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According to the
EPA Toxic Release Inventory , AES Somerset releases and buries approx. 1
Million pounds of toxic chemicals annually.
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The EPA TRI only requires a partial list of hazardous chemicals,
metals and toxins be reported to the EPA. Ammonia is a very
small part of the list.
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Toxic Chemicals include known carcinogens and known health
hazard toxins like: Lead, Mercury, Barium, Sulfuric Acid,
Vanadium and more.
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AES processes 4 to 5 million pounds of waste and ash; 20% is
identified as toxic to humans by the EPA.
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Due to an old and odd exception in the law, AES’s Toxic landfill
operation is not under the authority of the NYDEC. The DEC is
advisory only to the Public Service Commission Siting Board.
The Siting Board has no Environmental monitoring personnel to
insure that AES in compliance with the Law or not.
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DEC Environmental Law Part 360 requires that Toxic landfills
should have a double liner membrane. Two liners are required in
case the first liner develops a hole or leak. The second liner
is there to stop Toxins from leaking into the Ground water and
migrating to the soil or into the air as the landfill ages.
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AES Somerset’s Toxic Landfill is substandard because it does not
meet the DEC Part 360 double liner requirement. AES is
demanding a variance from the LAW in Court contending that DEC
law does not apply.
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AES Toxic Landfill #1 is almost full and will be capped off
soon.
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Toxic landfill #2 is under construction and will set the safety
standard for the next 25 years.
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AES has been fighting the DEC and the Town of Somerset in Court
for over 2 years. AES is still objecting to a recent 2 judge
panel report. AES has delayed implementation of a compromise
plan for 12 months.
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Without full authority the DEC cannot demand they change while
AES ties them up in court and keeps landfilling the old
fashioned way.
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The Simplest way to get AES Somerset to comply in full to
Environmental laws is to Lobby the PSC Siting Board to simply
rule that the DEC has full authority over AES Somerset and
require that the new AES Landfill under Construction have a
double protection Liner. No Variance, No Exception; Our KIDS,
Our Health and our Environment are too important in Niagara
County.
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For Comparison, the only other EPA listed Toxic landfill in the
State (also in Niagara County) is at the Lewiston/Porter based
Chemical Waste Management Site. (CWM, Inc. Zip Code 14107). CWM
is twice the size of AES with 2 million pounds annually, though
the toxins are shipped into CWM. The list is very similar to the
AES list of toxins and just as dangerous to our health. You can
visit the EPA Toxic Release site at
www.epa.gov/tri and plug in the ZIP – 14107.
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Since the Toxic landfill mounds will be here 50 years plus after
AES is gone, would it not make sense to put double liners in
when they are being built?
