Author: Peter Mantius
Danks Burke blasts O’Mara for voting against hazardous waste bill; law may not block ‘drill cutting’ imports though
Leslie Danks Burke, the Democratic challenger to state Sen. Tom O’Mara (R-Big Flats), lashed out at her opponent Thursday for voting against a new state law that ends the oil and gas…
Cuomo signs hazardous waste bill, closing loophole allowing import of gas drilling waste from Pennsylvania
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday that makes New York the first state in the nation to apply hazardous waste laws to potentially toxic oil and gas byproducts. The action, coming just months…
Sierra Club lawsuit alleging dangerously high levels of radioactivity at Hakes Landfill dismissed
A Steuben County judge has dismissed a civil suit alleging that state officials granted Hakes C&D Disposal Landfill a permit to expand without properly considering evidence that the dump contains dangerously high…
NYS adopts strict limits on PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-Dioxane contamination in water systems; could come with high-costs
State officials adopted enforceable limits on three drinking water contaminants under new rules that will require all water systems in New York to begin testing for them, many for the first time….
Chlorine byproduct that contaminates local tap water linked to thousands of bladder cancers in Europe
The routine use of chlorine as a disinfectant in public drinking water across the Finger Lakes generates toxic chemical byproducts well above levels that recently triggered alarms in Europe over their links…
DOH finally schedules vote for July 30 on enforceable limits on PFOA, PFOS in New York
After months of delay, state health officials have scheduled a July 30 vote on proposed enforceable state limits on the highly toxic drinking water pollutants PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane. The announcement comes as…
NYC waste company drops plan to import ‘sludge’ to Wayne County
The Flushing, N.Y., waste company that proposed to haul truckloads of sludge from New York City to a rural community about 25 miles west of Syracuse said it was withdrawing its application…
Two years removed from 9-day boil water emergency, Watkins Glen still hasn’t tackled long-overdue system upgrades
Members of the Phish rock band were just about to begin their on-stage sound checks on Aug. 16, 2018, when state and local officials abruptly pulled the plug on their weekend music…
Casella ramps up efforts to suppress foul odors at Ontario County Landfill
Can a mega-dump ever control it’s rotten-egg stench? That remains to be seen, but Casella Waste Systems Inc. finally appears to be responding to a combination of legal actions, public pressure and…
Public Service Commission rules that Greenidge bitcoin mining operation isn’t subject to regulation; dismisses environmental concerns
The state Public Service Commission ruled today that Greenidge Generation LLC’s use of unmetered electricity to drive banks of computers that mine Bitcoin at its Dresden power plant is not subject to PSC…
PSC plans to quietly rule on Greenidge’s bitcoin mining operation
Greenidge Generation LLC has asked the state Public Service Commission for a ruling on the legal status of its controversial Bitcoin mining operation, and a decision — based on a skimpy public…
SLPWA leadership urges PSC to avoid being ‘fooled’ by Greenidge request to sidestep regulation of bitcoin mining
Joining a growing outcry, Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association urged the state Public Service Commission today to reject Greenidge Generation LLC’s bid to fast-track rules for regulating its Bitcoin mining operation. “We believe…
Intense algal blooms in Watkins Glen near drinking water intake pipe still haven’t spurred regular testing
Two of Seneca Lake’s most intense harmful algal blooms of 2019 occurred in the Watkins Glen marina, only a few hundred feet away from the end of the intake pipe that supplies…
Cargill agrees to pay $318K, curb salt dust and runoff into Cayuga Lake as part of bid to settle lawsuit
In a proposed settlement of a federal lawsuit, Cargill Inc. has agreed to pay more than $300,000 and take steps to minimize salt dust and salt runoff into streams near its salt…
Judge dismisses Seneca Meadows lawsuit challenging Local Law #3 in Seneca Falls
A Seneca County judge has dismissed Seneca Meadows Inc.’s three-year-old legal challenge to a local law that requires it to close by December 2025. In an order dated April 28 and emailed to…
INSIDE THE FLX: Peter Mantius gives update on environmental headlines (podcast)
Today on Inside the FLX a conversation with Peter Mantius. He founded The Water Front Online, which is dedicated to reporting on environmental issues in the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Western New…
