SENECA FALLS — Seneca Meadows Inc. (SMI) has submitted its responses to 15 questions from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on its latest Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for its proposed upward expansion.
SMI submitted the responses July 1. The company asked for and received an extension of the original response deadline of June 20 to July 3.
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) received a response from Seneca Meadows Inc. on July 1, 2026. DEC continues to review the permit applications for the Seneca Meadows Valley Infill Expansion solid waste management facility and Air Title V permit applications,” DEC spokesperson Andrea Pedrick said. “If DEC accepts the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and deems the permit applications complete, a public comment period will commence which will be noticed in the Environmental Notice Bulletin and local newspapers.”
Here is a summary of the latest issues SMI had to address:
SMI was asked to provide the recyclables throughput for the citizens drop-off area facility, saying it is not clear if the recyclables that are recovered through the facility are represented accurately on the application form.SMI was requested to include a landfill settlement monitoring plan in its engineering design report. However, DEC said nothing titled a landfill settlement monitoring plan was included in the report.The groundwater resources section must be expanded to discuss the potential impacts of adding the weight of the waste mass due to the expansion on top of the Tantalo Inactive Hazardous Waste Site, including potential impacts on the groundwater contaminant plume and the Tantalo Landfill leachate and landfill gas control systems.The section on the number of traffic vehicles states that SMI is committed to implementing several mitigation measures but proceeds to only discuss one measure.The section on remediation sites should be revised to indicate that the SMI valley infill is not expected to have an impact on this indicator.The engineering report and the operations and maintenance plan contained within the facility manual must be comprehensive for the existing leachate treatment system. This includes descriptions of all leachate treatment system components, including, but not limited to, the biological treatment tank, the Dynatec treatment component, the leachate evaporator, and the Rochem treatment component.
SMI was told to update the engineering report to include the below information required as it pertains to all aspects of the onsite leachate treatment process:
Provide information including, but not limited to, a description of the overall process, flow diagrams, a functional description of all equipment to be used, including design criteria, engineering calculations and anticipated performance. Additionally, engineering drawings and specifications submitted as part of the engineering report must depict process flows, dimensions, elevations, floor plans and cross section views.Provide a description of the number, types, and specifications of all machinery and equipment needed to effectively operate the facility at the proposed rate of waste acceptance.Per law, include where treatment will occur at the facility, a detailed description of each treatment method and unit, including the operating parameters that will be attained to achieve the intended treatment and the frequency, location, and method for monitoring the operating parameters.Clarify or remove the facility manual section on leachate treatment facilities stating “a concentrate evaporator is designed (and getting permitted) to treat up to 60,000 gallons per day.”Because the groundwater flow assessment model does not adequately represent the physical and hydrogeological setting at the site or provide a basis for the design of the planned expansion, the model should not be used for design or decision-making purposes.The proposed conceptual contingency plan in section 6 of the “Revised Part 10” report is inadequate, and the plan should not be referred to as “conceptual.” The plan contemplates installing a line of four shallow bedrock groundwater extraction wells located over 2,000 feet down-gradient or south of the planned expansion area. The plan does not include shallow overburden extraction wells, to control and prevent the migration of contamination into the bedrock groundwater.Initiate groundwater extraction wells if there is a trend of increasing volatile organic compounds in the groundwater monitoring wells or otherwise directed by DEC upon evaluation of concentrations, trends, and other site-specific factors. Within 60 days of each groundwater sampling event associated with the Tantalo Site, data and other information must be submitted to DEC for review to determine whether the extraction system should be turned on.
DEC officials said no further action can be taken until all of the requested materials are received. If and when the dEIS is determined to be complete, public hearings will be scheduled.
SMI filed the original valley infill expansion application in July 2024. The expansion would add another 47 acres of landfill space in an upward direction, extending its life to 2040.
This latest request for revisions was the third since the original DEIS was submitted by SMI.