GARBAGE IMPORTATION

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Onondaga County Officials are reviewing plans with Cortland County to swap trash for ash. There is no discussion of costs, finances or alternatives. This will be a 20 year contract that is based entirely on importation of garbage!!

OCRRA has spent over 7 million dollars for a permitted landfill in Van Buren (8 miles from the city line) that will never be used and have paid a yearly host fee of $56,500 annually to the town of Van Buren. They pay a host fee to the Town of Onondaga of $100,000 per year.

The last time there was a similar idea to import waste (1996), a standing room only crowd convinced the legislature not to. The Rock Cut Road incinerator is over 20 years old. The people of this county were told it would burn their trash only. In fact, a law was passed to prohibit importation of waste! Now our legislators want to recind that law and the importation of trash will begin!

Some of the chemicals emitted from this incinerator include lead, mercury, cadmium, ammonia, formaldehyde, sulfuric acid and fine particulates along with carbon dioxide and others that contribute to climate change. There is no acknowledgement in their self-promotion that any pollution is generated, yet, hazardous air pollutants were reported to DEC for 2012.

In 2004, the Public Service Commission noted that for each megawatt of electricity produced, trash incineration caused six times as much mercury pollution as burning coal in power plants. (Mercury has been detected in fish in Glacier Lake; Jamesville Reservoir has not been tested.)

The surrounding population of the incinerator includes some of the most vulnerable citizens and 45% of all the elderly in Onondaga County. There are 46 schools, 16 recreational areas and 20 water sources in a 4 mile radius.

The CEO of Covanta, Anthony Orlando, earns between 5 and 15 million dollars per year! Covanta threatens to be a waste merchant of undesirable materials if we allow the County to break their promises! Their incinerator in Niagara Falls imports garbage from Canada, Puerto Rico, Texas and numerous other states. Do you really want to see that happen here? How much profit is enough to risk our health and environment?

The Health department monitoring has been gutted and the NYS stack tests are done once a year pre-announced and get a do over if they don’t pass! This year Covanta failed a PAH stack test and OCRRA failed to notify the Health Department as required by local law (safeguards put in place by prior legislators).

The incidences of breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer are higher in Onondaga County compared to NYS and the U.S.* (source OCHD and NYSDOH) Local breast cancer data below:

ZIP Code Post Office Included ZIP Codes

Numberof CasesObserved

Numberof CasesExpected Percent Difference from Expected

13027

Baldwinsville 13137 129 116.3 Within 15% of expected

13029

Brewerton 23 19.5 15 to 49% above expected

13030

Bridgeport* 11 16.4 15 to 50% below expected

13031

Camillus 64 67.4 Within 15% of expected

13035

Cazenovia* 45 32.3 15 to 49% above expected

13037

Chittenango* 27 31.8 15 to 50% below expected

13039

Cicero 75 55.3 15 to 49% above expected

13041

Clay 23 31.1 15 to 50% below expected

13052

De Ruyter* 9 6.5 15 to 49% above expected

13057

East Syracuse 66 67.6 Within 15% of expected

13060

Elbridge 13153 10 11.3 Within 15% of expected

13063

Fabius 6 6.7 Very sparse data

13066

Fayetteville 72 57.0 15 to 49% above expected

13077

Homer* 30 27.0 Within 15% of expected

13078

Jamesville 13138 61 40.7 More than 50% above expected

13080

Jordan* 14 13.1 Within 15% of expected

13082

Kirkville* 22 20.3 Within 15% of expected

13084

La Fayette 12 17.3 15 to 50% below expected

8.7% of Onondaga County adults currently report having physician diagnosed asthma*(*OCHD)

Experts on the subject believe that this county should be producing jobs from our recyclables instead of destroying resources. The Governor has announced a Start Up N.Y. program to help locate or expand local businesses. Why not take advantage of our recycling efforts? Onondaga County needs to plan a sustainable future for the next generation.

NYS Beyond Waste plan prefers waste reduction, recycling, reuse, repair and composting with a goal of Zero Waste in the future. This won’t happen if we have to fill the incinerator plant with garbage either from here or anywhere.

We must renegotiate the length of the Covanta contract as in the past

Click the Link Below to Watch the Video!

No Ash for Trash

We are requesting that you or your organization sign on to support that no further negotiations are continued or planned until the County engages in an updated Health Risk Assessment. It’s the least we all can do to be sure that our Onondaga County residents and children are not in further danger. All you need to do is email us your name or your organization to be added to the list of supporters.

Date: January 22, 2015RE: Onondaga/ Cortland Trash Importation Plan Dear Friends, Please give your support in protecting our Onondaga County residents and children. Groups and individuals in our area have significant concerns about the potential adverse environmental, economic, social justice, and public health impacts of garbage incineration and importation of trash into Onondaga County. We are requesting that you sign on to support that no further negotiations are continued or planned until Onondaga County engages in an updated Health Risk Assessment. This has not been done in association with incineration. The last assessment was done in 1988.  Onondaga County officials have been reviewing plans with Cortland County to import Cortland’s waste to the Rock Cut Road incinerator for the next 20 years. In turn, the ash from Cortland and Onondaga Counties will be imported to Cortland County’s landfill. There have been two hearings regarding the Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) and the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) in regard to this proposed plan. In 1996, a law was enacted by the Onondaga County Legislature to ban the importation of waste from other counties. Cortland has a similar law in place. The last time importation was discussed in 1996, a standing room only crowd convinced legislators NOT to import trash. Now, we have a 20 year old incinerator and an outdated mode of trash removal. In 2004, the Public Service Commission noted that for each megawatt of electricity produced, trash incineration caused six times as much mercury pollution as burning coal in power plants. Mercury has been detected in fish in Glacier Lake at Clark Reservation State Park; Jamesville Reservoir has yet to be tested. Some of the chemicals emitted from this incinerator include lead, dioxins, mercury, cadmium, formaldehyde, fine particulates, carbon dioxide and others that contribute to climate change and have significant health effects such as cancer, asthma and suspected neurological issues.  The surrounding population of the incinerator includes some of the most vulnerable citizens and 45% of the elderly in Onondaga County. There are 46 schools, 16 recreational areas and 20 water sources in a four mile radius of the incinerator. The incidences of breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer are higher in Onondaga County compared to NYS and the U.S. This information comes directly from the Onondaga County Health Department data. Experts on this subject believe that this country’s next steps are toward creating jobs from recyclables instead of destroying resources. In addition, New York State’s Beyond Waste program prefers waste reduction, recycling, ruse, repair and composting with a goal of zero waste in the future. This will not happen if we need to feed the Rock Cut Road incinerator plant with garbage either from here or anywhere. We are requesting that you or your organization sign on to support that no further negotiations are continued or planned until the County engages in an updated Health Risk Assessment. It’s the least we all can do to be sure that our Onondaga County residents and children are not in further danger. All you need to do is email us your name or your organization to be added to the list of supporters. Thank you for your consideration.  Sincerely,Patrick J. Brown, pbrown13@twcny.rr.com Vice ChairJAM-PAC (Jamesville Positive Action Committee)

Here are the facts:

• Trash INCINERATORS ARE EXPENSIVE

• Trash burning is BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

• Trash burning HURTS YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR CHILDREN’S HEALTH

Onondaga County Legislators and the County Executive want to BREAK

TRASH IMPORTATION LAWS THAT PROTECT US!

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

DEMAND that a new health risk assessment be done! Email pbrown13@twcny.rr.com to add your name or organization to the list. Call (315) 435-2070 or write your legislator. Information on email and addresses for your legislator can be found at: http://ongov.net/legislature/members.html or send your letter of support for NO ASH FOR TRASH to: Deborah L. Maturo, Clerk401 Montgomery Street Room 407 Court HouseSyracuse, New York 13202(315) 435-2070

Sign our petition calling for safer alternatives. Call 315-469-0673 to help get a petition started in your area! Then when completed, mail to: P.O. Box 182 Jamesville, NY 13078  Call or write the county executive to express your support for NO ASH FOR TRASH at:Office of the County ExecutiveJohn H. Mulroy Civic Center, 14th floor.Syracuse, New York 13202 Telephone 315-435-3516

 

Thank you for your support in helping to sustain our health, environment and economy for our future

generations.