia through aeration and settles metals into sludge, which the district currently incinerates; the resulting ash is landfilled. Staff said that incineration and landfill disposal have so far prevented the county from land‑applying biosolids and that historical toxicity testing has met required limits. Staff also said previous sampling shows higher PFAS concentrations at larger landfills (Colony and Albany landfills) than at the Finch/Finch‑paper landfill (now owned by Waste Management), and that the district can provide members with existing PFAS concentration data.

County executive’s office representative Cameron Sagan told the committee the county follows New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rules for discharges and emphasized the county’s limited ability to address the broader PFAS problem without state assistance. Staff also said the district will begin quarterly PFAS sampling this year as part of a recently reissued effluent permit; results are expected to become available over the next 12 months.

Supporters said taking leachate is mutually beneficial: landfills must manage leachate, and the district’s intake provides revenue that offsets operating costs for eight member communities. Committee members who supported the renewal argued that stopping leachate acceptance would force counties and towns to send waste farther away at substantially higher cost, with local tipping fees and household waste bills likely to rise.

After extended debate the committee voted to renew the contract for one year. The motion carried, 5‑3.

The committee directed staff to provide members with the county’s existing PFAS and toxicity data and noted the district will proceed with the quarterly PFAS sampling required under its renewed DEC permit.