ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - The New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would block the construction of the largest trash incinerator in the state from being built in the Finger Lakes Town of Romulus.
Mary Anne Kowalski lives in a neighborhood along Seneca Lake. She’s been fighting the incinerator since it was first proposed over a year ago.
"We are really, really thrilled," she said. "I think the fact that is impressing me most is that we’ve got bipartisan support on this bill."
Circular enerG is the Rochester-based company that want to build the incinerator in Romulus. They want to take hundreds of thousands of gallons of water from near Kowalski's home near Seneca Lake each day to cool the incinerator.
"It’s the environment." Kowalski added, "And protecting the agri-tourism in Seneca County and the region."
The bill would ban the construction of any trash incinerator from being built within a 50-mile radius of a solid waste facility. The existing Seneca Meadows landfill is within that radius.
The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote and then will have to be signed by governor before going into law.