To the Editor:

The Marion Energy Management Committee takes great umbrage over my position that the town’s landfill should be sacred and hallowed ground left to decompose in peaceful repose. The landfill is no place for their quixotic solar farm project.

Those individuals seeking to pursue a solar agenda should do so not as an appointed town board but as private citizens and on private land. The private solar garden to be located off County Road on environmental benign and undeveloped property is a good place for this group to relocate their agenda.

A solar farm on the landfill is a bad deal for our town from a risk, economic and social policy standpoint.

The EMC has not done their site location homework. To clearly delineate fact from fiction for the EMC’s contemplation, look no further than the DEP’s site restrictions of record for the Town’s landfill.

DEP Reference No: FMP No: 39459: “…. Said premises shall solely be managed as a closed solid waste landfill and not used for active or passive trespass or recreation. No other use of this parcel of land shall occur…. No soil intrusive activities shall be performed on or immediately adjacent to the landfill including building or utility constriction. This property shall not be used for passive recreational purpose (e.g. picnicking, birding, walking) or active recreational sports including dirt and motocross biking.” “Post-closure monitoring of the landfill… is required for 30 years.”

So if the DEP doesn’t think walking, birding and picnicking atop the landfill on a nice summer’s day is a good idea, than why does the EMC think a solar garden is a good idea? With this DEP restriction in place it just cannot be done. This is a fact.

Ted North

Marion