THE VERGE
“'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Ida strengthens dramatically overnight"
Mary Beth Griggs
30 AUGUST 2021
Hurricane Ida is pummeling Louisiana as an “extremely dangerous” storm after strengthening rapidly over the weekend.
The hurricane swirled towards the coast with winds of 150 miles per hour, accompanied by a life-threatening surge of water, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center warned on Sunday.
“This will be one of the strongest hurricanes to hit anywhere in Louisiana since at least the 1850s,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said at a press conference on Saturday.
The storm made landfall just before noon local time, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
Ida already had wind speeds of 103 miles per hour on Saturday night.
Just six hours later, the storm had strengthened into a major hurricane with wind speeds increasing to 130 miles per hour.
Soon after, it had strengthened even more — making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds up to 150 miles per hour.
The storm was able to intensify so quickly because it had all the ingredients a hurricane needs to grow.
Warm waters below the hurricane and plenty of moisture in the atmosphere provided fuel for the storm, while winds in the upper atmosphere favored the hurricane.
All those factors allowed it to keep developing and prevented it from weakening before landfall.
“Ida found the perfect path across the gulf, where the warmest water is,” Chris Slocum, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told The New York Times.
“You could say it’s a worst-case scenario.”
Rapidly intensifying hurricanes have developed many times in the past few years, including Harvey in 2017, and Michael in 2018.
This rapid intensification may be caused in part by climate change, recent studies suggest.
A recent United Nations report also found that storms are becoming stronger as the planet warms.
Other factors, including cyclical changes in the ocean and atmosphere, may also play a role in rapid intensification — researchers are actively gathering more data about how the process works so that they can better predict when storms like Ida are likely to develop.
Do not play around
Ida made landfall on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the state.
Hurricanes are categorized by wind speed, and Ida, currently a Category 4, is expected to bring catastrophic winds to the region.
Along with the winds will come a storm surge, a huge pileup of water driven inland by the storm.
Forecasters predicted waters could reach heights of 12-16 feet in parts of Louisiana.
Ida will also dump 10-18 inches of rainfall on the region, and some areas could see as much as two feet of rainfall, with the potential for more flooding.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service office in New Orleans issued a dire warning to residents in its forecast discussion that underscores the seriousness of the storm:
These are the last few hours to prepare or leave.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate late tonight and especially tomorrow morning.
Once sustained tropical storm force winds move in first responders will button down and YOU WILL BE ON YOUR OWN.
Please understand this, there is the possibility that conditions could be unlivable along the coast for some time and areas around New Orleans and Baton Rouge could be without power for weeks.
We have all seen the destruction and pain caused by Harvey, Michael, and Laura.
Anticipate devastation on this level and if it doesn`t happen then we should all count our blessings...
Do not play around and say “Ive been through Andrew/Camille/Katrina/Betsy” all storms are different.
Update 8/29 3:30 PM ET: This post has been updated with information about Ida’s landfall, and path across the Gulf.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... hp&pc=U531
THE ENVIRONMENT
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
"Poestenkill wells test above state level for PFOA"
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 1, 2021
Updated: Sep. 1, 2021 6 p.m.
POESTENKILL – Drinking water at two homes near Algonquin Middle School have tested for PFOA above the new state standard of 10 parts per trillion, officials familiar with the test results said Wednesday.
“We have been briefed on two samples taken in Poestenkill that show levels of PFOA above the level permitted by the state."
"The samples were confirmed by testing conducted by the Rensselaer County Health Department in conjunction with New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation,” County Executive Steve McLaughlin said.
Rensselaer County, state Department of Health and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials have been investigating the situation since the Averill Park school district turned off the middle school’s water fountains and water taps in January when tests showed PFOA levels of 12 parts per trillion.
The testing was done at about 10 residences on private wells near the school.
The middle school also draws its water from wells.
Additional testing is planned in the area around the school.
“The town is working with the county and the state to both monitor the situation and respond where needed."
"We have known this has been an issue since news of the levels at the middle school was announced earlier this year."
"Residents should know that extra testing is coming and that more information will be provided when we get it,” said Poestenkill Supervisor Keith Hammond.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been a major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 when PFOA contamination was discovered in municipal drinking water supplies and private wells in the towns of Hoosick and Petersburgh and the village of Hoosick Falls.
The contamination in the eastern Rensselaer County communities has been traced to manufacturing operations there.
The contamination source in Poestenkill has not been identified.
“The county will be reaching out to property owners in the coming days, and ask for patience from residents as we continue to investigate."
"We will provide timely updates so residents, property owners and those who in the area are given necessary information,” said County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas.
Residents and property owners in the area involved can call the Rensselaer County Health Department’s Environmental Division for more information at 518-270-2655.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 1, 2021
Updated: Sep. 1, 2021 6 p.m.
POESTENKILL – Drinking water at two homes near Algonquin Middle School have tested for PFOA above the new state standard of 10 parts per trillion, officials familiar with the test results said Wednesday.
“We have been briefed on two samples taken in Poestenkill that show levels of PFOA above the level permitted by the state."
"The samples were confirmed by testing conducted by the Rensselaer County Health Department in conjunction with New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation,” County Executive Steve McLaughlin said.
Rensselaer County, state Department of Health and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials have been investigating the situation since the Averill Park school district turned off the middle school’s water fountains and water taps in January when tests showed PFOA levels of 12 parts per trillion.
The testing was done at about 10 residences on private wells near the school.
The middle school also draws its water from wells.
Additional testing is planned in the area around the school.
“The town is working with the county and the state to both monitor the situation and respond where needed."
"We have known this has been an issue since news of the levels at the middle school was announced earlier this year."
"Residents should know that extra testing is coming and that more information will be provided when we get it,” said Poestenkill Supervisor Keith Hammond.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been a major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 when PFOA contamination was discovered in municipal drinking water supplies and private wells in the towns of Hoosick and Petersburgh and the village of Hoosick Falls.
The contamination in the eastern Rensselaer County communities has been traced to manufacturing operations there.
The contamination source in Poestenkill has not been identified.
“The county will be reaching out to property owners in the coming days, and ask for patience from residents as we continue to investigate."
"We will provide timely updates so residents, property owners and those who in the area are given necessary information,” said County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas.
Residents and property owners in the area involved can call the Rensselaer County Health Department’s Environmental Division for more information at 518-270-2655.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
THE SUN SENTINEL
"Hurricane Larry forecast to be a Category 4 with top winds reaching 140 mph"
Robin Webb and Chris Perkins, South Florida Sun Sentinel
3 SEPTEMBER 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Larry has been intensifying steadily and, by Thursday afternoon, had grown slightly larger, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Larry is forecast to develop rapidly into a major hurricane with top winds reaching up to 140 mph.
Larry, the fifth hurricane of the season, formed early Thursday and is expected strengthen into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111 mph, by late Friday, the hurricane center said.
By Sunday night, its maximum sustained winds are forecast to reach 140 mph, putting it at Category 4 strength.
Larry is coalescing in the eastern central Atlantic, an area where storms tend to form during peak season, which runs mid-August through October.
It’s currently on a path west over the central Atlantic, in the general direction of the U.S.
However, it is forecast to make a gradual turn to the west-northwest Friday night, before slowing in speed on Saturday, according to the hurricane center’s five-day forecast outlook.
Beyond that, it’s too early to tell where it may head.
Forecasters say conditions support rapid development.
Located roughly 765 miles off the west coast of Africa as of 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, its hurricane-force winds extended out up to 25 miles from its center and its tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 160 miles.
If Larry develops into a major hurricane as forecast, it would be the third of the season, along with Grace, a Category 3, and Ida, a Category 4.
There are only five years in the satellite era, which began in 1966, that had three major hurricanes by Sept. 4: 2008, 2005, 2004, 1996 and 1969, according to Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach.
Meanwhile, forecasters are watching two other areas for potential storm development.
An area of low pressure in the western Caribbean could move over the Gulf of Honduras on Friday.
This system could then move over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico this weekend and early next week, but upper-level winds would hinder development.
A second area of low pressure area formed late Thursday morning about 280 miles east-southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands off the coast of west Africa, according to the hurricane center.
Forecasters said some development is possible over the next 24 hours as the low moves west at about 15 mph.
After that, conditions are expected to be less ideal for development.
With the formation of Larry, a total of seven named storms have formed in the Atlantic between Aug. 10 and Sept. 1 this year.
That ties the record established in 2011, according to Klotzbach.
And this is the sixth year to have 12 named storms by Sept. 1, joining 2020, 2012, 2011, 2005 and 1995, he said.
The season’s pace is running “well above average,” according to AccuWeather.
“Typically, the 12th named system and second major hurricane does not occur for another five weeks, or in early October.”
The number of expected major hurricanes this season is three to five, according to the forecast from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
As of Sept. 2, there have been 12 named storms and five hurricanes, two of which have been major hurricanes.
NOAA’s forecast predicts 7 to 10 hurricanes and 15 to 21 named storms this Atlantic season, which means those with winds speeds of at least 39 mph.
The next named storm to form would be Mindy.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... hp&pc=U531
"Hurricane Larry forecast to be a Category 4 with top winds reaching 140 mph"
Robin Webb and Chris Perkins, South Florida Sun Sentinel
3 SEPTEMBER 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Larry has been intensifying steadily and, by Thursday afternoon, had grown slightly larger, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Larry is forecast to develop rapidly into a major hurricane with top winds reaching up to 140 mph.
Larry, the fifth hurricane of the season, formed early Thursday and is expected strengthen into a major hurricane, with winds of at least 111 mph, by late Friday, the hurricane center said.
By Sunday night, its maximum sustained winds are forecast to reach 140 mph, putting it at Category 4 strength.
Larry is coalescing in the eastern central Atlantic, an area where storms tend to form during peak season, which runs mid-August through October.
It’s currently on a path west over the central Atlantic, in the general direction of the U.S.
However, it is forecast to make a gradual turn to the west-northwest Friday night, before slowing in speed on Saturday, according to the hurricane center’s five-day forecast outlook.
Beyond that, it’s too early to tell where it may head.
Forecasters say conditions support rapid development.
Located roughly 765 miles off the west coast of Africa as of 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, its hurricane-force winds extended out up to 25 miles from its center and its tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 160 miles.
If Larry develops into a major hurricane as forecast, it would be the third of the season, along with Grace, a Category 3, and Ida, a Category 4.
There are only five years in the satellite era, which began in 1966, that had three major hurricanes by Sept. 4: 2008, 2005, 2004, 1996 and 1969, according to Colorado State University hurricane expert Phil Klotzbach.
Meanwhile, forecasters are watching two other areas for potential storm development.
An area of low pressure in the western Caribbean could move over the Gulf of Honduras on Friday.
This system could then move over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico this weekend and early next week, but upper-level winds would hinder development.
A second area of low pressure area formed late Thursday morning about 280 miles east-southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands off the coast of west Africa, according to the hurricane center.
Forecasters said some development is possible over the next 24 hours as the low moves west at about 15 mph.
After that, conditions are expected to be less ideal for development.
With the formation of Larry, a total of seven named storms have formed in the Atlantic between Aug. 10 and Sept. 1 this year.
That ties the record established in 2011, according to Klotzbach.
And this is the sixth year to have 12 named storms by Sept. 1, joining 2020, 2012, 2011, 2005 and 1995, he said.
The season’s pace is running “well above average,” according to AccuWeather.
“Typically, the 12th named system and second major hurricane does not occur for another five weeks, or in early October.”
The number of expected major hurricanes this season is three to five, according to the forecast from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
As of Sept. 2, there have been 12 named storms and five hurricanes, two of which have been major hurricanes.
NOAA’s forecast predicts 7 to 10 hurricanes and 15 to 21 named storms this Atlantic season, which means those with winds speeds of at least 39 mph.
The next named storm to form would be Mindy.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... hp&pc=U531
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
REUTERS
"U.S. out of time on climate, Biden says after Hurricane Ida"
By Nandita Bose
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden highlighted the ravages of climate change during a visit to flood-damaged New Jersey on Tuesday, putting a focus on domestic priorities after weeks of public attention on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden, a Democrat who has made fighting global warming one of his top policy priorities, is highlighting the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ida to press the need for infrastructure and climate mitigation spending.
“For decades, scientists have warned of extreme weather ... and climate change was here and we’re living through it now, we don’t have any more time,” Biden said during a briefing by state and local leaders in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey.
With wildfires, hurricanes and floods, Biden noted that every part of the United States was getting hit by extreme weather.
“We can’t turn it back very much, but we can prevent it from getting worse,” Biden said.
“We’re all in this together and ... we’ve got to make sure that we don’t leave any community behind.”
On Friday Biden visited Louisiana, promising federal aid and urging national unity.
Hurricane Ida devastated parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast and unleashed even deadlier flooding in the Northeast.
On Tuesday he visited New Jersey and was scheduled to also stop at a storm-hit neighborhood in New York City’s Queens borough.
The president’s flood damage trips revive Biden’s familiar role of consoler-in-chief, a shift from the time spent in recent weeks defending his decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the deadly aftermath that ensued.
The United States is still working to get Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country while resettling tens of thousands of evacuees.
Still, Biden is expected to focus in the coming days on domestic issues: a fight to protect women’s reproductive rights in the wake of a new Texas anti-abortion law, the end of extended unemployment benefits for many Americans and new measures to fight COVID-19.
On Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, he will visit the three sites where hijacked U.S. domestic planes crashed.
Next week, he plans to visit California to boost Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s effort to stay in office amid a recall election, following a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said it would take “months more likely than weeks” to complete cleanup, repairs and rebuilding after his state was ravaged by flooding and a tornado from the remnants of Ida.
Dozens of people have died from the hurricane’s destruction and some states are still grappling with widespread power outages and water-filled homes.
Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Peter Szekely; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-stor ... SKBN2G319E
"U.S. out of time on climate, Biden says after Hurricane Ida"
By Nandita Bose
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
HILLSBOROUGH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden highlighted the ravages of climate change during a visit to flood-damaged New Jersey on Tuesday, putting a focus on domestic priorities after weeks of public attention on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Biden, a Democrat who has made fighting global warming one of his top policy priorities, is highlighting the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ida to press the need for infrastructure and climate mitigation spending.
“For decades, scientists have warned of extreme weather ... and climate change was here and we’re living through it now, we don’t have any more time,” Biden said during a briefing by state and local leaders in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey.
With wildfires, hurricanes and floods, Biden noted that every part of the United States was getting hit by extreme weather.
“We can’t turn it back very much, but we can prevent it from getting worse,” Biden said.
“We’re all in this together and ... we’ve got to make sure that we don’t leave any community behind.”
On Friday Biden visited Louisiana, promising federal aid and urging national unity.
Hurricane Ida devastated parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast and unleashed even deadlier flooding in the Northeast.
On Tuesday he visited New Jersey and was scheduled to also stop at a storm-hit neighborhood in New York City’s Queens borough.
The president’s flood damage trips revive Biden’s familiar role of consoler-in-chief, a shift from the time spent in recent weeks defending his decision to pull U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the deadly aftermath that ensued.
The United States is still working to get Americans left in Afghanistan out of the country while resettling tens of thousands of evacuees.
Still, Biden is expected to focus in the coming days on domestic issues: a fight to protect women’s reproductive rights in the wake of a new Texas anti-abortion law, the end of extended unemployment benefits for many Americans and new measures to fight COVID-19.
On Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, he will visit the three sites where hijacked U.S. domestic planes crashed.
Next week, he plans to visit California to boost Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s effort to stay in office amid a recall election, following a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said it would take “months more likely than weeks” to complete cleanup, repairs and rebuilding after his state was ravaged by flooding and a tornado from the remnants of Ida.
Dozens of people have died from the hurricane’s destruction and some states are still grappling with widespread power outages and water-filled homes.
Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Peter Szekely; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-stor ... SKBN2G319E
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
"Poestenkill PFOA contamination an issue in local legislative race"
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 6, 2021
POESTENKILL – The four Democrats running for the Rensselaer County Legislature district that includes the town want more action by state and county officials to protect residents from PFOA contamination in drinking water found in local homes and at Algonquin Middle School.
Test results showed last week that at two residences tests for PFOA in well water came back above the maximum 10 parts per trillion standard set by the state for the chemical which is considered to cause cancer and other diseases.
Democratic candidates Sally Lauletta, Jennifer Massey, Bob Poitras and Jack Rogers issued a joint statement saying, “Protecting the health of our residents, including students and staff at Poestenkill’s Algonquin Middle School, and keeping PFOAs out of our drinking water are absolutes."
"We are putting our children at risk."
"This is unacceptable.”
Republican County Legislators Roby Bayly and Tom Grant said the county is working to uncover more information and is reaching out to residents about the middle school.
“We’re testing the area to see how big of a plume it is."
"We’re intending on doing more testing,” Bayly said.
“We’ll get more information and follow the science."
"There will be periodic updates,” Grant said.
Bayly and Grant are running for re-election with fellow GOP incumbents County Legislators Kelly Hoffman and Leon Fianco.
The Democrats and Republicans are facing off for four-year terms in District 2 which includes Poestenkill, North Greenbush and East Greenbush.
The district has four legislators.
Rensselaer County has worked with the state Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation on investigating the contamination.
The two test results about the state standard of 10 ppt came back from 10 homes that had their drinking water tested.
The county has delivered water to the impacted homes.
The county has promised to expand its testing in the area around the middle school.
The Averill Park Central School District shut drinking water off at the school in January after tests showed PFOA results at 12 ppt.
The source of the PFOA contamination at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood has not yet been established.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 when PFOA contamination was discovered in municipal drinking water supplies and private wells in the towns of Hoosick and Petersburgh and the village of Hoosick Falls.
The four Democrats called on the county and state departments to take similar action in Poestenkill as to what was done in Hoosick, Petersburgh and Hoosick falls.
This includes providing free bottled water to residents; to circulate information about the situation in Poestenkill, the state should test additional wells, test the blood of any resident whose home has tested positive for PFOA, intensify the investigation to locate the source of the contamination, install filters at the school and in homes, conduct a study to connect the school and homes to the town water system and created a program to inform the public.
Previously, County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas said the county is contacting property owners and promised the investigation would continue and residents in the area would be updated.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 434441.php
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 6, 2021
POESTENKILL – The four Democrats running for the Rensselaer County Legislature district that includes the town want more action by state and county officials to protect residents from PFOA contamination in drinking water found in local homes and at Algonquin Middle School.
Test results showed last week that at two residences tests for PFOA in well water came back above the maximum 10 parts per trillion standard set by the state for the chemical which is considered to cause cancer and other diseases.
Democratic candidates Sally Lauletta, Jennifer Massey, Bob Poitras and Jack Rogers issued a joint statement saying, “Protecting the health of our residents, including students and staff at Poestenkill’s Algonquin Middle School, and keeping PFOAs out of our drinking water are absolutes."
"We are putting our children at risk."
"This is unacceptable.”
Republican County Legislators Roby Bayly and Tom Grant said the county is working to uncover more information and is reaching out to residents about the middle school.
“We’re testing the area to see how big of a plume it is."
"We’re intending on doing more testing,” Bayly said.
“We’ll get more information and follow the science."
"There will be periodic updates,” Grant said.
Bayly and Grant are running for re-election with fellow GOP incumbents County Legislators Kelly Hoffman and Leon Fianco.
The Democrats and Republicans are facing off for four-year terms in District 2 which includes Poestenkill, North Greenbush and East Greenbush.
The district has four legislators.
Rensselaer County has worked with the state Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation on investigating the contamination.
The two test results about the state standard of 10 ppt came back from 10 homes that had their drinking water tested.
The county has delivered water to the impacted homes.
The county has promised to expand its testing in the area around the middle school.
The Averill Park Central School District shut drinking water off at the school in January after tests showed PFOA results at 12 ppt.
The source of the PFOA contamination at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood has not yet been established.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 when PFOA contamination was discovered in municipal drinking water supplies and private wells in the towns of Hoosick and Petersburgh and the village of Hoosick Falls.
The four Democrats called on the county and state departments to take similar action in Poestenkill as to what was done in Hoosick, Petersburgh and Hoosick falls.
This includes providing free bottled water to residents; to circulate information about the situation in Poestenkill, the state should test additional wells, test the blood of any resident whose home has tested positive for PFOA, intensify the investigation to locate the source of the contamination, install filters at the school and in homes, conduct a study to connect the school and homes to the town water system and created a program to inform the public.
Previously, County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas said the county is contacting property owners and promised the investigation would continue and residents in the area would be updated.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 434441.php
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
"Rensselaer County expands PFOA testing in Poestenkill"
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 22, 2021
POESTENKILL – Rensselaer County is expanding the area for testing wells for PFOA contamination to the south and east of Algonquin Middle School.
County officials said Wednesday the number of homes to be tested for potential drinking water contamination by the cancer-causing chemical is limited due to the program being strictly voluntary at this point.
This is the second set of local homes to be tested.
Town residents heard a briefing Tuesday night by county Health Department, state Health Department and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials about the situation.
So far, testing by the three agencies has identified contamination at two homes.
In January, state-required water tests revealed contamination at the Algonquin Middle School in the Averill Park Central School District.
Drinking water at two homes near Algonquin Middle School tested for PFOA above the new state standard of 10 parts per trillion, according to the county on Sept. 1.
The tests earlier this summer were made at about 10 homes that voluntarily participated.
The county and state planned to increase the number of properties tested.
The county is awaiting property owners’ approval to take part in the expanded testing.
The presence of PFOAs became a concern after the Averill Park district reported that water tests showed PFOA levels of 12 parts per trillion.
The district shut off the middle school’s water fountains and water taps.
The second round of testing that’s being done is data driven, said Richard Elder, the county Health Department’s director of environmental services.
The two home identified in the first round of testing were placed on bottle water supplied first by the county and then the state.
Elder said the tests are to determine the potential exposure in drinking water rather than identifying a source of the PFOA contamination.
Local residents and town officials have suggested various sites around the middle school that could have been sources for the contamination.
Officials have not identified a single location such as occurred in the northeastern corner of the county when specific industrial operations were identified as the sources of contamination in Hoosick, Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been a major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 after the chemical was discovered in those three municipalities.
A community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Poestenkill VFW at 25 Veterans St. to discuss the situation.
Speakers include Poestenkill Water Manager Robert Brunet, town resident and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith Enck and Michele Baker of NY Water Project and a Hoosick Falls resident.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 480066.php
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Sep. 22, 2021
POESTENKILL – Rensselaer County is expanding the area for testing wells for PFOA contamination to the south and east of Algonquin Middle School.
County officials said Wednesday the number of homes to be tested for potential drinking water contamination by the cancer-causing chemical is limited due to the program being strictly voluntary at this point.
This is the second set of local homes to be tested.
Town residents heard a briefing Tuesday night by county Health Department, state Health Department and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials about the situation.
So far, testing by the three agencies has identified contamination at two homes.
In January, state-required water tests revealed contamination at the Algonquin Middle School in the Averill Park Central School District.
Drinking water at two homes near Algonquin Middle School tested for PFOA above the new state standard of 10 parts per trillion, according to the county on Sept. 1.
The tests earlier this summer were made at about 10 homes that voluntarily participated.
The county and state planned to increase the number of properties tested.
The county is awaiting property owners’ approval to take part in the expanded testing.
The presence of PFOAs became a concern after the Averill Park district reported that water tests showed PFOA levels of 12 parts per trillion.
The district shut off the middle school’s water fountains and water taps.
The second round of testing that’s being done is data driven, said Richard Elder, the county Health Department’s director of environmental services.
The two home identified in the first round of testing were placed on bottle water supplied first by the county and then the state.
Elder said the tests are to determine the potential exposure in drinking water rather than identifying a source of the PFOA contamination.
Local residents and town officials have suggested various sites around the middle school that could have been sources for the contamination.
Officials have not identified a single location such as occurred in the northeastern corner of the county when specific industrial operations were identified as the sources of contamination in Hoosick, Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh.
PFOA is an acronym for perfluorooctanoic acid and is a variant of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
PFOA contamination has been a major environmental issue in Rensselaer County since 2014 after the chemical was discovered in those three municipalities.
A community meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Poestenkill VFW at 25 Veterans St. to discuss the situation.
Speakers include Poestenkill Water Manager Robert Brunet, town resident and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith Enck and Michele Baker of NY Water Project and a Hoosick Falls resident.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 480066.php
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
USA TODAY
"Tornadoes and 100 mph winds hit Central US; region braces for severe thunderstorms and wildfires"
Doyle Rice and Celina Tebor, USA TODAY
16 DECEMBER 2021
A wild weather day was underway Wednesday across the central U.S., with howling winds, severe storms, tornadoes and even wildfires slamming the region.
Damaging winds have brought down trees and power lines, making widespread power outages possible, the National Weather Service warned.
The winds will also be strong enough to kick up dust and raise the risk of wildfire ignition and rapid spread in some areas, AccuWeather said.
In Iowa and Minnesota, debris littered sidewalks, power lines fell, and entire houses were destroyed after tornadoes and strong winds pounded the region.
Portions of Oklahoma's panhandle were evacuated Wednesday afternoon and all lanes of U.S. Highway 287 closed down due to extreme winds as crews battled wildfires, and parts of Texas' panhandle saw at least four active wildfires accelerated by the strong winds.
The Weather Service has issued a high wind warning along a swath stretching from New Mexico to upper Michigan – including Wisconsin and Illinois – with sustained winds between 25 mph and 40 mph expected.
It also issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.
Multiple tornadoes have already touched down in Iowa.
In all, some 36 million people were under high wind warnings as of midday Wednesday.
Several airlines later decided not to chance landings at the Des Moines International Airport, as an epic line of thunderstorms approached from the west.
In Kansas City, Missouri, part of the roof at its downtown airport collapsed and traffic controllers had to evacuate from the tower cab.
The strong winds reached the Great Lakes, with Lake Michigan creating waves as high as 15 feet in some areas.
Multiple highways closed down in Kansas, where high winds and dust storms caused brownout conditions and reduced road visibility.
The high winds, which reached 100 mph in some areas, blew roofs off houses and toppled semitrailers.
And over 166,000 Kansas homes and businesses served by Evergy, the state's largest electrical company, were without power as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the company reported on an online outage map it maintains.
Already Wednesday, a gust of 107 mph was reported in Lamar, Colorado.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department said on Twitter that they had received 635 calls for service within five hours — including one about the roof being blown off their own headquarters.
A Weather Service forecast office in Nebraska warned that "travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles."
"Trucks may be blown over."
"Holiday decorations will be damaged or blown away."
Some schools in Nebraska canceled in-person classes and dozens of schools in Iowa planned to close early Wednesday in anticipation of bad weather.
Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, shut down at noon due to the storm threat.
Over 48,000 Iowans were left without power Wednesday night, gas and electric provider MidAmerican Energy tweeted, and restoration could take up to three days due to extensive damage.
At this time of year officers in Iowa are used to warning people to stay off the roads because of snowstorms, not thunderstorms, said Polk County Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Evans.
"It's really weird," Evans said.
"We're 10 days before Christmas and we're talking about 70-degree temperatures and near-hurricane force winds."
Allan Curtis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, said Wednesday's storm line would "raise eyebrows" even if it happened in the summer, he said.
“We don’t have a lot to compare it to,” Curtis said.
“It’s really one of a kind for this state or this area for this time of year."
Des Moines police said on Twitter that no significant damage, injuries, or road closures had been reported yet as of Wednesday evening.
Denver International Airport had over 100 flight cancellations and 288 delays due to the high winds.
There is also the chance for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes into Wednesday night: "Severe storms are expected across southeast Minnesota, west-central Wisconsin, and Iowa this afternoon and evening," the Storm Prediction Center said.
"Widespread damaging wind gusts (80+ mph) and a few tornadoes (some strong) are likely."
A tornado watch was in effect for portions of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota.
The Weather Service also predicted that daily high temperatures will skyrocket to over 30 degrees above average on Wednesday throughout the Plains and Mississippi Valley.
"With spring-like highs anywhere from the 50s and 70s in the forecast, over 50 daily high records stand to be broken on Wednesday," the Weather Service said.
Ottumwa, Iowa, soared to 75 degrees on Wednesday, which was a state record high for the month of December.
The weather across the central states followed a powerful storm on Monday and Tuesday that socked drought-stricken California with heavy rain at lower levels and up to 6 feet of snow at some higher elevations.
Contributing: The Associated Press; The Des Moines Register; The Tokepa-Capital Journal; The Oklahoman; Amarillo Globe-News
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... d=msedgntp
"Tornadoes and 100 mph winds hit Central US; region braces for severe thunderstorms and wildfires"
Doyle Rice and Celina Tebor, USA TODAY
16 DECEMBER 2021
A wild weather day was underway Wednesday across the central U.S., with howling winds, severe storms, tornadoes and even wildfires slamming the region.
Damaging winds have brought down trees and power lines, making widespread power outages possible, the National Weather Service warned.
The winds will also be strong enough to kick up dust and raise the risk of wildfire ignition and rapid spread in some areas, AccuWeather said.
In Iowa and Minnesota, debris littered sidewalks, power lines fell, and entire houses were destroyed after tornadoes and strong winds pounded the region.
Portions of Oklahoma's panhandle were evacuated Wednesday afternoon and all lanes of U.S. Highway 287 closed down due to extreme winds as crews battled wildfires, and parts of Texas' panhandle saw at least four active wildfires accelerated by the strong winds.
The Weather Service has issued a high wind warning along a swath stretching from New Mexico to upper Michigan – including Wisconsin and Illinois – with sustained winds between 25 mph and 40 mph expected.
It also issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.
Multiple tornadoes have already touched down in Iowa.
In all, some 36 million people were under high wind warnings as of midday Wednesday.
Several airlines later decided not to chance landings at the Des Moines International Airport, as an epic line of thunderstorms approached from the west.
In Kansas City, Missouri, part of the roof at its downtown airport collapsed and traffic controllers had to evacuate from the tower cab.
The strong winds reached the Great Lakes, with Lake Michigan creating waves as high as 15 feet in some areas.
Multiple highways closed down in Kansas, where high winds and dust storms caused brownout conditions and reduced road visibility.
The high winds, which reached 100 mph in some areas, blew roofs off houses and toppled semitrailers.
And over 166,000 Kansas homes and businesses served by Evergy, the state's largest electrical company, were without power as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, the company reported on an online outage map it maintains.
Already Wednesday, a gust of 107 mph was reported in Lamar, Colorado.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department said on Twitter that they had received 635 calls for service within five hours — including one about the roof being blown off their own headquarters.
A Weather Service forecast office in Nebraska warned that "travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles."
"Trucks may be blown over."
"Holiday decorations will be damaged or blown away."
Some schools in Nebraska canceled in-person classes and dozens of schools in Iowa planned to close early Wednesday in anticipation of bad weather.
Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, shut down at noon due to the storm threat.
Over 48,000 Iowans were left without power Wednesday night, gas and electric provider MidAmerican Energy tweeted, and restoration could take up to three days due to extensive damage.
At this time of year officers in Iowa are used to warning people to stay off the roads because of snowstorms, not thunderstorms, said Polk County Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Evans.
"It's really weird," Evans said.
"We're 10 days before Christmas and we're talking about 70-degree temperatures and near-hurricane force winds."
Allan Curtis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa, said Wednesday's storm line would "raise eyebrows" even if it happened in the summer, he said.
“We don’t have a lot to compare it to,” Curtis said.
“It’s really one of a kind for this state or this area for this time of year."
Des Moines police said on Twitter that no significant damage, injuries, or road closures had been reported yet as of Wednesday evening.
Denver International Airport had over 100 flight cancellations and 288 delays due to the high winds.
There is also the chance for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes into Wednesday night: "Severe storms are expected across southeast Minnesota, west-central Wisconsin, and Iowa this afternoon and evening," the Storm Prediction Center said.
"Widespread damaging wind gusts (80+ mph) and a few tornadoes (some strong) are likely."
A tornado watch was in effect for portions of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota.
The Weather Service also predicted that daily high temperatures will skyrocket to over 30 degrees above average on Wednesday throughout the Plains and Mississippi Valley.
"With spring-like highs anywhere from the 50s and 70s in the forecast, over 50 daily high records stand to be broken on Wednesday," the Weather Service said.
Ottumwa, Iowa, soared to 75 degrees on Wednesday, which was a state record high for the month of December.
The weather across the central states followed a powerful storm on Monday and Tuesday that socked drought-stricken California with heavy rain at lower levels and up to 6 feet of snow at some higher elevations.
Contributing: The Associated Press; The Des Moines Register; The Tokepa-Capital Journal; The Oklahoman; Amarillo Globe-News
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topst ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
"A man's crusade culminated with massive PFOA settlements -Multiple companies have agreed to pay $90 million to settle cases with Rensselaer County communities"
Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
Dec. 27, 2021
HOOSICK FALLS — More than seven years ago, a village resident launched a personal crusade to learn why there seemed to be a high rate of unusual cancers afflicting people in this small community.
Michael Hickey, 42, an insurance underwriter who grew up in Hoosick Falls, started his research after Isabel M. McGuire, a 48-year-old math teacher at Hoosick Falls High School, died from complications associated with melanoma.
McGuire died 14 months after the cancer death of Hickey's father, John, a village board member and former longtime factory worker at the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant on McCaffrey Street, which sits on a hill not far from the underground wells that feed the village water plant.
That effort by Hickey, who discovered a toxic manufacturing chemical used by local factories had contaminated the community's water supplies, culminated this year with pending class-action settlements worth $89 million between multiple manufacturing companies, including Saint-Gobain, and thousands of residents across multiple Rensselaer County communities.
The residents will also have access to long-term medical monitoring and the companies are paying for a new water supply that will supplant the contaminated wells near the Saint-Gobain plant, which had been a focus of the pollution.
For many current and former residents, the pending settlements will also compensate them with cash payments for the potential health consequences of their exposure to the chemicals, as well as the potential loss of property value.
"It’s been, obviously, a really long road for me personally and the community as a whole," Hickey said last week.
"But I think the outcome is better than we ever expected at this point."
"We got everything we were looking for from the beginning."
Hickey, who testified before Congress in 2019, said a focus of the attorneys and community leaders is to continue educating the public about the class-action settlements and to make sure that no one entitled to compensation or medical monitoring misses out.
The $65.25 million settlement reached by three of the companies blamed for polluting public and private water supplies in and around the village of Hoosick Falls was reached shortly before a federal judge approved the terms of a second settlement, for $23.5 million, with Tonoga Inc., which owns Taconic Plastics, in nearby Petersburgh.
The companies all for decades had manufactured products coated with perfluorinated chemicals, including those that contained perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA.
PFOA exposure has been linked to health problems, including testicular and kidney cancer and thyroid disease.
The discovery of the widespread pollution galvanized residents in the eastern Rensselaer County communities, and southern Vermont, who became organized and successfully pushed legislation to strengthen laws governing clean water, including monitoring smaller water systems — for under 10,000 people — and notifying those individuals of contaminants.
Previously, regulations did not require the operators of public water supplies to test for PFOA.
In New York, PFOA had been classified by the state Health Department as an "unspecified organic contaminant" and the enforceable drinking water level of 50,000 parts per trillion had far exceeded the 400-ppt level advised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Both of those thresholds have since been lowered, in part, due to the outcry that followed the Hoosick Falls' contamination — a fallout that included hearings by New York's Legislature and in Congress.
Hickey emerged as a folk hero in the tight-knit community when his role in detecting and alerting village leaders about the dangerous chemical was revealed in a Times Union story in December 2016.
For more than a year before that story was published, Hickey said, he had met resistance from municipal leaders when he urged them to take more urgent action to warn the public that laboratory sampling showed elevated levels of PFOA in the public drinking-water supply.
"There's still some clerical stuff that's being done, but I think that overall the community is in such a better place than I ever imagined that we would be," he said.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... 7f240cec45
Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
Dec. 27, 2021
HOOSICK FALLS — More than seven years ago, a village resident launched a personal crusade to learn why there seemed to be a high rate of unusual cancers afflicting people in this small community.
Michael Hickey, 42, an insurance underwriter who grew up in Hoosick Falls, started his research after Isabel M. McGuire, a 48-year-old math teacher at Hoosick Falls High School, died from complications associated with melanoma.
McGuire died 14 months after the cancer death of Hickey's father, John, a village board member and former longtime factory worker at the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant on McCaffrey Street, which sits on a hill not far from the underground wells that feed the village water plant.
That effort by Hickey, who discovered a toxic manufacturing chemical used by local factories had contaminated the community's water supplies, culminated this year with pending class-action settlements worth $89 million between multiple manufacturing companies, including Saint-Gobain, and thousands of residents across multiple Rensselaer County communities.
The residents will also have access to long-term medical monitoring and the companies are paying for a new water supply that will supplant the contaminated wells near the Saint-Gobain plant, which had been a focus of the pollution.
For many current and former residents, the pending settlements will also compensate them with cash payments for the potential health consequences of their exposure to the chemicals, as well as the potential loss of property value.
"It’s been, obviously, a really long road for me personally and the community as a whole," Hickey said last week.
"But I think the outcome is better than we ever expected at this point."
"We got everything we were looking for from the beginning."
Hickey, who testified before Congress in 2019, said a focus of the attorneys and community leaders is to continue educating the public about the class-action settlements and to make sure that no one entitled to compensation or medical monitoring misses out.
The $65.25 million settlement reached by three of the companies blamed for polluting public and private water supplies in and around the village of Hoosick Falls was reached shortly before a federal judge approved the terms of a second settlement, for $23.5 million, with Tonoga Inc., which owns Taconic Plastics, in nearby Petersburgh.
The companies all for decades had manufactured products coated with perfluorinated chemicals, including those that contained perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA.
PFOA exposure has been linked to health problems, including testicular and kidney cancer and thyroid disease.
The discovery of the widespread pollution galvanized residents in the eastern Rensselaer County communities, and southern Vermont, who became organized and successfully pushed legislation to strengthen laws governing clean water, including monitoring smaller water systems — for under 10,000 people — and notifying those individuals of contaminants.
Previously, regulations did not require the operators of public water supplies to test for PFOA.
In New York, PFOA had been classified by the state Health Department as an "unspecified organic contaminant" and the enforceable drinking water level of 50,000 parts per trillion had far exceeded the 400-ppt level advised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Both of those thresholds have since been lowered, in part, due to the outcry that followed the Hoosick Falls' contamination — a fallout that included hearings by New York's Legislature and in Congress.
Hickey emerged as a folk hero in the tight-knit community when his role in detecting and alerting village leaders about the dangerous chemical was revealed in a Times Union story in December 2016.
For more than a year before that story was published, Hickey said, he had met resistance from municipal leaders when he urged them to take more urgent action to warn the public that laboratory sampling showed elevated levels of PFOA in the public drinking-water supply.
"There's still some clerical stuff that's being done, but I think that overall the community is in such a better place than I ever imagined that we would be," he said.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... 7f240cec45
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
"First lawsuit under state's new Green Amendment - Constitutional amendment assures right to clean air, water"
Rick Karlin, Albany, New York Times Union
Feb. 1, 2022
ROCHESTER — Voters in November easily passed a constitutional amendment saying that New Yorkers have the right to “Clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
Last month, when the new amendment became law, a group of activists filed the first of what may be many lawsuits based on this new constitutional right.
Fresh Air for the East Side cited the new constitutional right in a suit against Waste Management and the state Department of Environmental Conservation over a 300-acre landfill in the Rochester suburbs that has been the subject of controversy for years.
The Fresh Air group has already sued in federal and state courts but their lawyer said she hopes the new constitutional amendment could help speed a resolution to the case, in which neighbors complain about the odor and methane gas leaks from the landfill, which continues to grow.
“Hopefully it will make it go a little faster,” Rochester attorney Linda Shaw, of Knauf Shaw, said, noting that a 2020 federal suit is still in the discovery stages and could drag on for a while.
When the proposed amendment was brought to voters by lawmakers, supporters said it could provide a potent new tool to hold companies and government agencies more accountable for the pollution they may be causing or allowing.
Environmentalists said the amendment helped clarify and even simplify the need for responsible operations of facilities like landfills, power plants or factories by cutting through the labyrinth of environmental regulations that the state operates under.
Waste Management’s High Acres landfill, straddling the towns of Perinton and Macedon, in Monroe and Wayne counties, accepts waste from New York City.
In fact the plaintiffs say that makes up 90 percent of the waste disposed of at the landfill.
New York City is also named in the suit, filed in State Supreme Court in Monroe County.
Shaw said they are also suing the DEC for permitting the landfill, despite what neighbors say are noxious odors and greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, that are emitted from the facility.
There is also, as Shaw described it, a loophole that has allowed High Acres to keep growing.
State regulations require that the top of landfills like this be covered, but not the sides - which rise steeply to 155 feet.
“The regulations have not kept up with the advent of these mega huge facilities,” she said.
The company in a prepared statement said that “Waste Management has received and is reviewing a copy of the most recent complaint filed by Fresh Air for the East Side."
They added that the company "is committed to addressing any open issues and to bring these cases to a satisfactory conclusion for all interested parties."
"During the time in which the federal case has been pending, Waste Management also resolved a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of residents within 2.5 miles of the landfill property."
"Most recently, both of our host communities, the Town of Perinton and the Town of Macedon, unanimously approved new 5-year operating permits and host community agreements.”
Waste Management also operates a landfill in Gansevoort, Saratoga County, and the company provides residential garbage pickup as well.
Shaw said she didn’t know of other Green Amendment lawsuits as of yet, but that could be a matter of time.
There are, she noted, 27 landfills like High Acres in New York, including Albany’s Rapp Road facility, which is scheduled to close in several years.
Launching a lawsuit like this is a costly endeavor, which could limit how many go forward.
“It’s definitely not inexpensive,” said Shaw.
And Shaw said her firm has also represented a Rochester firm that wanted to build a waste-to-energy site on a former Army depot in the Finger Lakes.
She believes that could have handled waste that normally goes to landfills, but environmentalists pushed back against that plan, she said.
Whether its waste-to-energy plants or landfills, there is pretty much constant opposition to have them nearby.
“Nobody wants these,” said Shaw.
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Rick Karlin, Albany, New York Times Union
Feb. 1, 2022
ROCHESTER — Voters in November easily passed a constitutional amendment saying that New Yorkers have the right to “Clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
Last month, when the new amendment became law, a group of activists filed the first of what may be many lawsuits based on this new constitutional right.
Fresh Air for the East Side cited the new constitutional right in a suit against Waste Management and the state Department of Environmental Conservation over a 300-acre landfill in the Rochester suburbs that has been the subject of controversy for years.
The Fresh Air group has already sued in federal and state courts but their lawyer said she hopes the new constitutional amendment could help speed a resolution to the case, in which neighbors complain about the odor and methane gas leaks from the landfill, which continues to grow.
“Hopefully it will make it go a little faster,” Rochester attorney Linda Shaw, of Knauf Shaw, said, noting that a 2020 federal suit is still in the discovery stages and could drag on for a while.
When the proposed amendment was brought to voters by lawmakers, supporters said it could provide a potent new tool to hold companies and government agencies more accountable for the pollution they may be causing or allowing.
Environmentalists said the amendment helped clarify and even simplify the need for responsible operations of facilities like landfills, power plants or factories by cutting through the labyrinth of environmental regulations that the state operates under.
Waste Management’s High Acres landfill, straddling the towns of Perinton and Macedon, in Monroe and Wayne counties, accepts waste from New York City.
In fact the plaintiffs say that makes up 90 percent of the waste disposed of at the landfill.
New York City is also named in the suit, filed in State Supreme Court in Monroe County.
Shaw said they are also suing the DEC for permitting the landfill, despite what neighbors say are noxious odors and greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, that are emitted from the facility.
There is also, as Shaw described it, a loophole that has allowed High Acres to keep growing.
State regulations require that the top of landfills like this be covered, but not the sides - which rise steeply to 155 feet.
“The regulations have not kept up with the advent of these mega huge facilities,” she said.
The company in a prepared statement said that “Waste Management has received and is reviewing a copy of the most recent complaint filed by Fresh Air for the East Side."
They added that the company "is committed to addressing any open issues and to bring these cases to a satisfactory conclusion for all interested parties."
"During the time in which the federal case has been pending, Waste Management also resolved a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of residents within 2.5 miles of the landfill property."
"Most recently, both of our host communities, the Town of Perinton and the Town of Macedon, unanimously approved new 5-year operating permits and host community agreements.”
Waste Management also operates a landfill in Gansevoort, Saratoga County, and the company provides residential garbage pickup as well.
Shaw said she didn’t know of other Green Amendment lawsuits as of yet, but that could be a matter of time.
There are, she noted, 27 landfills like High Acres in New York, including Albany’s Rapp Road facility, which is scheduled to close in several years.
Launching a lawsuit like this is a costly endeavor, which could limit how many go forward.
“It’s definitely not inexpensive,” said Shaw.
And Shaw said her firm has also represented a Rochester firm that wanted to build a waste-to-energy site on a former Army depot in the Finger Lakes.
She believes that could have handled waste that normally goes to landfills, but environmentalists pushed back against that plan, she said.
Whether its waste-to-energy plants or landfills, there is pretty much constant opposition to have them nearby.
“Nobody wants these,” said Shaw.
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Re: THE ENVIRONMENT
REUTERS
"Exclusive: White House weighs waiving smog rules on gasoline to lower pump price"
By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly
May 23, 2022
May 23 (Reuters) - The White House is considering waiving U.S. gasoline environmental rules aimed at reducing summertime smog as a way to combat rising pump prices, according to three sources involved in the discussions.
Refiners and blenders are required to avoid lower-cost components like butane in summer gasoline, but the White House is weighing suspending that rule to help lower fuel costs.
The components help elevate gasoline's Reid vapor pressure, or RVP, which contributes to smog at higher levels, particularly in the hot summer months.
No final decision has been made, the sources said.
The Biden administration has already lifted the requirement for summer sales of E15, but the waiver under consideration would apply to all grades of gasoline, the sources said.
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped 50% in the last year, to more than $4.59 on average nationally, according to the American Automobile Association.
Ten states and the District of Columbia are already paying more than $5 a gallon, with California's statewide average surging to more than $6 a gallon.
Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white- ... 022-05-23/
"Exclusive: White House weighs waiving smog rules on gasoline to lower pump price"
By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly
May 23, 2022
May 23 (Reuters) - The White House is considering waiving U.S. gasoline environmental rules aimed at reducing summertime smog as a way to combat rising pump prices, according to three sources involved in the discussions.
Refiners and blenders are required to avoid lower-cost components like butane in summer gasoline, but the White House is weighing suspending that rule to help lower fuel costs.
The components help elevate gasoline's Reid vapor pressure, or RVP, which contributes to smog at higher levels, particularly in the hot summer months.
No final decision has been made, the sources said.
The Biden administration has already lifted the requirement for summer sales of E15, but the waiver under consideration would apply to all grades of gasoline, the sources said.
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped 50% in the last year, to more than $4.59 on average nationally, according to the American Automobile Association.
Ten states and the District of Columbia are already paying more than $5 a gallon, with California's statewide average surging to more than $6 a gallon.
Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Richard Chang and David Gregorio
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white- ... 022-05-23/