Rapp Road landfill in Albany gets DEC permit to expand

The city of Albany's Rapp Road landfill has been granted a permit for expansion, which will give the city and the Capital Region an additional 7 years of space for disposing waste.

The expansion, first proposed in 2005, was met with some resistance from the community over environmental concerns.

After four years of planning and discussion, though, the city said the Rapp Road facilities "provide seven more years of predictable and reasonably priced waste disposal."

"It also provides the time it will take to plan the next generation of waste management facilities and programs for our Region," continued a statement by Mayor Jerry Jennings. "There will clearly need to be a heavy emphasis on more waste reduction and recycling, minimizing the remaining waste stream that will need to be treated or shipped to another disposal site."

According to the city, the expansion will provide the following public benefits:

•·       The time to plan for and ensure that the next generation of regional waste management facilities is operational before the Rapp Road landfill capacity is exhausted.

•·       The expansion includes a Pine Bush Habitat Restoration Plan that will involve the restoration of about 250 acres of land on and around the landfill site.

•·       The continued operation of the landfill will provide the funding needed to implement the next generation of more aggressive waste reduction and recycling programs in partnership with the DEC.

•·       All of the landfill gas generated, which is a renewable energy source, will be used in gas to energy plants to produce electricity. One plant is already operational and a second plant is now in the planning stages, anticipated to be on line in late 2009.