Goshen opens public scoping session for IWS transfer station upgrades; traffic and DOT mitigation flagged

The Town Board opened a public scoping session April 20 for Interstate Waste Services’ (IWS) application to modify and renew permits for the existing transfer station on Hartley Road. The session was convened to collect public input and identify environmental, traffic and operational issues that must be analyzed in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) scoping document.

Why it matters: IWS seeks to modernize the facility and change how some materials are handled. The company has requested a DEC modification to convert 70 tons per day of recycling capacity into municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition (C&D) capacity — increasing the MSW/C&D allocation to a combined 670 tons per day under the DEC submittal — and the town board must scope potential local impacts, particularly on Hartley Road and the Route 17M intersection.

Project description and enforcement context Company representatives said the proposal would keep most operations indoors, add a load-out tunnel with a tarping rack and a dedicated scale inside the building, and bring onsite operations into compliance with modern DEC facility standards. IWS representatives said the facility is currently permitted for 600 tons of MSW per day and 70 tons of recyclables, and the DEC application requests converting the 70 tons of recyclables to MSW/C&D, which the company says would not increase total daily vehicle trips compared with current permitted volumes.

Traffic, DOT response and leachate concerns Multiple residents and board members pressed for a detailed traffic analysis focused on Hartley Road and the intersection at Route 17M, citing a narrow shoulder and past accidents. The board noted that the planning board had referred traffic concerns to the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) but had not received a response; the town board asked that the scoping record explicitly request DOT input on the need for turning lanes, striping or other mitigation. The town’s Environmental Review Board (ERB) requested analysis of stormwater and leachate controls and whether any runoff could affect nearby drainage.

Regulatory status and next steps IWS representatives told the board that DEC was reviewing the operator’s permit modification submittal and that the town’s action on SEQR scoping would feed into subsequent planning-board review. The board recessed the scoping session and set a written-comment deadline: the town will accept written comments on the scoping document through 5 p.m. on May 7. The town board also said it will await further responses from DEC and DOT as part of the scoping and review process before taking any permit action.

Ending note Board members said scoping will be extended so residents and state agencies can respond; no permit or final decision was made at the April 20 session.