Making High Acres Landfill Subject to the Most Stringent Monitoring Requirements in New York State.
Town Supervisor Ciaran Hanna today announced that the Town of Perinton has approved a new Host Community Agreement (HCA) for High Acres Landfill and corresponding 8-Point Plan to mitigate odors and restrict rail waste from New York City. The HCA is a negotiated document between the Town of Perinton and Waste Management that outlines the protections and benefits provided to Perinton residents for hosting a portion of the High Acres Landfill within the Town. This Spring, a draft of the HCA was released for public input, and 148 comments were reviewed and considered by Town officials during negotiations. Tonight, the Perinton Town Board voted to approve the new HCA, which will be effective for a 5-year term.
“Since I took office as Town Supervisor, it has been one of my priorities to completely rework the Host Community Agreement and make it stronger, with enhanced accountability and added protections for our residents. I am proud to say that Perinton now has an HCA that delivers more protections and benefits for our residents than ever before,” said Hanna. “This new Host Community Agreement makes High Acres Landfill subject to some of the most stringent monitoring requirements for landfills in all of New York State. It also gives the Town the ability to examine and evaluate landfill operations, better monitor odor issues, and implement unprecedented restrictions on rail waste coming from New York City.”
Perinton’s new HCA contains a comprehensive 8-Point Plan designed to ensure the proper operational management of High Acres Landfill and the responsible control of associated odors. It also includes new restrictions on the volume and age of household waste brought to High Acres by rail from New York City.
Many benefits for Perinton residents are included in the new HCA, such as yard waste recycling, a new residential composting program, and a Property Value Protection program, which will safeguard the property market values of homes in the vicinity of the landfill.
The Town also incorporated local Operation & Maintenance (O&M) measures, which will hold Waste Management accountable and ultimately give the Town the authority to suspend Waste Management’s Special Use Permit (SUP) for High Acres Landfill if they do not comply with the conditions of the permit or new HCA.
Several key measures make Perinton’s new Host Community Agreement more stringent, comprehensive, and robust than any previous agreement between the Town and Waste Management, including:
| Limiting the volume of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste/household garbage) received by rail from the five (5) Boroughs of NYC to 50% (537,000 tons) of the annual permitted volume of MSW allowed to be landfilled at High Acres. |
| Limiting “aged” waste from being accepted and disposed of at High Acres Landfill. Specifically, any MSW waste received at the landfill by rail from the NYC five (5) Boroughs must not be greater than seven (7) days aged – as defined from a transfer station to the working face at High Acres. |
| Limiting the volume of highly odorous waste. Specifically, bio-solids (coming into High Acres Landfill from Monroe County’s VanLare Wastewater Treatment Plant) to no more than 5% or 70,000 tons per year – a 50% reduction. |
| A new robust Property Value Protection Program will safeguard the property market values of more than 1,300 homes within the vicinity of the landfill. |
| A table of actionable thresholds that will hold Waste Management accountable for off-site odors, requiring they provide written justification to the Town for undue odors and identify mitigative steps to address off-site odors. |
| High Acres will conduct the most stringent monitoring for H2S (hydrogen sulfide/rotten egg smell) at any Landfill in New York State, which involves continuous air monitoring for H2S at three (3) locations around the landfill. |
| Quarterly surface scanning of the landfill cover, including side-slopes, for methane. Actionable thresholds for cover integrity repairs have been established at 200 ppm, which is twice the regulatory requirement and not done at any other landfill in NY. |
| Restrictions on landfill operations based on atmospheric and meteorological conditions to reduce odors. |
| Waste Management must continue to fund a NYS DEC mandated local odor notification hotline that is accessible 24/7. This notification hotline will automatically deploy a trained and certified responder to evaluate odor type, intensity, duration, and location extent in real-time. |
| Establishment of a new Citizen Advisory Committee to increase public input and engagement. |
The entirety of the new Host Community Agreement and more information can be found online.
Established in 1971, High Acres Landfill is a privately-owned landfill, a division of Waste Management of New York, LLC. It is located on the eastern edge of Monroe County in the Town of Perinton and crosses over the western border of Wayne County in the Town of Macedon. The 1,200-acre property includes a renewable energy plant, nature/trail area, fire department training facility, police range, a compost recycling area, residential drop-off station, and approximately 360-acres of permitted landfill area.
