Wednesday, October 3, 2018 from 7:00-9:00 PM

Doors Open at 6:15 PM. Candidates Welcome at 6:00 PM.

Ginegaw Lodge, Lorraine Drive, Walworth, NY

Agenda

  • Welcome by Gary McNeil, President FAFE, Inc.

  • Opening By Moderator-Jeffrey Siuda, M.Ed.

    • Introduction of Candidates

    • Format Overview

    • Candidates Self-Introduction (60 seconds per candidate)

  • FAFE Questions-See below

  • Resident Questions-Screened by FAFE not provided to candidates ahead of time

  • End of Event

Event Format

  • Moderator will ask questions and each candidate will get an opportunity to answer each question

  • The order of responses will be the order the candidates are lined up, left to right

  • Candidates will be given 2 minutes to provide a response

  • After each candidate has provided a response, there will be an additional 30 seconds allotted for each candidates (again, left to right) to add to their initial response, or address topics brought up by other candidates.

  • Once the initial responses and follow up responses are completed, we will move on to the next question.

  • Candidates were provided an initial set of questions one week ago. Those questions will be covered in the first part of this forum. The second part of the forum will follow, which is comprised of questions provided by community members. Those questions were not provided to the candidates prior to the forum.

FAFE Questions

  1. High Acres started accepting municipal solid waste by rail from NYC in the middle of 2015, almost doubling the daily intake at the landfill overnight. This waste now makes up more than 70% of all MSW intake at the landfill. Other landfills in WNY also began to take in waste from NYC because out of state landfills rejected contract renewals for NYC garbage. The primary landfill in Albany is reaching capacity and High Acres is also taking in waste from that area as well. Do you feel WNY should be the dumping ground for NYC and Albany? If not, what would you propose to counter the current trend?

  2. As a result of the negative impacts on the community by Waste Management, local residents and members of FAFE have coordinated efforts to reduce waste by promoting and education residents on zero waste initiatives, recycling, and composting. Due in part to Waste Management’s failure to send clean recyclables to China, the Chinese no longer want our recyclables because they were apparently mixed with too much garbage. What specific initiatives would you require the waste industry to implement to clean-up the recyclable waste stream so that China will accept our recyclables again? Or, would you move to force the waste industry to create recyclable industries here in the United States to reuse our waste at the local and state level?

  3. The NYS Environmental Conservation Law lists Waste-To-Energy technology as a more the favorable method of waste management in NYS, as opposed to landfilling. Although state law favors this new technology, the reality is that landfilling is the preferred method of corporations like Waste Management because it is cheaper to dump garbage on top of the ground than building a state-of-the-art Waste-To-Energy plant. Recently, a community in the Finger Lakes region, along with environmental groups, opposed a new Waste-To-Energy plant, a stance that Governor Cuomo ultimately supported, which perpetuates the need to landfill. Please share your thoughts on Waste-To-Energy technology versus landfilling, and how the state can promote newer, cleaner ways to manage waste.

  4. Waste Management has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to both political parties, locally and statewide, over the last two years. Some contributions include very large dollar amounts provided after the High Acres Landfill implosion, including $3,000 to the Monroe County Republican Campaign Committee in November 2017, $10,000 to Governor Cuomo in March 2018, and $7,500 to the Monroe County Democratic Committee in April 2017. Should local residents feel betrayed by both parties for taking campaign contributions from Waste Management, and can residents trust you as a candidate to represent your constituent’s concerns over corporations like Waste Management?

  5. NYSDEC is responsible for enforcing the permits the state has granted to Waste Management in regards to the High Acres Landfill yet many residents feel that NYSDEC has not fulfilled that responsibility in the last year. What are your plans around holding NYSDEC accountable for fulfilling its responsibilities, and how can you assist in the process of ensuring the state oversight and enforcement is as effective as possible?

  6. Waste Management recently opened the third distinct landfill at the High Acres site. The first two landfills are located in Perinton, and the new landfill that was just opened is located in Macedon. Eventually, plans call for the second and third landfills to be connected. FAFE has argued that Waste Management made negligent business decisions to exclude a series of required horizontal pipes in Cells 10 and 11, and that the Perinton side of the landfill should be closed permanently. It is now temporarily closed, with 18 acres covered by plastic geo-membranes, which can be credited with reducing the excessive gas odors that were experienced from summer of 2017 through summer of 2018. FAFE is extremely concerned that once the geo-membrane covers are peeled off, gas odors in additional to what we are still experiencing will return. Do you agree that the Perinton side of the landfill should permanently close?

  7. Having two towns, in two counties, involved with Waste Management has complicated the situation. In what ways would you work with both the Perinton and Macedon Town Boards to assist them in their relationships with Waste Management? What about the NYSDEC?