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Apparently, the only creatures stirring close to Christmas Day were officials at the state Department of Environmental Conservation. That department chose to renew the permit for the Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill in Rensselaer. Guess they thought no one would be paying attention.

DEC also thought that was the case when they scheduled, in the waning weeks of summer in 2023, to hold public hearings on the fate of the landfill.

Yet, like now, people were paying attention. Many city residents and concerned citizens spoke passionately at the hearings. The common thread in most of the statements was asking DEC not to renew this permit.

Truck traffic (100 per day), diesel fumes and odors were some of the concerns raised at the hearings. The most important concern was the impact on the K-12 school community as the dump is perilously close to the campus. Studies have yet to be done that could show the impact of the landfill's proximity to those students, teachers and administrators.

Rensselaer needs to be done with Dunn. DEC must reevaluate its Christmas surprise.

Published Jan. 6, 2025

Just before Christmas, the state Department of Environmental Conservation gave another green light to Waste Connections of Texas to continue operations of the Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill in Rensselaer. Assemblyman John McDonald III, D-Cohoes, may be correct that it was a high bar to order it shuttered, but those of us living in Rensselaer feel like we took a gut punch instead of a holiday season of good tidings.

My family with four young children lives adjacent to the entrance of the school. Our kids have spent years attending the elementary school. Whatever the impact of the landfill, we are ground zero.

In 2019, I was elected to the school board and ultimately served as both president and vice president. One of my first acts as a board member, while my daughter was just four weeks old, was to propose restructuring the district’s agreement with Dunn so we were all free to speak out against its operation. It is one of the proudest votes I have ever taken. No one should be silenced.

While I did not seek a second term on the school board, my colleagues and I were steadfast in our concerns about and opposition to the landfill. It is now clear that our letters and statements fell on deaf ears.

What recourse do we have now? What path forward is available? Are we forced — literally and figuratively — to hold our collective noses?

The writer is a past member of the school board having served as its president.

Published Jan. 6, 2025

When I was a department chair at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in the 1980s and '90s, I had rather close contact with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and I had high regard for and confidence in that agency. However, that confidence and regard evaporated on Dec 23. when the DEC approved renewal of the permit for the Dunn construction and demolition debris landfill in Rensselaer. The DEC is charged with conserving the environment. It’s right there in its name. And renewing that permit is the polar opposite of conserving the environment.

The DEC made a huge mistake when it issued the initial permit for the landfill in 2012. The DEC should have acknowledged its error and denied the permit’s renewal. The Rensselaer Environmental Coalition presented ample evidence that the 2012 permit was a mistake. Further evidence can be provided by the school children, teachers, and staff, who daily have to put up with noxious odors, dust, and noise. These are major distractions to teaching and learning, distractions that often pose health risks. Ask the residents of Rensselaer who daily have to contend with truck noise and diesel exhaust fumes.

So what do we now that the DEC has totally disregarded scientific evidence and ignored the will of the people by renewing the permit? I’m not sure, but a starting point might be to begin the process of defunding the DEC. That should get the agency’s attention. Nothing else has.

Finally, what was the role of the governor? Couldn’t she have stopped the permit renewal?

The........

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