NYS Cracks down on NYC's Transfer Stations

New York State's conservation department began a crackdown of on Apr. 28 of New York City's 120+ transfer stations. Sixteen officers, called in from conservation patrols in rural areas as of May 12 had checked nearly 80 transfer stations and written more than 770 tickets during their six days of actual inspections. Most, almost 650, of the tickets have gone to waste-hauling diesel trucks because of fumes from their engines that continue to idle as the drivers wait admission to the stations.

Inspection officers note how long trucks have been idling and ticket any that have sat for five minutes or more. They check the trucks' brakes, tires, and roadworthiness.

"We will not tolerate rogue facilities that flout the law and create environmental nuisances for residents of New York," said the Conservation Commissioner, John P. Cahill, who promised to inspect all of the city's transfer stations. Some have already been revisited.

Another reason for the crackdown is the U.S. EPA's investigating whether the location of transfer stations reflects a bias against racial minority groups who live nearby.

According to The New York Times story of the crackdown, several violations were immediately apparent to the officers as they inspected one facility: There were no signs giving operating hours or approval of fire- protection measures by the Fire Department. Also, there was no sign stating the daily processing limit of 500 tons.

A supervisor at the transfer station complained about the details of enforcement, including the city's use of cubic yards as a measure whereas the state uses tons.

At another transfer station, fire-suppression equipment was absent or did not work; a large engine was in a forbidden area, and oil seeped into the ground beneath the engine. The owner said dust was her biggest environmental problem.

The transfer stations, which process waste for shipment to out-of-state landfills, are in industrial neighborhoods from Red Hook in Brooklyn to Hunts Point in the Bronx.

The commercial transfer stations will be used for residential as well as commercial waste disposal in the months leading up to the closing of the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island on Dec. 31, 2001.

The city has been unable to persuade New Jersey to accept transfer stations or Virginia to accept city MSW in its landfills.