MACEDON, N.Y. — Residents near the High Acres landfill have long dealt with the smell of methane gas. Plans are now underway to build a pipeline to absorb the gas, but some property owners are concerned about the pipeline’s potential path through their land.
Charles Holvey, who owns a business property in the area, expressed mixed feelings about the project.
“Can they do whatever they want to my property? And do it to me? That’s like an insult,” Holvey said.
Holvey has been working with representatives from Empire Pipeline for the past year and a half. Initially, there was progress, but Holvey grew wary when a surveyor presented him with a contract this summer. The contract offered a few thousand dollars for any damage caused during the pipeline’s installation.
“We’ve never signed anything with them because of the fact that we didn’t feel like the answers we were getting were clear enough as to if we agreed to this, you have to follow these parameters and put our property back together a certain way,” Holvey said.
Holvey requested a forester’s report on the land survey, which he says Empire Pipeline promised but never delivered. “I said there’s not enough detail in this. I need to know what trees you’re going to remove off the property, what’s the value of the trees?” Holvey said.
The pipeline would require removing an entire treeline, which Holvey says protects his greenhouse from winds. He also wants more details in the contract to understand future repair implications and whether Empire can access his property anytime, potentially requiring more restoration.
Waste Management, which owns the landfill, directed inquiries to Empire Pipeline. Attempts to reach the land surveyor or someone in the surveyor’s office were unsuccessful.
Last year, a state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against Waste Management, rejecting the argument that the New York Green Amendment — assuring New Yorkers’ “right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment” — applies to private entities like Waste Management.
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