Okay, we're gonna get started, everybody.

Good evening, everybody, and welcome to the June 1st, 2026 Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use Committee meeting.

My name is Deborah Zamer.

I chair the committee.

We are joined by committee members Tom Hoy, Arthur Lumpkin, Alfredo Ballorin, and Council members, Rachel Powell, and Jack Flynn.

We're also joined by legislative staff, Carly Johnson, Brian Jimenez, Robert Wenner, and Commissioner Sergio Penunzio, Commissioner of DGS.

Thank you for being here also for questions.

We are the first thing.

Did we have any public comment?

Okay.

No public comment.

So we'll get right to the topic of our discussion, which is resolution 3952 26R from Councilmember Powell, a resolution of the Common Council declaring itself to be lead agency for the state environmental quality review of the Rap Road Transfer Station Project, declaring such action to be a type one action and making a negative declaration as to the environmental impact of such action.

So, Councilmember Powell, would you like to speak on this and maybe introduce who we have to discuss it?

Um, if that's within your peer view.

Sure.

Um, so uh I am the sponsor of this resolution as a landfill and the transfer station, um, the proposed transfer station would occur in the 12th ward, which is my district.

Um, there was a very comprehensive report that I think was sent to all of you earlier related to environmental impact study that was done by CHA.

Um, the RCHA partners are here to talk about that tonight and present their findings.

Um, I've previously met with them.

It's a very comprehensive report, so I hope committee members had an opportunity to take a look at it.

Um, so I will um turn it over to all of you.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you, Councilmember Powell.

Yes, please, would you mind introducing yourselves and where you're from and your relationship to this particular discussion?

Absolutely, thank you.

Good evening, chair members of the committee.

My name is Nicholas Ward Willis.

I'm an attorney with Keenan Bean, and our firm is being retained as special land use and environmental counsel to the corporation's council's office and to the city for the overview and um permitting of the transfer station at RAP Road.

And with me tonight are Chris Einstein and Jason Gorman of CHA, who have been the long-term planning and engineering advisors to the city of Albany concerning the landfill and the planning for the closure of a landfill and then eventual construction and operation of a waste transfer station adjacent to the landfill.

And as council member uh Powell mentioned, CHA and my office have been working with staff and with various um what are called interested and involved agencies, other um agencies who issue permits to prepare for the permitting of the uh transfer station.

And so tonight we're going to go through and provide you with an overview of the examination of the potential environmental issues and what was done, what was examined, and our findings on that.

And we're tonight asking the committee to refer to the full council, a resolution finding that there are no significant adverse environmental impacts from the construction of the transfer station adjacent to the existing landfill.

And to uh reach that conclusion, CHA has undertaken a comprehensive study, as you have seen with the materials presented to you, over 500 pages of traffic analysis, review of the habitat, utilities, odor, noise, the full suite of environmental issues that New York State law requires mandates that this city council review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

And for that process to start, the city council declared itself a lead agency, and you took that step back in December when you told the other agencies, such as DEC, who would have to issue a permit for the transfer station to operate, that the city council felt it had the expertise, the skills, and the knowledge to act as the lead agency to review if there were any significant adverse environmental impacts from the construction and operation of the transfer station.

So that resolution was adopted in December.

Notice was sent to adjacent municipalities who are interested agencies, as well as a number of other involved and interested agencies.

Some comments were received, but no one objected to the city council being the lead agency.

We had previously provided DEC with a permit application, which they have been reviewing.

DEC acquiesced and agreed that the city was in the best position to review the impacts from its construction and operation.

And so since the declaration of its intent to be lead agency in January, the 30-day period has passed.

No one has objected.

So when you adopt this resolution tonight, you're declaring that you are the lead agency.

You're taking that last step.

That then allows you as a lead agency to make the determination of significance, which is binding upon all the other agencies because it would be pointless to have separate independent reviews.

So your decisions are very important, and other agencies are relying upon it.

And so tonight I'm going to ask Chris and Jason to walk us through what was done on the city's behalf to examine those potential significant environmental impacts.

And I can assure you that the materials before you are very comprehensive and comply in every respect with DEC's regulations.

And the next step, should you adopt a resolution tonight, will be a copy of a finding statement, will be published in the environmental notice bulletin, which is DEC's official publication, circulated to be involved in interested agencies, and particularly to DEC, so that DEC can declare the application for the transfer station permit to be complete, and then they'll then ask for any public comments on that permit application, and then hopefully they'll grant the permit, and then we can begin the uh permitting uh bidding up work and starting construction in the late fall or early winter of next year.

So if there are no questions on the process, I'm then going to ask Chris and Jason to start us off on discussions of what was done with those examinations of the environmental topics.

Uh I will start with an overview of the project itself, um the need for it, the transfer station design and the uh planned operations.

That you make sure you speak into the mic because that's that's how the people out in the cyber sphere is that.

Yeah, thanks.

You have to get closer than it then feels comfortable.

I'll start again.

Uh I'm gonna review the project purpose and need and talk a little bit about the transfer station design and the planned operations at the new facility.

And I'll hand it to Chris who will go through the studies that were completed.

So the proposed uh transfer station is located uh just adjacent to the landfill property to the uh east or northeast in the property which we call the Simons property.

It's 502, 504, and 506 Rap Road.

Um the landfill is reaching its capacity in the fall of 2027, and the current permit that we have with the New York State uh Department of Conservation does not allow expansion of the landfill.

Um this city's Department of General Services did an excellent job extending the life of the landfill, but unfortunately, at in the fall of next year uh we are at capacity and uh no longer be able to receive any waste.