Committee delays vote on resolution opposing proposed Wawarsing landfill after extended debate

The Ulster County Energy, Environment and Sustainability Committee on Feb. 4 voted to postpone Resolution 33, which would have formally opposed the Resource Recovery Agency (RRA) pursuing a countywide landfill in the Town of Wawarsing.

Resolution 33 identifies two candidate parcels in Wawarsing (referred to in agency materials as Milk Road and Brown Road) among five sites identified in a preliminary feasibility review by consultant Cornerstone. Director Ryder told the committee the Cornerstone work was a desktop/GIS screening that produced five sites for further vetting — two in Wawarsing, two in Plattekill, and one in Esopus — and that the agency has not yet made any formal proposal, purchase offer, or permit application for a landfill.

Legislators raised two central concerns: first, residents and the town expressed strong opposition citing risks to groundwater, traffic impacts on local roads, noise, property values and local quality of life; second, several legislators said the county should wait for completed engineering, hydrology and…