The Threat of Landfill Leachate to Drinking Water in Hudson/Mohawk Rivers

A project of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers Leachate Collaborative: Jen Epstein, GIS Analyst and Lead Writer; Rebecca Martin, Project Manager; Captain John Lipscomb, Technical Advisor; Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc., Legal Research; and Good Work Institute, Fiscal Sponsor.

Because of the Leachate Loophole, approximately 89 million gallons of landfill leachate are dumped every year into the Mohawk River and Hudson River Estuary. 

The goal of our report is to describe the “Leachate Loophole,” a set of regulatory gaps that allow the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers to be polluted by landfill leachate – the toxic liquid that is created as water percolates through landfills.

The Leachate Loophole involves multiple environmental laws, including those that cover solid waste, surface water, and drinking water. Modern landfills must take extensive measures to contain leachate in order to protect neighboring groundwater and streams. Yet, once this leachate is collected, it is common practice to send it to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for disposal. These facilities are not required to remove the harmful substances that are present in leachate, and they are not equipped to do so, even where they discharge into drinking water sources. The burden to remove harmful chemicals is placed on the drinking water treatment plants that draw from these waters, whose operators may not be aware that neighboring WWTPs are accepting leachate. 

New York State is planning to develop new leachate regulations through Rulemaking, the policy-making process for Executive and Independent agencies of the government. Agencies use this process to develop and issue Rules (also referred to as “regulations). It will provide the public the opportunity to act.