On Tuesday, Aug. 11, a Finger Lakes Daily News article revealed Seneca Meadows, Inc., the largest waste management and recycling facility in New York State, has generated more than over 65 million gallons of leachate annually from 2019 through 2023, flowing through sewage plants and into drinking water sources.
Based on public records and information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, “The Leachate Loophole in New York State,” a detailed investigative report by New York River Watch, breaks down the catastrophic background and findings this contamination will have on the region. Landfill leachate, a toxic liquid formed from rain and melting snow filter through buried garbage, reveals the modern landfills take great measures to contain landfill leachates to prevent it from spreading but “once this leachate is collected, it is sent to municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs), facilities that are not designed or equipped to remove the hazardous substances found in leachate.”
The toxic liquid is known to absorb heavy metals, chemicals and PFAS — better known as “forever chemicals” — and is said to have traveled in waterways like the Black River, Seneca River and Niagara River.
According to the report, due to the limitation of these sewage plants, diluting landfills leachates has become a common practice to combat this conflict. But it’s made clear “dilution does not reduce the threat of toxic contaminants. Instead, it simply disperses them, spreading contamination across larger volumes of water and transporting them farther into the environment where they can accumulate over time.”
A 2016 local Seneca Falls law originally ordered the facility to shutdown by the end of 2025, but the landfills owners, Texas-based Waste Connections, challenged the order in court. In court, Seneca Meadows, Inc. successfully challenged the town’s law, with appellate and state rulings invalidating or dismissing the attempts to enforce the shutdown. Despite it entering litigation ever since, its legal battles only grew.
In 2024, Seneca Lake Guardian and other local advocacy groups filed separate lawsuits against Seneca Meadows, Inc. and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to block the landfill’s proposed expansion. They argued the foul odors from the landfill violates the state’s Green Amendment, which recognizes individual rights to clean air, water and a healthy environment. They also argued DEC failed to properly enforce these rights, including air pollution regulations.
In that time, the 400-acre landfill, which takes about 6% of its annual trash, or 75,000 tons, from New York City, has continued operations. With the recent news about the leachate, New York River Watch, an environmental advocacy organization, is drawing attention to this and has been campaigning for stricter regulations on landfills leachate management.
New York River Watch went as far as calling for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and DEC to stop the practice of sending millions of gallons of landfill leachate through local sewage systems. “The Leachate Loophole in New York State” has identified Seneca Meadows, Inc. as the state’s largest leachate producer.
As the environment continues to change, its human influence through industrialization has the most significant impact. While local advocacy groups fight to preserve their Green Amendment rights, Waste Connections is seeking approval to expand its land to continue operations through 2040 and continues to defend their safety compliance and promised leachate treatment investments.
Residents and local businesses near Seneca Meadows, Inc. have organized a pushback at town board and state DEC meetings over the facility’s management of foul odors, expansion plans and leachate.
Featured image: Photo by Antoine GIRET on Unsplash
Edited by James Sutton
