WATERLOO, N.Y. -- The Seneca Meadows Landfill, the largest in the state, casts a shadow across northern Seneca County. On some days, it also emanates an unmistakable smell.
"It smells like compost, it smells like methane," said Doug Avery, Seneca Falls Environmental Action Committee. "It always smells. The question is, who's getting it now."
"Some days it's fine, other days, even here at the county office building, it's very strong," said Bob Shipley, who chairs the county's board of supervisors. "The odor is definitely an issue, and you know where it's coming from when you smell it."
For that reason, Seneca County's environmental committee is considering an odor law, which would hold violators criminally, and civilly, liable.
"We're just looking to keep the quality of life for our residents and protect them the best we ca," Shipley said.
"It would have a major impact on our facility and frankly, the legislation is targeting our facility," said Kyle Black, who manages Seneca Meadows Landfill. He says a hotline his business has set up does get complaints about the smell.
Black says the landfill goes beyond state requirements for environmental responsibility, using state-of-the-art liners to protect groundwater, and a facility which takes landfill gases, turning them into renewable energy. Large portions of the landfill have been capped.
"We've always done the right thing and we're always going to do the right thing. We just want to run our business. That's all we want to do," Black said.
"I don't doubt they run a good landfill," Avery acknowledged. "They're good people. Most of them live here in the community."
Avery's Seneca Falls Environmental Action Committee, a group of residents looking to see the landfill close, once the operating agreement with the town ends.
"If they were able to control that odor, this would be the time to do it, and a lot of the uproar would go away," Avery said.
"They just want to up and shut this business down and make it go away," said Black. "They see it as a dirty business, a business that isn't environmentally friendly and frankly it's the opposite of that."
In late December, leaders from Seneca Falls passed a measure that would guarantee the closure of Seneca Meadows by the end of 2025. It's complicated, though, as the towns of Seneca Falls and Waterloo got more than $3 million dollars last year, which held keep property taxes down. One hundred people work at the landfill, which Black says contributes about $10 million a year to the local economy. The odor law would not include farms, but would address a problem which for some residents, has become too much.