The Sullivan County Legislature passed a resolution opposing a proposed landfill in Wawarsing, Ulster County. The resolution, sponsored by the Executive Committee, highlights concerns about the environmental impact, traffic, and property values.

The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (UCRRA) is considering two locations in Wawarsing, both near the Sullivan County border. Sullivan legislator Terry Blosser-Bernardo, former chair of the Ulster legislature, pushed the resolution. She believes the UCRRA should have consulted with Sullivan County before proposing the sites, as they’re both right near the Mamakating border.

The resolution states that the proposed sites are near areas of natural beauty and ecological significance, and that a landfill could jeopardize the rural character of the area. It also raises concerns about potential groundwater contamination, increased heavy truck traffic on local roads, and damage to property values and tourism.

“The hydrology and soil studies proposed by the ‘UCRRA,’” the resolution charges, “are inadequate to fully assess the long-term consequences of siting a landfill in these sensitive environments.”

There is also concern that the passage of so many garbage trucks would impact both the quality of life and quality of roads on the Sullivan-Ulster border.

“I don’t have an objection against a landfill. I think it should be planned a little better than they planned it,” Sullivan County Public Works Administration chair Joe Perrello told Mid-Hudson News. They should have consulted Sullivan County to find out if we had mutual areas that could suit their needs, but you just can’t come into our county.”

The Sullivan County Legislature urges the UCRRA to abandon the proposed sites and prioritize finding a location in Ulster County that is more suited to industrial development. The resolution also calls upon the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct comprehensive environmental impact assessments if a landfill is to be sited at either of the proposed locations.

The resolution passed by an 8-1 margin. The Journal reached out to Blosser-Bernardo and Perrello, but did not hear back at time of publication.