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Residents of Brant
Recently many of you were asked to sign a petition against the proposed Landfill. The folks who feel the Landfill will harm the community have stated this facility would:

1. "leak 20,000 gallons a day (gpd) into the secondary safety liner, 160 gallons per day allowed to leach into the environment" is incorrect.. There will be approximately 2,000 gallons per acre-day (gpad) collected in the primary leachate collection system. The leachate is then sent to a wastewater treatment plant via the sanitary sewer line or by tank tmck. No more than 20 gpad is found and collected in the secondary leachate collection system. Regardless, if landfill leachate were to pass through both the primary and secondary liners, it would also have to pass through clay soils around the site. The soil's lack of permeability (less than 1" per year) reduce the possibility of groundwater contamination to near zero, and enhance cation exchange.
   As a comparison, the average family produces 400 gallons a day of wastewater. Today (and everyday) the residents of Brant will release approximately 300,000 gallons (150 households without sewer service times 400 gallons a day) of untreated material into the environment due to the lack of a sanitary sewer system throughout the Town. These materials are genemlly of higher toxicity than the leachate, which is collected and treated.
2. "a 1000 acre garbage dump" will be put in Brant. My proposal states "we have approximately 400 acres under contract" and "No more than 65% (sixty-five) of the total property may be used for landfill cells" - that is approximately 260 acres of cell. The proposal did state that the overall potential of the site was 1000 acres with 650 acres of cell.
3. "In 1997 Gerhard and Battaglia sued the Town of Root". We were minority stockholders and employees of a corporation that had cause for an action against the Town. The suit did not involve a penalty to the Town of Root, only an objection to procedure. . We informed the Brant Council of this before submitting our proposal.
4. In August the Brant Council passed a resolution establishing an "Evaluation Committee". The Town attorney sent correspondence stating "that no action whatsoever on the proposed landfill will be taken at the September 5th. meeting". This was also stated during the August meeting by the Supervisor. At the September 5th Council meeting Ellen Bowman stated she had made a few telephone calls around the state, and read some of Part 360. She then made a motion to dissolve the Committee, which passed.
5. "100-125 trucks a day visiting the dump" US Rte. 20 is a federal truck route designed to accommodate thousands of vehicles a day. There are more than 125 trucks a day passing through Brant every day carrying solid waste, and Brant receives no benefit from it.
6. The older studies cited by the opposition were conducted in the early 1980's and identify the problems the current New York regulations eliminate. Current studies show these regulation are effective.
7. "possible reduction or elimination of the Town of Brant which is approximately 25% of the taxes you pay". The facility operating at 80% of capacity would pay directly to the Town $3,900,000.00 per year, this is more than the total property taxes(county, school, and Town) paid by Brant.
8. "in May 1999 New Hampshire DES found volatile organic compounds VOC's" specifically MEK and acetone in a monitoring well.. .the source is the lined landfill". In an effort to verify this I spoke with Mike McCloskey at New Hampshire DES (DEC) who stated the contamination was not caused by leachate leaking from the liner system.

The above are a few examples of the inaccuracy and misleading nature of the horror stories the opposition are spreading to keep all the residents from evaluating the information and making their own decision. Have you noticed that no one has put their name to the blatantly inaccurate information they have distributed? They have even gone so far as to accuse Council members of taking bribes when they formed the committee, and have insulted the landowners. This malicious and rude behavior was directed at people who sought to EVALUATE a proposal which could bring substantial benefits to the community. WHY are they so determined NOT TO LET ALL THE PEOPLE HEAR ALL THE FACTS? Possibly the facts do not support their statements? When the proposal was submitted to the Town I said I would provide the residents of the town with all the facts possible to prove "Our claim to the Town is that we can SAFELY establish and operate a SWMF that can provide substantial Tax relief, employment, upgrades in services to the community, and improve the infrastructure of Brant". The committee provided a critical and evenhanded method to establish the realities of the facility, to prove or disprove anyone's claims, and answer all the questions from the residents in an orderly manner. Would this approach not be the sanest way to discover the TRUTH? If you feel a project that could safely eliminate all your property taxes, or pay for sewer and water, reduce your electric bill by half, and provide jobs to the community should be seriously considered let the Town Council know. Attend the Council meeting Tuesday December 12th 8:00 pm at the Town Hall.