An environmental impact statement filed with the state makes clear Seneca Meadows Landfill has no intention of closing in 2025, even though a local law passed by the Seneca Falls Town Board requires the facility to close by that date.
The Finger Lakes Times reports the documents filed with the DEC would allow the landfill to stay open and take in its current level of trash until 2040. The draft documents were submitted to the DEC in March and were obtained by the Times via a Freedom of Information request. Seneca Meadows proposes to add 47 acres of new landfill space in the so-called valley infill between its two existing facilities.
Seneca Meadows parent company SMI seeks to increase the permitted landfill height from 774 feet to 843.5 feet above sea level. The maximum daily capacity of 6,000 tons per day would remain unchanged.
Seneca Meadows has filed a legal challenge to the local law requiring it to close by 2025.
The expansion would require the approval of the DEC, the Seneca Falls and Waterloo Town Board, and the Federal Aviation Administration, due to the increased landfill height. There would also be one or more public hearings on the proposed changes.
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