With the school year just days away, a Seneca County citizens group is calling on state leaders to stop a potential expansion of New York’s largest landfill—and to enforce a local law that would close it by the end of the year.
Concerned Citizens of Seneca County (CCSC) will host a rally Tuesday, August 26 at noon behind Waterloo High and Middle Schools, near the Waterloo Little League fields. Organizers say the protest is meant to demand action from Governor Kathy Hochul and the Department of Environmental Conservation over continued noxious odors from the Seneca Meadows landfill.
“Our children should be focusing on learning—not suffering through another school year with landfill stench in their classrooms and on their playgrounds,” said CCSC President Glen Silver in a statement.
The group is also pushing for enforcement of Seneca Falls’ Local Law No. 3, passed in 2016, which bans waste disposal within the town limits after December 31, 2025. CCSC argues that any attempt to extend or expand the landfill’s operations must go through a full environmental review.
Attorney Douglas H. Zamelis, who represents CCSC, called the law “legally binding” and said the landfill “cannot simply ignore it.”
The rally is expected to draw parents, teachers, residents, and environmental advocates from across the region. Organizers say it’s part of a growing effort to hold elected leaders accountable and protect public health as the landfill’s current closure deadline approaches.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].