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Local Sierra Club wants something done about Rensselaer dump
May 16, 2018 12:45 pm
Brian Nearing reports in the Albany Times Union that the Hudson Mohawk chapter of the Sierra Club wants the state Department of Environmental Conservation to do something about the state's largest construction and demolition debris dump that is in Rensselaer in Rensselaer County. The DEC issued a 2012 permit that allowed dumping at the Dunn sand and gravel mine. In 2015, trucks from seven states began rolling in to the 73-acre site next to Rensselaer Junior-Senior High School. Now it is the biggest dumping ground in New York. The dump is so big DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos can see the facility from his office window across the Hudson River. "It is our intention to explore legal options and investigate if the permit was issued without full knowledge of the actual conditions on the ground in Rensselaer," according to a Sierra Club statement May 15. "It is evident that a number of environmental factors including noise, dust and others were not clearly documented or fully considered in the findings statement when submitted for the permit." The DEC says it is, "actively investigating community complaints related to operations at the Dunn landfill and is continuing to aggressively monitor the facility to ensure public health and the environment are protected." Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.