Democracy In Albany

The Wife tells me that Guilderland contributes in one year only one and a half days worth of garbage into the Rapp Road Dump.  

That's based on the maximum allowed (by the State) volume of sludge and garbage that is dumped by corporate haulers in one single day.  And by the way, we have strong evidence that the City routinely allows corporate haulers to dump way more than the maximum allowed per day.

So Guilderland's trash is almost nothing compared to the corporate haulers.  This is what people need to understand.  That giant pile of Jerry's Shit out in the Pine Bush is not our household garbage, this is mostly toxic sludge sent hundreds miles to Albany to take advantage of the cheap rates.

And now Jerry Jennings sees nothing wrong with making the Albany City taxpayers pay this extra ten dollars a ton so that His precious corporate constituents don't have to pay.  

There is now a movement to get the State of NY to stop using the Rapp Road Dump.  Do you suppose the State might have a conflict of interest?  Perhaps that's why the State is ignoring it's own laws by granting approval, regulations that it vigorously enforces everywhere else.

The City is permitted to dump a total of 140 tpd.

The Capital Region Solid Waste Management Partnership Planning Unit's (Formerly ANSWERS) member communities are permitted to jointly dump a total of 120 tpd

Only God and some guy with a crooked nose knows for sure from where the remaining 790 tpd comes from.

We're told it all comes from within the planning unit communities, but a few years ago we had Long Island Carting dumping here, so I don't believe that. (They stiffed us for the bill, too.)

According to the purchase papers for the Coeymans land, Albany defined their wasteshed as being from any community or transfer station within a hundred mile radius of Rapp Road. That's verifiable. And the Coeymans landfill permit is still active. It's never been withdrawn by Albany or pushed forward as required by the lead agent, DEC.

We're told the recession is the reason the gross landfill revenue has fallen to around $11 million, down from an all-time high of about $13.7 million high but who really knows? Could be because the guy running the scales had passed out from the fumes and missed a few trucks.

Nitido's report to the council puts the actual landfill revenue for 2007 at $11.444 million, the operating costs at $4.38 million and the cost to ship out 35,700 tons of our garbage per year at $49 per ton at $1.8 million. You do the math.

Even at $3 million per year to ship out our garbage, it would take 14 years to spend $41 million.

But there are other conditions that DEC has imposed upon the city's operating permit that Jordan didn't relate. The days that the dump can accept garbage have been cut back, too, among other things.

Allied and the other large volume haulers, like County Waste and Waste Management, are being charged $42 per ton tipping fee.

The Planning Unit's member communities, the city's "Partners" are charged $57 per ton.

Anybody else see something wrong here?

Real nice, isn't it, to charge your "partners" $15 more per ton for their garbage than you charge the commercial guys bringing in garbage from who knows where. Some good neighbor Albany is to treat your neighbors, your partners, so well.

But we in Coeymans have known for a long time about what a good neighbor Albany is, we've got the broken teeth to prove it.

I digress. Sludge dumpers are charged $58 per ton and Construction & Demolition dumpers are charged the most, $66 per ton.

Speaking of a kick in the teeth, wouldn't it be a crime if Saratoga decided that now was the time to open their dump?

Did I forget to mention that the Hudson Falls incinerator just lowered their tipping fee to $40 a ton?

Hey, we always have the state's PILOT to count on, don't we? Oops! Jerry's already gotten those payments accelerated, and now with the well dry and Coeymans wet, what are you gonna do!!

Hey Jerry, who ya gonna call now that Joey & Johnny's gone, Gilli? Good luck with that.

Oh, I almost forgot... About the bonding for the restoration... That's necessary, unavoidable and required because the monies that were to be set aside for the closing costs weren't. (But that would only cost about $12 mil and not $18 Mil, cause they're not gonna disturb the wetlands, which the other $6 mil was to be spent on for the expansion, but haven't gotten the ok for that work from the Army Corps.) How you gonna pay it back? Raise the tipping fees or taxes, or both? It's impossible to repay from landfill derived revenue.

But don't worry, our wise former City Planner, Bill Bruce has a plan! Phew! I had you goin' there for a minute, didn't I?

The CHA rep told the committee members, Sano, Igoe and Scalzo (Hear No, See No & No No), the three guys who have recommended bonding out $15.645 Mil, $900k of it for consultants fees, just what our savior Bill's plan was...

They would create a regional waste authority! Brilliant!, But how's that gonna repay our debt??

Simple, really. Once we get our "partners" to fall for creating an Authority, we dump our debt on them!

Hey it's only fair, we're partners, after all.

Then we can tax the hell out of 'em.