Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public raises health and economic concerns as county advances solid waste plan and evaluates waste-to-energy options
Summary
Staff previewed a local solid waste management plan and a timeline for an RFP on waste-to-energy approaches; public commenters warned that incineration or gasification could harm tourism and public health, and urged caution before committing county resources.
Public Works staff told the committee they will submit a local solid waste management plan to the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and that the plan includes options such as waste-to-energy or other technologies. The director said the plan is a 10-year document with biannual updates and staff expect DEC review in the coming months.
"Basically, what you're authorizing is that we're gonna follow the plan and do 2 year updates," McAndrews said, describing the resolution process to formalize the plan for DEC filing.
Paul (speaker 9) said a preproposal conference for waste-to-energy was held July 18 with seven companies and predicted an RFP would be ready by September. "So I think by September, we should have an RFP put together for that," he said, and invited comments through Aug. 22.
During public comment, multiple speakers urged caution. Hesse (speaker 7) warned that a waste incinerator could damage the county's tourism-based economy and posed environmental and economic risks. "Getting in a waste incinerator might be a quick fix... but it is an absolutely devastating environmental and economic problem for the county if this goes through," he said.
Rebecca Kreshkoff (speaker 10) said a waste-to-energy facility could harm nearby residents' health, citing increased rates of certain cancers, asthma and preterm births. "If this county decides to go ahead and build a waste to energy facility, people living within 2 miles of that will suffer higher rates of certain types of cancer, asthma, childhood asthma, preterm birth," she said.
Staff noted alternative technologies (for example, gasification) are under consideration and that some providers are still seeking financing; county staff said they will take public comments into account as they develop procurement documents and the draft RFP.
