Rensselaer County Legislature urges state to expand air testing near Dun landfill after residents press health concerns

The Rensselaer County Legislature on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution urging New York State to conduct additional ground-level air testing around the Dun landfill and to apply the state’s 2024 health equity principles to evaluations affecting nearby schools and disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The measure, P27526, was introduced by legislators Grant and Hoffman and passed 18–0. It asks the state health commissioner to expand testing coverage in the city of Rensselaer and the town of East Greenbush and to include fence-line or on-site monitoring in addition to the rooftop sampling already performed, proponents said.

At public comment, Bob Welin, representing a regional environmental coalition, told the legislature that the county’s resolution aligns with the state’s health-equity messaging and asked officials to “evaluate the risk the Dun landfill operations bring to the disadvantaged community” and to nearby school populations. He urged the health commissioner to put the policy into action rather than leaving monitoring at higher elevations alone.

Legislator Tom Grant, who spoke during floor debate, pressed the point that rooftop stations may not reflect exposures experienced at ground level, particularly for children. “What we’re asking is to drop down a little bit and do some on-site ground level air monitoring or at least fence-line monitoring in the area of the landfill itself,” Grant said, arguing that combined monitoring approaches would give a more accurate picture of what residents breathe.

Not all remarks were aligned. During discussion, Legislator Retagi—who said she previously opposed renewal of the landfill permit while serving on the local school board—said residents and parents had privately asked activists to stop using schoolchildren in PR campaigns and noted that the city of Rensselaer is in active litigation with the landfill operator. “Please stop listening to activists who have no ties to my community,” she said, urging members to be candid about what the county can do beyond urging state action.

The resolution does not direct county-funded testing; it asks state agencies to expand monitoring and commit to health-equity principles. The measure was adopted without recorded dissent.

County officials present said some monitoring to date has included rooftop and school-based sampling and that the resolution seeks complementary fence-line or ground-level data in order to better assess local exposures.

The legislature’s procedural next steps: the clerk will forward the resolution to the governor’s office and the state health commissioner as requested by the adopted text. The county’s litigation status with the landfill operator was noted publicly but is separate from the resolution’s request for enhanced monitoring.