Author: Peter Mantius
Environmental groups mount campaign against use of brine as deicer in New York
A coalition of environmental groups is mounting a campaign for a statewide ban on the spreading of brine from oil and gas wells on roads for deicing or dust control. At least…
Town of Torrey, Greenidge Generation sued over potential effects on Seneca Lake
Three environmental groups and 30 individuals are seeking a court injunction to block construction or operation of a Bitcoin data mining facility at the Greenidge Generation power plant. The Sierra Club, Committee…
UPDATE: One miner dead after Cargill incident in Louisiana, prompting calls for end to salt mining under Cayuga Lake
One miner has been found dead and another remained missing early Wednesday following a roof collapse Monday at a Cargill-operated salt mine in Louisiana, renewing concerns in New York about safety at…
What impact does salting roads have on the environment? NYS begins formal review of practices
New York State, the nation’s most gung-ho user of rock salt to de-ice winter highways, plans a formal review of its practices in response to new data that links road salting to…
Gov. Cuomo vetoes stream protection bill, siding with Republican legislators over 41 environmental groups
Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed Friday a bill to protect 41,000 miles of New York State streams regularly used for fishing and boating — legislation that major environmental groups consider an essential response…
Cuomo signs bill banning incineration of toxic firefighting foam, but doesn’t include Finger Lakes hotspot
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday that permanently bans the burning of toxic firefighting foam at the Norlite LLC hazardous waste incinerator about 10 miles north of Albany. The foam has…
Fish aren’t biting on Seneca Lake: Will Greenidge’s bitcoin mining expansion will make it worse?
A local fisherman is urging Torrey town officials to consider the declining state of Seneca Lake’s fish before they approve Greenidge Generation’s planned expansion of its Bitcoin mining data center. “The fishing’s…
Angelica voters approve plan to expand Casella’s Hyland landfill into fourth largest in New York
Voters in Allegany County have given Casella Waste Services Inc. the green light to more than double the acreage and capacity for municipal solid waste at its Hyland Landfill. Angelica town and village…
Syracuse seeks state permit to apply algae-killing pesticide to Skaneateles Lake
In a bid to protect its public drinking water from algal bloom toxins, the City of Syracuse is seeking a state permit to apply an aquatic pesticide to the northern end of…
Toxic algae took it easy on Seneca Lake this year: Canandaigua, Cayuga, and Owasco lakes all got slammed
On the morning of July 4, Cayuga Lake’s first suspected harmful algal bloom of the season was spotted on the shoreline near the Beacon Bay Marina at the lake’s northeastern tip. Tests…
Legislators in Schuyler vote 7-1 to urge DEC to probe proposed Cayuta waste site; Sen. O’Mara asks for answers on traffic
The Schuyler County Legislature voted 7-1 last night for a resolution opposing a state permit for a proposed solid waste facility on Route 13 in Cayuta until: — The state Department of…
DEC says construction of storage building on proposed waste facility site in Schuyler wasn’t issue, but early earth-moving was violation
The 2019 construction of a green storage building on the site of a proposed waste facility in Schuyler County does not violate state rules that ban construction activity without a permit, the…
Schuyler County will consider resolution to block development of Cayuta waste facility
The Schuyler County Legislature is expected to consider on Oct. 13 efforts to modify or block development of a proposed facility in Cayuta that would handle up to 500 tons of waste…
DEC probes building at proposed Schuyler waste facility; waste trucks won’t travel to Seneca Meadows
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating a building on the site of a proposed waste facility near Alpine Junction in Schuyler County that was constructed before the facility had obtained…
Yates County residents encourage DEC to modify, revoke Greenidge permits over plan to expand bitcoin mining
A group of Yates County residents has asked state environmental regulators to modify, suspend or revoke Greenidge Generation’s operating permits to reflect the power plant’s rapidly developing role as an off-the-grid data…
Hyland Landfill’s proposed expansion would make it fourth largest in New York
The Hyland Landfill in Allegany County would vault from No. 8 to No. 4 in a ranking of permitted capacity among the state’s largest municipal solid waste landfills if state and local…