To the Editor:
Federal law has long required industries discharging into municipal sewage plants to notify those plants if they are sending hazardous wastes or priority pollutants (40 CFR 403.12(p)). Priority pollutants are 126 chemicals identified by the EPA — including mercury, lead, arsenic, benzene, PCBs, and pesticides. PFAS, the “forever chemicals,” pose similar risks and are slipping into our rivers and streams.
For those unfamiliar, leachate is the dirty liquid that forms when clean rainwater trickles through a landfill, picking up chemicals and pollutants like a coffee filter — except instead of coffee, it carries poisons like metals, pesticides, and PFAS. It must be carefully managed and treated.
Yet questions remain: Is the landfill leachate being trucked to sewage plants without proper oversight? If so, our laws are being ignored.
Under 6 NYCRR §360.19(n)(2), closed landfills remain subject to DEC-approved post-closure plans, including leachate management. 6 NYCRR §360.4(b)(9) requires a leachate management plan, and the DEC’s Division of Materials Management must approve the receiving treatment plant (POTW) as part of the closure permit. On top of this, 6 NYCRR Part 364 requires only registered haulers transport leachate, and only to DEC-approved facilities.
If these safeguards are not enforced, untreated priority pollutants and PFAS may be entering our waterways — threatening wildlife, recreation, and even drinking water wells fed by nearby streams.
These protections exist for a reason. Isn’t it time the DEC, EPA, and our elected officials stopped sticking their heads in the sand and made sure the law is followed? Our water security depends on it.
Susan Cleaver
Goshen