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Sierra Club urges state to quit promoting sewage sludge as fertilizer and ban its spread on fields
The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter is calling for the state to reverse its policy of promoting the use of sewage sludge as a fertilizer spread on farm fields and as a component of compost due ... more
Supreme Court rolls back protections for wetlands in broad ruling that favors farmers, developers, and polluting industries
New York State’s top environmental regulator today condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday that will remove millions of acres of environmentally sensitive wetlands from federal regulation. The Montezuma Wildlife Refuge in Seneca, Wayne and ... more
As Greenidge’s stock tanks, the bitcoin miner’s boss prepares to back third party candidate in 2024 election
Greenidge Generation’s last-ditch efforts to avoid being delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange sputtered late last week, as the Bitcoin mining company’s Class A common stock continued to fall after a 1-for-10 reverse stock split ... more
SUNY-ESF tests confirm Seneca Lake trout laced with PFAS: State advisories protect anglers habits, not health
This coming Memorial Day weekend, anglers will converge on Geneva — the so-called “Lake Trout Capital of the World” — to compete in Seneca Lake’s 59th annual National Lake Trout Derby. Contestants from around the ... more
Hochul admin projecting major expansion of sewage sludge spreading as fertilizer on farmland
The Hochul Administration’s new plan to recycle 85 percent of the state’s entire solid waste stream by 2050 relies on spreading more — much more — municipal sewage sludge on fields as a crop fertilizer ... more
Earth Day crowd of protesters hear speakers call on Hochul to require Seneca Meadows closure by 2025
The tractor trailers loaded with waste that crept up the 280-foot face of Seneca Meadows Inc. (SMI) Saturday — Earth Day — provided a backdrop for a lineup of speakers who protested plans to significantly ... more
PFAS levels concerning from sampling data near sewage sludge sites: Casella says levels are ‘miniscule’
Every water sample from 32 private wells near or adjacent to Steuben County fields that have been spread with municipal sewage sludge contained PFAS chemicals, recent independent testing found. And water sources near fields that ... more
Steuben supervisors fear DEC will let Casella import sludge from Long Island despite moratoriums
The supervisors of two small Steuben County towns say they fear state officials are about allow new imports of municipal sewage sludge from Long Island into their community in violation of the towns’ moratoriums on ... more
Sewage sludge debate in Cameron turns into ‘complete s**tshow’ pitting right-to-farm law against neighbors’ rights
Shouting matches erupted at a public hearing last night over the proposed transfer of a state permit for a municipal sludge spreading operation from a Steuben County farming family to a unit of Casella Waste ... more
Hochul backs last-minute bid to undercut state’s climate law
Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing plans to radically weaken the state’s 2019 climate law though a proposed new method of accounting for methane emissions that could save polluters up to $4.7 billion in compliance costs ... more
As cyanotoxins soar in Owasco Lake threatening tap water, Cayuga County ends support for monitoring
Even after cyanotoxins surged again last year in Owasco Lake, the Cayuga County Legislature voted this week to cut off funding for a longstanding program that monitors water quality in the lake that supplies drinking ... more
PFOS found in most Seneca Lake fish at hundreds of times NYS limit
When the state tested 34 lake trout and yellow perch from Seneca Lake for the toxic ‘forever chemical’ PFOS in 2020, most were found to be contaminated at hundreds of times the state’s enforceable limit for identical ... more
Leachate evaporator ignited blaze at Seneca Meadows months after fire destroyed last evaporator
A recently installed evaporator used to dewater leachate produced by the Seneca Meadows Inc. landfill caught fire Mar. 4, six months after another fire destroyed the evaporator that the landfill had been using. The evaporator ... more
UAlbany abruptly reinstates Carpenter, ends probe; Expert witness in Monsanto case had been banned from campus
Facing intense pressure from environmental groups, physicians and academics, the State University of New York at Albany last night fully reinstated Dr. David Carpenter, a frequent expert witness against Monsanto Co., nine months after it ... more
Monsanto’s petition to probe PCB expert provokes outrage; SUNY-Albany urged to restore full-campus privileges
A groundswell of public support is building for a SUNY-Albany professor who says he’s been barred from campus and offered a resignation deal stemming from his expert testimony in a toxic PCB pollution lawsuit against ... more
Thurston Town Board votes 5-0 for landfill moratorium: Supervisor resigns
In step toward controlling or even preventing the spreading of municipal sewage sludge on up to 2,789 acres in Steuben County, the Town of Thurston’s board voted 5-0 last night to pass a one-year moratorium ... more
PFAS levels in freshwater fish ‘staggering’, but Finger Lakes anglers aren’t getting the message
Freshwater fish are hundreds of times more contaminated with PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ than store-bought fish, according to a new nationwide study of federal test results. One PFAS chemical in particular — PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) ... more
Casella officials watch in silence as Thurston Town Board warms to idea of banning sewage sludge permits
The Town of Thurston’s board split sharply last night on whether a proposed one-year moratorium on waste facility permits should apply only to new landfills or extend to municipal sludge spreading operations as well. The ... more
Hochul, DEC duck questions on plans to appeal ‘Green Amendment’ ruling with big implications on Finger Lakes landfills
How will the Hochul Administration respond to a sweeping state court ruling that citizens have a right to sue the state Department of Environmental Conservation to preserve their newly granted constitutional rights to “clean air, ... more
