$1.6 million intended for landfill

AMENIA — “The sewer grant is incorrect. We’re getting money, but it’s not for the sewer — that’s all wrong.�

That’s what town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard said at the July 15 Amenia Town Board meeting in regards to the news that the state was awarding Amenia a $1.6 million grant to install sewer lines and pumps to connect to a sewer plant.

The plant would be set up by the Silo Ridge project, once its expanded development is completed. That news, released by the state and reported on by The Millerton News last week, was erroneous.

What has happened is that the town was awarded the $1.6 million, but it’s instead for the town’s landfill closure project.

“It’s terrific news,� Euvrard said, before presenting a timeline on the landfill’s history. The Old Amenia Landfill sits off Route 22, south of the center of town. It’s about 28 acres of land and has not been used for many decades.

The Old Amenia Landfill operated between 1945 and 1976; the town never owned it but rather leased it from different owners. According to the supervisor, “a shady character owned it in the 1960’s and was bringing in truckloads of chemical and industrial waste in the middle of the night.�

The state’s  Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) discovered illegal waste on the site between 1968 and 1970, and in the 1980s and 1990s the DEC stepped in and called the landfill an inactive hazardous waste site, Euvrard said. At that point it just sat there, he said, inoperable.

“There was nasty stuff in there sitting in the landfill,� Euvrard said. “In 1998 the United States’ EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] came in and did some digging and removed 70 barrels of waste and told the town it was responsible for digging it up.�

At that point the Amenia Landfill Group was formed, comprised of roughly a dozen companies responsible for the cleanup. In 2001 there was an order of consent issued from the NYDEC for a remedial investigation and feasibility study.

In March 2006 there was a Record of Decision (ROD), which stated it would cost $5.5 million to cleanup the landfill (that was the estimated cost 10 years ago, since then there have been more tests and expenses, not to mention inflation), Euvrard said. The state claimed responsibility for 75 percent of that cost while the town was responsible for 25 percent of the cost.

The Amenia Landfill Group was to contribute 35 percent of the state’s share. In the final tally it amounted to Amenia being responsible for roughly $3 million, according to Euvrard, who explained that number has essentially been halved thanks to last week’s announcement of federal dollars to cover the town’s debt.

“I can’t believe people in the audience and on the Town Board weren’t jumping up and down. This is phenomenal,� he said after the Town Board meeting. “This $1.6 million is a big percentage [of that cost] and is a doable number. We all should be very pleased. It’s a big relief to my blood pressure.�

 In 2006 the town went out for an RFP [Request for Proposals] with three companies and hired CT Male out of Latham, NY. It’s been working since 2006 on a design for remediation and submitted a plan in May of this year. Once the landfill is completely remediated, the town plans to make it a municipal park, with picnic areas, recreation fields and possibly with a boardwalk and trails that could connect to the nearby Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

“After it’s all said and done it will be nice for the town,�
Euvrard said.