CANANDAIGUA — A state Department of Environmental Conservation inspector reported no violations regarding solid-waste regulations in the aftermath of a Nov. 16 soil-cap slide on the southwest side of the Ontario County Landfill in Seneca.
The county Board of Supervisors’ Planning & Environmental Quality Committee learned that information at its meeting Monday afternoon.
Carla Jordan, the county’s director of Sustainability and Solid Waste Management, read the handwritten inspection report to the panel. The inspector said the cap contractor, Marcy Excavation Services, has worked at the toe, or bottom, of the slope where the landslide occurred.
“The area looks prepared and capable of handling a significant rain event. No further movement of soils on the synthetics or the synthetics themselves has been seen,” the inspector wrote. “To date, there has been no release of leachate and no violations in regards to the state DEC solid waste regulations have been found.”
Brian Sanders, who manages the landfill for Casella Waste Services of Ontario, told the committee there were no employees working in the immediate area, and the slide took place on a seven-acre slope. He concurred with the DEC inspector’s report that no leachate migrated onto the site. Several damaged gas wells on the slope were capped and closed.
Sanders said 10,000 to 15,000 cubic yards of soil slid down the slope, but that it is being handled.
“Stormwater is a big concern. That control system is intact,” Sanders said. “We saw another crack in soil in another nearby area. We removed that soil as a precaution.”
Sanders reported that Casella has hired a third party to investigate the incident with the DEC and Jordan.
Committee member Jack Marren, R-Victor, asked about odor complaints. Sanders said there were two that could not be verified.
Sanders added that seven new gas wells are being drilled deep into the slope, about 130 feet in depth.
“We are working to figure out how and why this happened,” Sanders said.
In other matters Monday:
• SWMP — Jordan noted the county’s 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan of 2013 expires at the end of December. She has requested an allowable two-year extension, adding that the DEC is requiring certain data to be provided before a final decision on the extension is considered.
“We expect to provide the DEC with the information in December and then be given two years to prepare a new SWMP for another 10 years,” she said.
A key part of a new plan will be the future of the landfill. It is expected to reach its capacity in 2028, which is when its current operating permit expires.
In July, Jordan told the committee that $1.4 million of the $2 million in landfill revenue the county receives from Casella, money that normally goes into a capital reserve fund, will be earmarked for the SWMP update.
Committee member Mark Venuti, D-Geneva, asked about the study being done on the future of the landfill and solid-waste disposal in the county.
Jordan said consultants have been given data needed for the study. She said the draft report should be completed by June or July. At that point county officials would become involved before a final report is submitted.
The Seneca Town Board voted unanimously earlier this year to recommend the landfill close in 2028 and not be expanded onto 40 acres the county owns south of the landfill. However, the Board of Supervisors will make the final decision on the landfill’s future.