For Release: Friday, February 1, 2008

DEC Announces $7.5 Million for Landfill Closure Projects

Nine communities across New York State will receive $7.5 million from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to complete landfill closure and gas recovery projects, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today. The grants will help the communities buy and install equipment to protect public health and to explore alternative energy opportunities that will utilize the recaptured landfill gases.

"Impacts to our air quality, water quality and climate come from many different sources," Commissioner Grannis said. "These grants will enable communities to recover some of their investments in landfill maintenance and technologies to help improve operations and reduce greenhouse gases."

DEC's landfill closure and gas recovery grants are provided through a combination of the 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act (EQBA) and the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), which supports a variety of important, ongoing environmental efforts, including municipal waste reduction and recycling projects and municipal landfill closure projects. Including today's announcement, more than $208 million has been provided by DEC to municipalities for more than 156 landfill closure and gas recovery projects.

The landfill closure program is for municipalities with inactive solid waste landfills or landfills that will be inactive within 18 months of application. The landfill gas recovery program is for municipal owners or operators of landfills who have incurred costs associated with design and construction of active landfill gas collection and treatment systems. The policy for implementing the landfill gas recovery program was issued in 2004 and legislative changes provided additional funding for the program in 2005. While some grant applications from municipalities were received prior to the policy's approval, DEC has been distributing funds as they are made available. Since taking over at DEC in 2007, Commissioner Grannis has pushed to speed up grant processing and eliminate needless delays.

State assistance grants for these projects are capped a maximum of $2 million or 50 percent of total project cost, whichever is less. Municipalities with a population of less than 3,500 can receive 90 percent reimbursement of total project cost for landfill closure projects. All projects are subject to a final eligible cost review and final eligible cost approval.

A list of proposed eligible landfill closure and gas recovery projects follows.

Recipient	Facility/Description	Grant
Ontario County Landfill	The Ontario County Landfill is located on Post Farm Road in Stanley. This grant will provide funding for the general construction and installation of the gas collection system, flare installation and electric services for the gas flares, line extension and wiring.	$718,894
Town of Colonie Landfill	The Town of Colonie Landfill Gas System is located at the Town of Colonie Landfill, on New Loudon Road, in the City of Cohoes, Albany County. This grant will provide funding for installation and expansion of the gas flaring system and installation of horizontal gas collection laterals. This project will utilize the landfill gas to produce electricity.	$495,271
Madison County Landfill	The Madison County Landfill is located on Buyea Road in Wampsville. This grant will provide funding for the design, engineering, permitting, equipment installation and enhancements and for the electric grid interconnection to deliver energy to users.	$1,355,048
Broome County Solid Waste Management	The Broome County Landfill is located on Knapp Road in Binghamton. This grant will provide funding for the gas installation system, landfill vertical expansion design and construction review, installation of horizontal wells and upgrading the gas collection system.	$800,000
Delaware County Landfill	The Delaware County gas to energy project is located at the Delaware County Solid Waste Management Center in Walton. This grant will provide funding for the well installation, well heads, gas headers, gas lateral, inline valves and enclosures, condensate trap assembly and the engineering design and construction.	$200,000
City of Saratoga Springs Landfill	The City of Saratoga Springs Landfill Gas Project is located on Weibel Avenue in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County. This grant will provide funding for the construction and major upgrades to the landfill gas collection and delivery system and will utilize the gas to generate electricity & hot water for the city ice rink.	$747,043
Rapp Road Waste Management Facility	The Rapp Road Waste Management Facility is located at 525 Rapp Road in Albany, Albany County. The grant for this landfill gas project will provide funding for a series of horizontal gas collection trenches and vertical collection wells connected to a header system that extends around the facility which connects the central blower/flare system.	$866,524
Lindley Industrial Landfill	The Lindley Landfill is a 126 acre site located on Gibson Road in the Town of Lindley, Steuben County. This grant will provide funding for the construction of the barrier layer, barrier protection layer, topsoil layer and establish the vegetative cover.	$606,235
Town of Brookhaven Landfill	The Town of Brookhaven Landfill is located on Horseblock Road in Brookhaven, Suffolk County. This grant will provide funding for the installation of landfill gas collection, treatment and electric generation facilities expenses associated with cells 4, 5, and 6.	$1,806,681