MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting more than 200 people filled the Athens Firehouse March 1, to hear about the proposed construction and demolition debris processing facility on the Athens waterfront. The plan by Athens Stevendoring and Environmental Development would add to the environmental degradation of the region, said geologist David Walker, of Keep it Greene, who briefed the residents at the information session. “This project on North Washington Street right on the edge of the central part of town, would be used as a transfer station for barged material from recycling centers in the city (of New York), be processed at the Athens terminal and [then] be distributed by trucks to various building and construction sites throughout the upstate New York region,” he said. Walker said estimates of daily truck traffic carting the material out would range from every eight minutes to every 20 minutes daily. “This project potentially has a serious environmental impact,” former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck told Columbia-Media last month. “C&D debris is not just dirt and rocks,” she said. “It’s called ‘cocktailing,’ where toxic substances are blended in.” She said a full environmental review is in order, but before anything else happens, the applicant should hold a community meeting. "This should not happen behind closed doors," Enck said. The proposal has not been registered with the State Department of Environmental Conservation yet, Walker said. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.