Engineers hired to fix things at the long-closed Hurley town landfill said a lot of progress has been made since the town got a violation notice last year from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Engineering and land surveying firm Crawford and Associates was hired about a year ago following the January 2022 violation notice from the DEC. The notice reported that, among other violations, the landfill failed to maintain an overfill/prevention alarm system, which prevents waste from depositing underground, and prevents leachate from escaping the landfill.

In the past year, Crawford and Associates, along with town Deputy Supervisor Peter Humphries, installed a new overfill prevention alarm system.

“There's a communication system now between all the tanks, the pumps, and the town based off of a text message system that will be provided updates when there's a situation,” Crawford Senior Engineer Ryan Loucks said.

They also cleared vegetation from around the landfill and re-established berms and drainage swales to steer rainwater away from the leachate system and prevent overflows. The surface leachate collection system collects anything that rises from the ground through a bedding of gravel, and a sump pump then siphons that into the main system of the landfill.

The engineers said they have submitted a report to the DEC with their work and findings and are currently waiting for input.

“They [the DEC] seem to be agreeable with everything that we’ve done so far,” Loucks said.

The engineers and Humphries stressed that the landfill’s location and environment make it ripe for disaster. Originally a rock quarry, fractured bedrock makes the basin of the landfill essentially a “bathtub with cracks in the bottom,” through which toxins and waste can filter underground.

As part of New York State’s Inactive Landfill Initiative, in 2017 the DEC took samples from the landfill that tested positive for potentially dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS). In 2022, Crawford began installing new water monitoring wells and collecting data from surface water, soil, and sediment to monitor toxin levels. The engineers noted that they reviewed monitoring records of the landfill, but found a gap in reports from 2013 to 2022, matching the DEC’s notice last year claiming that the town had failed to provide annual reports on the landfill since 2011.

Crawford and Associates suggested that the town board apply for grants to conduct a remedial investigation into contamination levels and feasibility study for the landfill.

In Other Hurley News:

Comprehensive Plan Workshop June 6

At Tuesday evening’s workshop meeting, the town board also discussed the next steps for the town’s comprehensive plan. The draft, which was released to the public on April 19, will be open for public discussion at a workshop meeting on June 6. In addition, Town Supervisor Melinda McKnight said the town planner is working on a survey for the public on the draft.

Board Approves Funds for Highway Dept.

At an emergency meeting this week, the Hurley Town Board voted to authorize the town highway department to make almost $500,000 worth of general repairs.

On Wednesday, the board voted 4-0 to approve $435,000 worth of spending. Council Member Michael Boms was absent.

The specifications for the spending are as follows: “General Repairs: The sum of $435,000 shall be set aside to be expended for basic work and general maintenance and repairs upon 52.16 miles of town highways, including sluices, drainage ditches, culverts and bridges having a span of less than five feet, tree and brush removal, board walks, sidewalks that are the responsibility of the Town, emergency activities as such are authorized by the Town Board, and other activities involved with the care, upkeep and maintenance of highways and bridges of the Town.”

Funding for paving projects will be considered at a later date, town officials said.

Typically, what is called a 284 Agreement (a contract between the town board and the highway department specifying how much money will be spent and what it will be spent on) is drawn up without much controversy and okayed during a regular town board meeting. In a Facebook post on Friday, Highway Superintendent Mike Shultis criticized the board for the delay, and said the board changed things in the 284 Agreement without his consent, something he said the board is not allowed to do. "The town board removed all 11 roads slated for paving this year which were budgeted at $300,000," wrote Shultis, who is also a former town supervisor. "They added this $300,000 of paving funds to repairs but without explanation.Why? I don't know the answer to this, but I don't believe the town board has the authority to amend a document I provide them and then pass a resolution stating they approve my document as if it was approved the way it was submitted in full. This was not the case."

In a statement to Kingston Wire in response to Shultis, Town Supervisor Melinda McKnight wrote the following: "The 284 Agreement is something required by New York State law to spend funds allocated by the town board. A resolution is not a formality but is required, according to legal counsel. The town has been entering into the agreement for a long time without doing a resolution, which is improper. Also, drainage is a major problem and the source of all complaints by constituents. There is a long list of areas that are a problem due to drainage.

"In addition, the 284 Agreement that Superintendent Shultis proposed only included Type 6 blacktop. According to the state Department of Transportation manual for road construction, broken roads can not be repaired by paving over broken roads with several inches of blacktop. Building up roads with very thick asphalt will look nice for a short time, however if there are problems with the underlayment, paving won't fix it. They need to be ground down, and an investigation should be conducted as to the cause of the poor condition of the road.

"Also, most town roads in Hurley are not 'crowned' properly which allows the water to drain off. Past highway superintendents paved drainage ditches, which is improper."

Grievance Day is May 23

The Hurley Board of Assessment Review will hear property assessment challenges starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, (Grievance Day), at Town Hall, 10 Wamsley Place.

Property owners wishing to challenge their assessments that day must make an appointment in advance by calling the Town Assessor’s Office at (845) 331-7474, ext. 4, or by emailing assessor@townofhurley.org.

Property owners who grieve their 2023 assessments will need to submit a Grievance Application (Form RP-524) to the Town Assessor's Office by May 22. The Grievance Application can be found online at tinyurl.com/39edz84d. (Instructions for filling out the form are at tinyurl.com/3e66hd58.)

Completed applications should be emailed to assessor@townofhurley.org or mailed to Town Assessor's Office, P.O. Box 569, Hurley, NY 12443.

For more information, contact the assessor’s office at the above phone number or email address.

Kingston Wire's new coverage of the Town of Hurley is underwritten by Hurley Up. Kingston Wire has complete editorial control of what is reported and published. We accept submissions of letters to the editor, longer opinion pieces, community event notices and story ideas: email us at info@kingstonwire.com