Stench from Allied landfill getting worse, impacting businesses on Military Road
S
Staff · December 22, 2017
SharefXin✉
The stench plaguing Military Road and area residents is coming from more than just the landfill and it’s importation of gympsum drywall, which generates noxious hydrogen sulfide. Photo by Joseph Kissel.
By Joseph Kissel
How bad does it have to get before the DEC steps in?
For two years, the stench emanating from the Allied Landfill has been getting steadily worse.
So much so, this summer tourists were seen retching by the side of the road as they hit the vile wall of smell that locals have sadly grown accustomed to.
The stench is a combination of the landfill and surrounding industry including Cascades, but it’s getting worse because of the steady importation of out-of-state gypsum drywall, which generates hydrogen sulfide. (The colorless gas smells like rotten eggs and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable.)
People are reporting medical problems associated with the foul odors, including eye irritation, difficulty breathing and other conditions.
Amherst is also trucking in human waste, according to county legislator Jay Zona.
“It’s disgusting and they are losing business on Military Road,” he said. “It’s an economic driver of this county and we can’t afford this.”
To enact any kind of mitigation, the legislature voted unanimously to contact the EPA regarding what the agency can do that this state’s DEC won’t.
In the background is the Allied Waste Landfill, which is at the center of a health and commerce problem that the city and county needs to solve. Photo by Joseph Kissel.
“Once a permit is issued the wheels are off the go-kart,” said Mr. Zona, referring to the difficulty in further regulating how these businesses operate.
There’s talk of trying to stop the gypsum drywall from being brought into the landfill, but that could be a violation of interstate commerce laws, said County Attorney Claude Jorge.
At this point, the only likely recourse residents and area governments have is to get the DEC to make sure the landfill and surrounding industry are operating within their permits, he said.
But at what point does out-of-state commerce and permits come into hard conflict with the economic survival of a region, and health of locals as well as the tourists who come here expecting something beautiful.
Not a wall of smell that makes them wish they never came at all.
By Tony Farina The Niagara Falls State Park, located in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and created in 1885, is recognized as the oldest state park in the U.S. and contains the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and a portion of the Horseshoe Falls (also known as the Canadian Falls). Following a $44-million refurbishment of the 221-acre park in 2003, in 2007 it was named the 10 th most beautiful spot in America by “The Today Show.” According to the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, the State Park receives more than nine million visits each year. It is
By Tony Farina There is much excitement in the airwaves at WEBR The Breeze as station manager and program director Frank Miller has announced that beginning on Monday, Aug. 24, the talent he has been hoping to bring in for some time will be joining the WEBR midday lineup from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every weekday. “We’re just thrilled to be launching the Kadie Daye show on Monday, and we are so looking forward to having a talent like Kadie on our airwaves at WEBR AM 1440, FM 105.3 and FM 106.9,” Miller said in talking about the new
By Tony Farina Promises are nice and they bring hope for the future. But unfortunately, most of the time, promises have fallen flat for the City of Niagara Falls, some succeeding but many turning out to be empty promises and major disappointments. At this point, Niagara Falls doesn’t need more failed promises. What the city needs is progress to build a better future and a plan to make it work. City leadership must bring it all together. While there are promises to build a better future on the table and being talked about, like Centennial Park and the Niagara Digital
By Tony Farina The radioactive slag bubbling up across Niagara County in recent weeks, triggering state and federal testing and some remedial work and family relocations, is the ongoing and seemingly never-ending legacy of the environmental desecration of the past 100-plus years by massive corporations dumping toxic waste that was the subject of Christen Civiletto’s book Thundering Waters. “What we have again is an environmental storm,” said attorney and former Grand Island Supervisor Nate McMurray, a candidate for election to the 45th District State Assembly seat now open because of the retirement of Angelo Morinello. McMurray will run for the
