THE
RECENT COURT DECISIONYou may have heard about
the recent decision of a New York appeals court regarding the
proposed MTS (Marine Transfer Station). The court rejected the
Gracie Point Community Council's challenge
to permits for the construction and operation of the proposed
MTS facility on East 91st Street and the East
River. The court never considers whether the proposed
facility will meet the legal standards for public health and
safety, or for environmental protection. Instead, the court
concludes only that it must defer to the State Department of
Environmental Protection, which in turn deferred to the
promises made by the Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The DSNY
has promised that when the proposed facility is built and
operating, it will satisfy standards for public safety, health
and environmental protection. So, in essence, our state
courts and environmental regulators have decided that the same
people who are proposing this facility--the DSNY--should be
trusted for now to ensure that our residential neighborhood is
protected. The courts apparently are unwilling to listen to
evidence to the contrary until after the facility has been
built, and the damage to our community is
occurring. WHAT CAN WE DO NOW
!Although we are disappointed by the Court's
decision, the fight is far from
over!RFSTS (Residents for Sane Trash
Solutions) is pursuing numerous other avenues for
relief.
- For example, the DSNY must obtain a permit from the Army
Corps of Engineers before building the almost two-acre MTS
in the East River (click
here for aerial map). The Army Corps is a federal
agency that should not have to defer to the DSNY's promises,
and they have asked the DSNY for more information before
they reach a decision. RFSTS is submitting
additional comments that oppose those permits.
We encourage you to write to the Army Corps
expressing your opposition as well.
Click here for
the contact information for the Army Corps of Engineers and a
sample letter.
- RFSTS is also studying the cost of this
proposed facility, which has mushroomed from $55 million to
$125 million, and is privately expected to be far greater.
Surely the responsible elected officials in our City will
recognize that building this huge new facility capable of
handling more than 5,000 tons of garbage is bad policy at a
time of increasing budget problems for the City. This
is particularly true since the proposed MTS will ship the
garbage to landfills that have not even been identified yet,
that are increasingly costly, and that are environmentally
unsound in any event.
- RFSTS will continue to advocate for
more sane solutions to Manhattan's trash problems. Contrary
to a statement in the court's decision, most of Manhattan's
residential trash is NOT being carried to other boroughs for
shipment by long-haul trucks to landfills out of state.
- Much of the residential garbage is now being shipped
directly to a "waste-to-energy" facility out of state.
- Our City leaders must advocate for more sane solutions,
rather than building an unnecessary facility that relies on
the idea of outdated landfill repositories for trash.
We will hold them accountable if they do not.
Please join RFSTS and the numerous elected
officials (see below) who will continue to fight this
misguided trash facility in our residential
neighborhood.
Please write to your elected officials at
the above e-mail addresses and urge them to continue to
oppose the MTS and support our community in this
fight.
 Rendering
of the proposed new and enlarged MTS trash facility adjacent
to Asphalt Green playing field and playground at East 91st
Street and the East
RiverIf you would like to
help, please consider a donation to enable
RFSTS to have the resources to continue this
fight - click here
to make a donation by credit card or check
With your help, we can and
will prevail!Please visit our website: sanetrash.org for more
information or to sign up for our newsletter, volunteer or to
make a donation. To
contact RFSTS by e-mail: info@sanetrash.org Follow
us on Facebook
and Twitter
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