RRG: Application denial to landfill hazardous waste disposal at CWM now final

Residents for Responsible Government announced Chemical Waste Management’s four-month period to appeal a denial of expansion pursuant to New York CPLR §217 has lapsed.

Gary Abraham, attorney for Niagara County, the Town of Lewiston and the Village of Lewiston – entities opposing expansion – confirmed, “The limitation period expired on Feb. 3, one day after four months after the DEC's final decision, dated Oct. 2, 2025.”

CWM first applied for a permit in 2001 to build a new, 6-million-ton hazardous waste landfill in the towns of Lewiston and Porter, next to one that operated until 2015. In October 2025, the New York State Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Board unanimously rejected the CWM application, as did the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner designee.

“Our community won!” RRG shared in a press release. “It was a 25-year fight but, thanks to the commitment and resolve of residents, the towns of Lewiston and Porter will not become a national dumping ground for toxic waste. The naysayers wrongly said the all-volunteer Residents for Responsible Government group could never defeat an application by a $25 billion company. However, we succeeded against Waste Management Inc. and its subsidiary, Chemical Waste Services LLC (CWM).”

On Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shared the decision rendered in the matter of an application for a Certificate of Environmental Safety and Public Necessity pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 377 (Siting of Industrial Hazardous Waste Facilities) by Chemical Waste Services LLC.

The 50-plus-page document states, “The Siting Board has reviewed the remaining exceptions and argument of the parties related to whether the proposed RMU-2 is otherwise necessary or in the public interest and finds them to be without merit. Based on the discussion above, the Siting Board agrees with the ALJ’s (Administrative Law Judge) recommendation and concludes that CWM failed to meet its burden of proof that the proposed RMU-2 is otherwise necessary or in the public interest. The Siting Board, however, is compelled to take the ALJ’s recommendation a step further and conclude, based on the discussion above, that the siting of the proposed RMU-2 is not otherwise necessary or in the public interest.

“Accordingly, CWM’s application for a Siting Certificate is denied.”

The document added, “Based upon the foregoing, the Siting Board affirms the ALJ’s (Administrative Law Judge) Recommended Decision subject to our comments above and concludes:

“1. There is no current or near-term need for increased capacity for hazardous waste management, such as the proposed RMU-2 landfill, in New York State;

“2. The proposed RMU-2 landfill does not conform to the siting criteria established for such facility pursuant to ECL 27-1103 and 6 NYCRR 377.7;

“3. CWM Chemical Services, LLC failed to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed siting of the RMU-2 landfill is otherwise necessary or in the public interest; and

“4. The proposed siting of the RMU-2 landfill is not otherwise necessary or in the public interest.

“Based upon the record of this proceeding, CWM Chemical Services, LLC’s application for a Certificate of Environmental Safety and Public Necessity is denied.”

Waste Management said it is evaluating future plans for the site.

RRG stated, “It took 25 years of public and or adjudicatory hearings for the state agencies to determine what we knew all along: The CWM site was unsuitable; the other 17 hazardous waste landfills in the U.S. had sufficient capacity without CWM; and there were no public benefits justifying the permanent risks to our community and the Niagara River.”

At the time of the initial announcement, Niagara County Legislator Irene Myers said, "CWM is prevented from constructing a new hazardous waste landfill in our community. The health and safety of our residents has carried the day. It has been a long process, but I am so happy how our community never wavered in this long battle. This has always been about protecting our children and grandchildren from the consequences of bad, short-sighted environmental decisions that previous generations have had to live with.”

She added, “failure to obtain a siting certificate, as has now happened, prevents RMU-2 from going forward. Instead, CWM must begin final cleanup of the site."

Read the full decision HERE.