Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that Ulster County legislators were "cautiously receptive" at a a special meeting Tuesday night of the Ulster County Legislature March 13 to a proposal to join with Greene and Sullivan counties on a regional solid waste authority. “Our recommendation, or what we are saying, is we believe [a regional authority] is a feasible project,” said Robert Sochovka of the Middletown-based consulting group Cornerstone Engineering and Land Surveying. The politicians weren't quite as optimistic about the plan. “I get a little concerned when I hear talk of ‘buying power’ and ‘tonnage’ because we really need to be focused on diversion,” said Manna Jo Greene, a Democrat from Rosendale. “I don’t want to step into a regionalized model just to get a better rate on [transportation and disposal],” said Tracey Bartels, an Independent from Gardiner. Greene County Legislature Chairman Kevin Lewis attended the presentation in Kingston, and Greene needs a regional authority, because it generates so little solid waste. The Cornerstone study says Greene County generated about 50,000 tons of solid waste in 2016 compared to 38,000 for Sullivan County and 125,000 for Ulster County. For the plan to proceed, all three counties would have to pass legislation to create the regional authority, and also get state approval. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.