Since the early 1990s, residents in Hudson Falls have complained about white smog, fire and loud explosion like noises coming from a trash incinerator plant.
According to WIN Waste's website, the Hudson Falls waste-to-energy facility -- formerly known as Wheelabrator -- converts upward of 140,000 tons of post-recycled waste into enough energy to power more than 6,000 homes and businesses.
But some residents in the Washington County village say the plant on River Street produced a constant hum and made their air smell like burning trash.
Romsary Madonna is a found of Breathe Free Hudson Falls. She's has been living less than 600 feet away from the plant for decades.
“My parents had gardened for 70 years and I had a soil test done and found out I had lead in my soil," Madonna said. "So, I spoke to a Cornell professor last year and he suggested I not grow any leafy green vegetables and that was devastating to me because my mother had just died and I wanted to carry on her tradition. So, I put raised beds in so I still have a garden. I’m hoping the conditions after this closes will get a lot better."
Recently, neighbors have done more than complain -- they led a charge to pass a local law regulating incinerators in the village. While the Win Waste facility wasn't named explicitly, in April, Hudson Falls officials enacted a Clean Air Law, which gave facilities within the village a year to comply with the new rules that -- among other changes -- require them to monitor for 19 contaminants through continuous sampling.
Those measurements must be shared with the village, which will then post that information to a publicly available website.
The measure was passed unanimously, bypassing county approval.
This month, WIN Waste announced it would be closing the Hudson Falls plant by the end of the year.
An article published on the website Waste Advantage outlines WIN Waste’s apparent reasoning. The company told the site it has been considering the closure of the Hudson Falls plant for some time – it submitted a request to the New York Independent System Operator in June “after considering anticipated changes to federal emissions standards and the significant investments that the facility’s unique design will require to comply with those standards.”
In a statement to WAMC, WIN Waste called the ordinance an "unlawful overreach" that had nothing to do with the decision to retire the facility.
The company also cited “future capital needs” as well as “the broad availability of nearby transfer and disposal alternatives” as reasons behind the closure.
Whatever the reasons, many neighbors took to the streets just across from the massive plant, located steps from a residential neighborhood, to celebrate the news.
Neighbor Darlene Varney, who’s been living in the adjacent neighborhood for more than a decade, said the plant's closure is long overdue:
“A lot of people can, hopefully, look forward to enjoying their grandchildren or whatever because they won't have to deal with all the toxins, getting sick," Varney said. "Hopefully people can enjoy the peace and quiet again. Maybe we'll do something nice with this: dog park, regular park, anything."
