A local deadline to close New York’s largest landfill has passed, yet the Seneca Meadows Landfill remains open as state officials continue to review legal and environmental questions surrounding its future.
Under a Seneca Falls local law, the landfill was required to stop accepting waste by Dec. 31, 2025. Despite that deadline, trucks continue to deliver waste to the site while state agencies weigh whether the closure law is valid and whether the landfill should be allowed to expand and operate for years to come.
The issue is now in the hands of the New York Court of Appeals, which is reviewing whether the town’s closure law can be enforced, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which is still studying Seneca Meadows’ long-pending request to expand the landfill and extend operations through at least 2040. Neither agency has provided a timeline for a final decision.
Seneca Meadows has applied for a permit modification that would allow a roughly 47-acre expansion, a move opposed by residents and environmental groups who argue the landfill has already operated far longer than originally intended and poses ongoing environmental and quality-of-life concerns for the Finger Lakes region.
Opponents have raised issues including odor complaints, truck traffic, air quality and long-term environmental impacts. Several legal challenges have been filed over the years, including arguments tied to New York’s constitutional guarantee of a clean and healthful environment, though courts have not ordered the landfill to close on that basis.
With no final court ruling and no permit decision from the DEC, the Seneca Meadows Landfill continues operating, leaving residents, environmental advocates and the landfill’s owners waiting for clarity on whether the facility will shut down or remain a fixture in Seneca County for decades to come.
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