My name is Russell Payne and I am a retired police officer from the City of Jamestown NY and a former Town Supervisor of the Town of Carroll. I was referred to you by a good friend of mine who is a Chautauqua County Sheriff's Deputy. For the last eight plus years, our local grassroots committee entitled, "Carroll Concerned Citizens", (we also have a Facebook page surrounding and dealing with this very topic and related issues - https://www.facebook.com/groups/130361223661520/) have been battling a local road and bridge contractor by the name of Sealand Contractor's Corporation (they are the parent company and the proponent of the implementation of the landfill by the name of Sealand Waste, LLC) who proposes to expand an existing landfill uphill from a pristine water source which feeds a local stream entitled Storehouse Run which is located and originates on Dodge Road in the Town of Carroll. Using the terminology supplied by the proposed landfill operator's engineer (Mr. James Daigler of Daigler Engineering) of this planned project when he stated back in 2004 at a public scoping meeting at Frewsburg High School, ( i.e. Sealand Waste, LLC – a subsidiary of Sealand Contractor’s Corporation) that "ALL LANDFILLS LEAK", which poses a significant danger to the watershed of our township (Storehouse Run & Frew Run Creek) in the immediate area of the proposed landfill expansion. If the landfill is constructed as explained herein, the potential for contamination of the watershed and water aquifers in the immediate area of this proposed landfill is significant. Storehouse Creek is a tributary of the Conewango and Allegany Rivers. While Storehouse Run is in NY State, its waters also pass into the State of Pennsylvania approximately one mile to the south of the designated site of this proposed landfill. Operating under the premise that "ALL LANDFILLS LEAK", what we have here are very significant threats to our health, safety and to our environment and to the eco-system which is centered in the immediate around the waterways mentioned herein and well beyond. If this landfill is implemented and leachate does in fact leak into Storehouse Run, the highly toxic leachate will impact Storehouse Run which flows to the south into the State of Pennsylvania and joins up with the Conewango Creek. The Conewango Creek watershed area is an intricate part of the Allegany River Basin and flows into the Allegany River near Warren Pa. As we all are aware the Allegany then continues to flow to the southwest and merges with the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River and so on to the Mississippi River. I am sure you get the picture...!!! One single drop of leachate placed into a swimming pool containing 25,000 gallons of water will pollute that sample so that it cannot be used. Picture leachate from this proposed landfill finding its way into Storehouse Run. The result would be catastrophic. Furthermore, Storehouse Run is a designated trout spawning stream and the ecological damage would be extensive. Leachate migrating into this stream or other area streams (i.e. Frew Run Creek - also a tributary of the Conewango Creek) would significantly damage or destroy the eco-systems of the watershed area and have a very definite impact on both wild and domesticated animals which rely on this pristine water source for their very survival.
In addition to the impact that this proposed landfill will have upon the watershed, the construction and day-to-day operation of this proposed landfill will have a very negative and destructive impact upon the Marshall A. Martz Memorial Astronomical Observatory. The Observatory lies approximately one mile to the east of the location of the proposed landfill and as we all know, the prevailing winds in Western NY go from west to east. The landfill operation will place airborne particulate matter (dust, debris, fibers and airborne particulate matter etc...) into the atmosphere which will in effect destroy the clear night sky or dark sky viewing area that the Martz Observatory currently enjoys. Proven scientific data supplied by Harvard University (referenced in the Concerned Citizens Facebook page) shows that airborne particulate matter of the variety generated by landfills(airborne particulate matter, dust and fibers etc..) will destroy telescopic optical equipment. Attached hereto please find an excerpt (abstract) from a scholarly study done by Harvard University that explains that airborne particulate matter of the type which will be generated by the proposed landfill on Dodge Road in the Town of Carroll, will affect the performance of the optics at the Martz Memorial Astronomical Observatory on Robbin Hill Road in the Town of Carroll. As explained in previous submissions, that the Martz Observatory lies approximately one mile to the east of the proposed Sealand waste, LLC landfill and the prevailing winds which are indigenous to the Western NY area will carry the airborne particulate matter which will be generated by this proposed landfill, directly toward the viewing area of the Martz Observatory thus obstructing the skies and rendering the use of said telescope as being ineffective.
"Airborne particulate matter (dust) is a major contaminant of telescope optics. In support of an initiative to study a large reflecting chronograph, a project to monitor airborne dust and its deposition on mirror surfaces has begun. High airborne dust concentrations at Sacramento Peak are episodic in nature; each episode lasting several hours. Occurrence of dust episodes is determined by local climatic conditions. During these episodes, the concentration of larger particles increases disproportionately. Surface dust measurements indicate that the particles that contribute most to the scattering of light from optical surfaces are larger than those that dominate scattering in the air. Comparisons of surface particle densities measured from sample slides and the airborne dust counts suggest criteria for operation of telescopes in the Sacramento Peak area." http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1997SPD....28.0230V This very problem did also arise at Mt. Palomar Observatory in California from a neighboring landfill poject. They were successful in creating a protection zone or protected area to preserve the dark sky viewing area that particular observatory enjoyed. The Martz Observatory has been in existence for nearly 75 years and is an important part of our cultural heritage and the Town of Carroll community and this project would in effect render the observatory as being useless. In addition, the Martz Observatory is also a very important educational tool which is utilized by many local high schools, colleges and universities in the furtherance of astronomical studies. They have recently installed equipment to allow access to the Martz Observatory telescopes by various academic institutions via the internet. If this landfill is implemented, it will virtually destroy all the efforts of the Martz Observatory to bring the study of astronomy closer to the students, visitors and guests of this great institution. Please access the data which is contained in the Carroll Concerned Citizens Facebook page and you will readily see that our committee has done exhaustive research on the effects that such landfills will present to a community such as ours. When this project was first announced, our community was warned by political entities from Rush NY (where Sealand Contractor's Corporation is located) that we do not want to allow Sealand into our community because they will destroy it. Mrs. Tracy Vogel, former Town Supervisor from the Town of Rush, personally told me not to allow Sealand into our township and called them "a bunch of ramrods". Their town attorney, whose name escapes me as of this writing, told me basically the same thing. The problem with their modus operendi (MO or method of operation) is that landfills are basically a "cash cow"....The owners of said landfill businesses find themselves in a very lucrative position because various businesses that have or deal with toxic and/or dangerous substances, know that they must be disposed of and most of these firms know that there are places or companies which will do just that if the price is right. Sealand Contractor’s (Sealand Waste, LLC) is one of those firms that employ such unethical business practices and often employ heavy-handed tactics when dealing with the public. As we all know, DEC monitors cannot be present 24/7 at a landfill site to see what is dumped at such a location. Our community does not want nor do we need this landfill...!!!
Respectfully submitted,
Russell L. Payne
Member - Carroll Concerned Citizens
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