A crowd of people shouted “shame” at presenters during a recent Town of Brookhaven board meeting as tensions rose over the Town’s plans to address a growing underground contamination plume linked to the Brookhaven landfill.
Brookhaven Presents Cleanup Plan for Landfill Plume, but Some Say Measures are Inadequate
The Town of Brookhaven held a public meeting on March 27 to present its corrective measures plan for a toxic plume emanating from the town landfill in Yaphank, but community advocates say the proposal falls far short of what’s needed.
In 2023, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the town to investigate and plan to remediate the plume, which now extends 1.7 miles from the portions of the landfill constructed between 1971 and 1989 south toward Bellport Bay. Groundwater testing detected PFAS (so-called “forever chemicals”) and 1,4-dioxane in the plume. Both contaminants have been linked to a range of health issues, including cancer.
Brookhaven sues state DEC over requirement to clean up toxic plumes at landfill, airport
'It’s poisoning us all.' Residents voice concerns about Brookhaven landfill
Brookhaven landfill: Town seeks 5-year operating extension, drawing residents’ ire
Brookhaven landfill: Town seeks 5-year operating extension, drawing residents' ire
Brookhaven is asking state regulators to approve a five-year extension of the town's landfill operating permit as the town moves to complete the oft-delayed shutdown of the lucrative but troubled dump.
Town officials and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the latter which is weighing the town's request for a new permit that would expire in 2031, say the landfill is expected to close when it runs out of room for deposits of trash, primarily ash from Long Island incinerators operated by New Jersey-based Reworld.
Proposed SEQRA reforms draw fire at regional roundtable
DEC grants town extension for landfill report
Larger issue, supe says, is what comes after the closure
On Jan. 8, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC, extended the deadline for completion of the Corrective Measures Assessment period and Report submission to ensure a complete assessment and adequate public engagement for the Town of Brookhaven’s landfill closure.
According to the DEC, the town must host a public meeting and conclude their assessment by April 15, 2026, and submit the Corrective Measures Assessment Report by May 1, 2026, a three-month extension from previous requirements.
State extends deadline for Brookhaven landfill cleanup report
State environmental conservation officials have given Brookhaven Town an additional three months to recommend cleanup plans for a miles-long toxic plume emanating from the town landfill.
The Department of Environmental Conservation set a new May 1 deadline for finishing the report, which is expected to outline plans for cleaning up the landfill after groundwater testing in 2023 discovered so-called "forever chemicals" in the plume, which extends about 4 miles from Brookhaven hamlet south toward Bellport Bay.
DEC: Brookhaven must submit landfill cleanup plan after report cites dump as a source of toxic plume
Brookhaven officials have been ordered by state environmental authorities to prepare a landfill cleanup plan that could include closing the 51-year-old facility after an inspection earlier this year found elevated levels of so-called "forever chemicals" in a miles-long plume emanating from the dump.
Adrienne Esposito: Companies that produce packing waste must recycle it
New Stony Brook waste expert to tackle recycling, other challenges posed by closure of Brookhaven's landfill
One of Michael E. White's prized possessions is a flag commemorating the first Earth Day in 1970.
More than a half-century later, the environmental lawyer has been selected by Stony Brook University to serve as interim director of its Waste Reduction and Management Institute. He is principal investigator overseeing a state-funded study of Long Island's municipal trash and recycling programs. The institute is using a $250,000 grant for the research.
Brookhaven landfill fire may be a result of recent drought and high temperatures
Winters Bros. drops plan for controversial Yaphank waste transfer station
West Babylon trash hauler Winters Bros. is dropping plans for a proposed Yaphank waste transfer station project that was seen by local officials as critical to managing Long Island's future trash removal needs but drew opposition from local residents and others, a company spokesman told Newsday on Friday.
Brookhaven to receive $1M to end lawsuit filed over ash dumped at town landfill
SKIP THE STUFF" MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM
A year later, plans unsettled for the closure of Brookhaven Landfill
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University.
This year marks the beginning of the end for Brookhaven Landfill.
That is what spurred discussion among industry groups and environmental advocates at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University, seeking answers for the future of waste disposal on Long Island.
Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program
Suffolk's 10 towns to create plan for regional waste program
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Wednesday he would convene a meeting of the county’s 10 towns to begin discussing plans for a regional solid waste program to prepare for the closure of the Brookhaven landfill.
Speaking at a Stony Brook University environmental symposium, Romaine warned the landfill closure, expected by early 2028, would have a ripple effect across Long Island as contractors and municipalities ship more waste to out-of-state landfills — boosting construction costs and taxes.
Judge throws out lawsuit to halt proposed Yaphank waste transfer station
A state Supreme Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit to block construction of a solid waste transfer station in Yaphank to haul trash off Long Island.