No Sewage Sludge Facility in Butler: A Big Win for a Small Town
Butler, NY– Concerned Citizens of Butler and Beyond (CCofBB) are calling out a victory as Tully Environmental has decided to withdraw their application for a land use permit that if granted, would have allowed them to establish yet another Upstate dumping ground for New York City’s waste. A group of Butler residents joined forces to oppose this project and are now celebrating the fact that they were able to avert disaster and protect the environmental health of the Lake Ontario community.
The original proposal for the facility, masked as a “composting” project that would elicit “bio-solids”, intended for 350 tons of New York City’s sewage sludge to be delivered on a daily basis to a small farming community a few miles south of Lake Ontario and essentially on top of a creek that runs right into it. The potential for far-reaching environmental contamination was an immediate concern for residents and the havoc it would have wreaked upon area farmers set off a sense of alarm that rapidly spread throughout Upstate New York. The outrageously dangerous idea that the toxic end-product would be applied to the land as fertilizer for food crops, sent up even more red flags.
Other organizations such as Concerned Citizens of Arcadia, Seneca Lake Guardian, Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition, and Fresh Water Future were eager to offer support and the wisdom of their own experiences. Many equated the impending damage of this facility to that of the Seneca and Ontario Landfills and the recent proposal for an incinerator project in Romulus. In the last few decades, the Upstate New York region has been contaminated, and in some areas, destroyed by these practices that allow New York City waste to be hauled to serene and picturesque areas such as this one.
Throughout the last five months, CCofBB continued to implore local residents and surrounding communities to become informed, let their voices be heard, and join the ranks of opposition to a facility that would have once again had disastrous impacts on the Upstate region. Kristina Mastrangelo-Gasowski, Vice President of the grassroots organization stated, “gathering information and resources, networking, and uniting certainly paid off in the end. It was well worth the extensive time and energy we all put forth. Additionally, it generated a lot of pride in the area and brought our community together, which is powerful in and of itself.”
Diligence, perseverance, and steadfast communication made CCofBB and their supporters a force to be reckoned with as they pledged to protect their community from Tully Environmental, a multi-million dollar corporation, and Riccelli Enterprises, a local business that put dollar signs in front of human and environmental safety. It’s now up to Riccelli to reclaim the land at the expiration of the current land use permit.
Tom Mettler, President of CCof BB was not surprised that the group’s efforts were successful. “In a matter of days, our community united as one, rallied behind us, and openly expressed their opposition to the facility. We were all extremely vocal about the fact that we would not stand for this, not in our town. We stood together and made a difference that will have an impact on our children for years to come!”
For additional details or information regarding the process we went through in our opposition, please visit www.ccofbb.com. Through a united effort, Concerned Citizens of Butler and Beyond made it a mission to protect the region. You can do the same in your town! Questions or comments can be sent to ccofbb2020@gmail.com.