ALBANY: On October 19, Willard Bruce, Commissioner of the
Albany Department of General Services, made a presentation
to the Common Council about the proposed landfill expansion
in the Pine Bush. During the meeting, he told the Common
Council members that the City was no longer obligated to
dedicate the Fox Run Estate (a mobile home park) to the Albany
Pine Bush Preserve.
The City is proposing to expand the landfill onto the Fox
Run Estate, the land that was required to be dedicated to
the Preserve.
In 2000, the City obtained a permit to operate its current
landfill called the P-4 landfill expansion. As a mitigation
measure for that permit, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation required the City to purchase
the Fox Run Estate and dedicate the land to the Albany Pine
Bush Preserve.
At the time, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) held an option
to purchase the Fox Run Estate, and the City was directed
to purchase the option from TNC and buy the land (see
related story).
The City acquired the option and purchased the Fox Run
Estate in 2000. At the time of the purchase, the City was
required to dedicate the 40 acres not occupied by trailers
(of the total of 60 acres) to the Preserve. When all of the
residents of the mobile home park leave the other 20 acres
is to be dedicated to the Preserve.
The language requiring dedication is unambiguous. At the
meeting, the Honorable Dominick Calsolaro (Common Council
member, First Ward) read out loud the requirement from page
11 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for
the P-4 landfill expansion to Mr. Bruce:
“Upon issuance of a permit for the P-4 Project, the City
will acquire the existing option, held by the Nature Conservancy,
for the 60 acre site immediately north of the Rapp Road landfill
(Fox Run Estates and the proposed expansion area of Fox Run
Estates), with dedication of the undeveloped portion (approximately 40
acres) to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission upon closing, and dedication
of the remaining, developed portion (approximately 20 acres)
to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission upon closure of the mobile
home park;”
In response, Mr. Bruce told the Common Council members
that documents had been exchanged with DEC and that the dedication
of the land was no longer required. He said the City “did intend to dedicate
the land, but things change.” He said that the FEIS
had been altered.
Alarmed that this condition of the P-4 landfill permit
had been changed, Lynne Jackson of Save the Pine Bush wrote
a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the City of
Albany asking for copies of those documents which show that
the City was no longer required to dedicate the Fox Run Estate
to the Preserve.
In response to this FOIL, Ms. Jackson received two letters,
both written by a lawyer representing the City to the NYS
Department of Environmental Conservation. Both of these letters
confirm that the City intends to full-fill its obligation
and dedicate the land.
The first letter, written on March 30, 2000, says:
“The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the schedule
for the completion of the acquisition of the Fox Run Estates
property, as required by Special Condition 29 in the above referenced permit.
“At this time, it is anticipated that completion of the acquisition
of the Fox Run Estates will be as set forth on the enclosed
schedule. . . ”
A time-line for acquisition is included and states:
“on or before 12/31/2000 [-] dedicate, if possible without
subdivision, the approximately 40 acres of undeveloped land
to Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, . . .”
The second letter, written on October 1, 2004, says:
“The purpose of this letter is to provide you with an update
regarding the status of the dedication of the Fox Run Estates
property to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. . .
“The City is exploring various options to accomplish this
dedication, and will keep the Department advised, as appropriate.
. . ”
The two letters the City sent to support Mr. Bruce
completely contradict Mr. Bruce’s contention that dedication is
no longer required.
The day after the meeting, the Albany City Clerk
sent out a letter from Mr. Bruce to the Common Council
members, clarifying the City’s
position on the dedication. In this letter, Mr. Bruce stated
that he never said that the FEIS for the P-4 landfill expansion
had been changed. He wrote:
”The important point, as indicated in the [October 1] letter,
is that the portion of the site now being considered for a landfill
expansion, (the developed portion) was never intended to be dedicated
until 2015, because it would continue to be a developed, occupied
site, and some residents would remain on site until then. If we
do get an expansion approved, it would likely provide disposal
capacity to perhaps 2017. Then it would be closed and capped
with a special seed mixture that compliments Pine Bush habitat, about
2 years difference from the originally anticipated 2015
dedication of the developed portion of the mobile home park.”
So what Mr. Bruce is saying in this clarifying letter
is that the City will dedicate the land to the Preserve
after it has been made into a landfill and filled with
garbage.
Save the Pine Bush demands that the City immediately full-fill
its obligation to dedicate the Fox Run Estate property
to the Preserve and seek a better solution to its
solid waste issue than creating yet another landfill in the
Pine Bush.
Published November/December 2005
