Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the effort to fight a proposed ash landfill in Catskill is developing. Dozens of residents attended an organizational meeting May 3, at the First Reformed Church in Catskill to discuss the next steps in the process. Attendees turned out for dinner and a brainstorming session, led by Riverkeeper Director of Advocacy and Engagement Jessica Roff. Greene County Treasurer Peter Markou was in attendance and came out in opposition to the project. The project, as proposed by Wheelabrator Technologies, would allow the company to haul 445,000 tons of ash annually from its incinerators in Peekskill, Hudson Falls and Poughkeepsie, to a 158-acre parcel on Route 9W at Smith’s Landing, which includes a former quarry owned by Peckham Materials, Inc. “I came here because of the beauty of this region,” Markou said. “When I got here, I said that water is magic and there’s opportunity here to create something.” Markou disapproves of the neutral position taken by the town board. “As a former Catskill town supervisor, I would have never entertained this project,” Markou said. “This is a disaster.” Hudson resident and Friends of Hudson co-founder Peter Jung [young] was in attendance and offered his advice. Jung is a veteran of the St. Lawrence Cement fight in Columbia County. “The key is to show the company has a poor track record and that the economics of the project aren’t good,” Jung said. Other ideas from the community included engagement with media and residents outside of the local area, including the so-called Hudson 7, the seven municipalities that get their drinking water from the Hudson River; making a presentation at Columbia-Greene Community College; and contacting local boating communities and tourism agencies. The group's next meeting will be held May 17. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.