To the editor:

Mandated organics waste recycling is in our future, due to legislation currently being submitted to the New York State Legislature. New York City and surrounding states already have legislation requiring organics waste recycling. Without a digester, the town of North Elba will have to pay an outside facility to comply with this law in the future. The proposed biodigester project talked about in the Aug. 2 Daily Enterprise would have been a solution; however, the short-sighted nature of North Elba town officials has resulted in us, as taxpayers, being robbed of a $1.5 million facility right now.

By shutting down the biodigester project, the town of North Elba will immediately lose $1.3 million in grant funding. Additionally, the town is proving to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authoruty and other state-run organizations that they are not a good investment for future projects, which will lose the town future grant funding and awards. As a taxpayer, I understand that there is always a risk in developing new systems and starting up new businesses. In this case the cost is $250,000, but it is important to balance those risks with all of the potential benefits. Below is a list of the many annual benefits of a fully functional anaerobic digester for the town of North Elba, based on engineering designs and cost analysis.

According to engineering designs, the digester could:

1. Fully sustain itself and provide $26,000 in additional funds annually to the town.

2. Divert one-third of the town’s solid waste away from the landfill, stabilizing waste management costs for businesses and organizations in our community indefinitely.

3. Produce renewable electricity.

4. Fully fund two part-time jobs: one part-time employee at the transfer station and one-part time job for an engineer at Resource Recovery Management, a company created for this project by a recent Clarkson University engineering graduate.

5. Serve as a model and pilot for other communities around the world.

The governing body for the town of North Elba is obviously oblivious and incapable of looking toward the future needs of our community, as is evident in its blatant disregard for how refusing a grant of this magnitude will impact future projects and endeavors. This funding was awarded in December 2013, which means that they have had ample opportunity to express their misgivings and ask for changes to the project. Only in the final months of the grant’s timeline (July 2017) did Bob Miller decide this project wasn’t for him. Granted, he was concerned with the $250,000 over budget that the project seemed to have, but considering the town was about to get a $1.5 million facility for only $250,000, that point is moot. This project will die unless you contact the North Elba town board directly to let them know that you want the town to invest in solutions. Investment in this project will show New York state that the town of North Elba will be a leader in the area of sustainable municipal waste management.

Katie O’Reilly Morgan

Saranac Lake