PROPOSED GHENT TRANSFER STATION RAISES CONCERN

Mike McCagg

ccSCOOP News

06-09-10 - 9:55 a.m. - A proposal to construct a transfer station just off state Route 9H in the Town of Ghent has raised concerns and triggered some to paper the town with flyers claiming that the transfer station will be actually be a dump.

The proposal, by trash hauler County Waste, would locate the station on 3.7 acres off Falls Road, just behind the BAC Sales/Amanda’s Fireplace building that was recently destroyed by fire. The proposed County Waste facility would include an 8,000-square-foot building and serve as a transfer station for an estimated average of 240 tons a day of household waste and construction and demolition debris, officials said. Approximately 30 trucks are expected to enter the facility daily with 11 trucks carrying “roll-offs” expected to leave. At its June meeting, the Ghent Planning Board postponed a hearing on the proposal so that engineers for County Waste could address concerns raised by the Planning Board and its engineer, explained Planning Board Chairman Jonathan Walter said. Those concerns are:

• Need for more detailed information on how County Waste will collect and dispose of leachate;
• Very specific fire protection plan for the facility;
• Issues regarding a right of way to be granted by an adjoining property owner.

Walters said such facilities are classified as a "truck terminal, truck transfer station" and are allowed under Ghent zoning code by special permit. Officials also said that the fire protection plan is especially needed given the recent spate of fires in the area—three in five months, two involving retail/industrial facilities.

“I expect the hearing will re-open in July,” Walters said.

The proposed transfer station has drawn concern among residents with posters attached to a series of light poles in the hamlet and elsewhere warning about the planned "dump.” Walters said that about eight residents were at the meeting to hear about the proposal, though none spoke officially. “They were there just to listen,” he said. “My sense is the people thought it was a dump, but when the people heard County Waste’s presentation . . . they calmed down a bit.”  Still, he said he expects a group to attend the hearing on July 7 at 7 p.m.

County Waste officials told the Ghent Planning Board that the waste being brought to the station will be collected only from Columbia and Greene counties, and the greatest potential hazardous waste that might end up at the site is asbestos-lined pipes. They explained that, when there is hazard waste, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is immediately notified, and the materials are quarantined in a containment box.

Addressing concerns about the impact on neighboring properties, Walters said that fencing will surround the property and “attractive landscaping" added.