Resolution calling upon the State Legislature to pass, and Governor to sign, A.03269 and S.02490, requiring putrescible and non-putrescible waste to be covered by a hard tarp when transported by rail.

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Res. No. 1321 ..Title Resolution calling upon the State Legislature to pass, and Governor to sign, A.03269 and S.02490, requiring putrescible and non-putrescible waste to be covered by a hard tarp when transported by rail. ..Body By Council Members Holden and Yeger Whereas, New York City (City) has no active sanitary landfills, no construction and demolition debris landfills, no traditional incinerators, and very limited waste-to-energy resource recovery facilities, necessitating that most refuse be exported from the City for disposal; and Whereas, New York City's 2006 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan initiated a shift from truck based methods of long haul waste export to freight and marine based transport alternatives, in order to reduce the environmental impacts of long haul truck carting; and Whereas, In 2019, the City produced over 3.2 million tons of refuse, approximately 75 percent of which was sent to landfill; and Whereas, The City produces approximately 1,400 tons of dewatered biosolids, which is treated sewage sludge, reclaimed from the wastewater treatment process, every day; and Whereas, Approximately 89 percent of the biosolids produced within New York State are sent to landfills within state bounds; and Whereas, Despite requirements necessitating that municipal solid waste shipped via rail be transported in sealed containers, complaints about odor management and refuse blowing onto properties persist in adjacent route communities; and Whereas, Putrescible waste, defined as solid wastes that contain organic matter having the tendency to decompose and form malodorous by-products, have the potential to attract vermin when improperly secured; and Whereas, Requiring putrescible and non-putrescible waste to be covered by a hard tarp when transported by rail, as per legislation A.03269, and S.02490, introduced by Assembly Member Brian Barnwell and State Senator Joseph Addabbo, has the potential to better contain odor and loose refuse, resulting in fewer disturbances to communities through which this waste transits; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the State Legislature to pass, and Governor to sign, A.03269 and S.02490, requiring putrescible and non-putrescible waste to be covered by a hard tarp when transported by rail NRC LS# 14232 3/30/20

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