Garbage station proposed in Cayuga County, but some residents hope to scrap it - The Citizen

Cayuga County residents hope to scrap waste transfer station

Concerns are piling up in the town of Mentz. Signs are posted in yards, a petition is being signed and a Facebook group has been created in response to a plan to build a solid waste transfer station there.

“The town of Mentz does not want to become the town of Mess,” Polly Davies wrote in an email to The Citizen.

Davies is one of many town residents who shared their concerns about the plan with The Citizen, saying a transfer station would infringe on the aesthetic and environmental integrity of the area.

Morgan Rubbish Removal hopes to build the transfer station on a vacant 82-acre property on Route 31, less than a mile from the village of Port Byron and its high school.

Steve Morgan, who owns the company and Dependable Disposal, has tried to build one in the area since 2019.

People are also reading…

“I understand it's a very controversial item. It’s not like we’re harvesting diamonds here. It’s garbage,” he told The Citizen in a phone interview.

The town planning board is expected to discuss the transfer station, and possibly approve Morgan's plan, at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 19.

Mentz Town Supervisor Mark Emerson and planning board Chair Fred Whiting did not respond to requests for comment by The Citizen.

The plan also awaits approval by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Transportation.

How the transfer station would work

Morgan said he chose Mentz to build a solid waste transfer station because of its central location in Cayuga County and proximity to state roads.

He previously tried to build it near Lasher Road, but was denied because the property is an agricultural zone. The current property, 2057 Route 31, is commercially zoned.

The station would be located almost 500 feet from the road, with a 4-foot berm and 6-foot plantings on top to create a natural barrier.

Included on the property would be a maintenance facility for the 10 to 12 collection trucks that would leave the station at 5 a.m., travel as far south as Scipio Center and return around 2 p.m. Garbage would be combined and compacted at the station before being shipped to the landfill, Morgan said. The floor would be cleared of excess trash and cleaned daily in accordance with state regulations.

“The garbage is going to sit at houses longer than it will at our facility,” he said.

The station would send garbage to the Seneca Meadows and Ontario County landfills until they close in 2028, Morgan said, then seek alternatives in Rochester and beyond.

Morgan said much of the garbage at the station would come from local residents in small vehicles. An annual permit for weekly drop-off would be available for $150, which he argued would save residents money compared to other services. Companies would be able to drop off garbage for a fee. Overall, Morgan projects the station would save Mentz and Port Byron more than $30,000 a year.

The station would also create jobs, Morgan continued, and contribute to the local economy.
A solid waste transfer station has been proposed for a site on Route 31 in the town of Mentz.

'It's going to stink'

Brandon Magill moved into the home next to 2057 Route 31 in January 2022.

Since hearing about Morgan's plan through the small town's grapevine, Magill said he has attended town meetings and researched how the station could affect traffic, the environment, public safety and property values. While he agrees it could lessen the burdens of garbage removal, he raised concerns to The Citizen about it being located near Dana L. West Jr.-Sr. High School.

“We understand the transfer station is a thing that needs to happen, but it needs to be tactfully placed. Not next to a home or (near) a school," Magill said.

"We’re not against businesses or local businesses growing, but it does come down to the well-being and safety of the community.”

Mentz resident Donna Trumble told The Citizen she's worried about the smells and "airborne stuff" she believes schoolchildren would be exposed to, such as asbestos from construction materials.

“You'll have dumpsters getting picked up once a week with (garbage) cooking in them," she said. "It’s going to stink."

In response, Morgan said that there would be no garbage incineration at the station, and vents, filters and bay doors for aeration to mitigate smells. Referencing Cornell University studies, he said the wind in the area only comes from the east 6% of the year. But his company would not have control over asbestos content, he continued, nor the time to sift through garbage for it.

Responding to concerns about garbage attracting rats and seagulls, and the feces they leave, Morgan said the station has a pest management plan.

Trumble and fellow resident Michael Gray claim the solid waste transfer station would also violate the shared vision statement of Mentz and Port Byron, which says they will “encourage sustainable economic growth while protecting the community’s quality of life, by preserving the distinctive natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources.”

Those resources include the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park and nearby wetlands and aquifer, which residents believe would be threatened by the station's runoff ponds.

Environmental engineer Rudy Zona, who is working with Morgan to ensure the plan meets state guidelines, told The Citizen the ponds are required to comply with the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System to treat stormwater. He noted that the soil contains clay and silt particles that would combine to prevent runoff from traveling any deeper.

Zona added that the metal and petroleum-laden runoff from the roads nearby, which is not regulated, is more of a concern than that of the transfer station.

“The soils are not receptive to infiltration,” he said. "Any contamination would get treated by the soil before it reached the well depth."

Staff writer Christopher Malone can be reached at (315) 282-2232 or christopher.malone@lee.net.