Transfer to Casella of Dickson's Sludge Spreading Operations in Bath, Cameron and Thurston, New York

Aerial view of Dickson Headquarters in Thurston. Sludge spreading visible in the fields.

Town Moratoriums, Part 360 Landspreading Permit, Part 360 Composting Permit, Part 364 Waste Transporter Permit, Media Coverage, 2013 Consent Order, 1993 Commissioner Decision, 1992 Steuben EMC Sewage Sludge Spreading Report, Materials on PFAS in Sewage Sludge

Town Solid Waste Management Facilities Moratoriums

Proposed Local Law #3 Regulating the Disposal of Sewage Sludge, proposed by the Thurston Town Board, August 17, 2023.

Solid Waste Management Facilities One (1) Year Moratorium, enacted by Bath Town Board, June 12, 2023, rescinded August 15, 2023.

Solid Waste Management Facilities One (1) Year Moratorium, enacted by Cameron Town Board, April 12, 2023.

Solid Waste Management Facilities One (1) Year Moratorium, enacted by Thurston Town Board, February 15, 2023, filed with the Secretary of State, February 21, 2023.

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Permits

Part 360 Landspreading Permit

Currrent Landspreading Permit
Permit ID: 8-4699-00012/00001, Permittee: Leo Dickson & Sons, Inc.
Effective Date: 10/1/2019 Expiration Date: 9/30/2024

Permit authorizes acceptance of stabilized biosolids generated from 29 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs):

Addison, NY Village of: WWTP Alfred, NY Village of: WWTP Bath, NY Village of: WWTP Canisteo, NY Village of: WWTP Castile NY Village of: WWTP Cayuga Heights NY Village of: WWTP Conesus Lake County Sewer District, NY WWTP Watkins Glen, NY Village of: WWTP Dansville, NY Village of: WWTP Dryden, NY Village of: WWTP Dundee, NY Village of: WWTP Elkland Borough, PA: WWTP Hornell, NY City of: WWTP Backwash Collection Lagoon Sludge Knoxville, PA Borough of: WWTP

Lawrence Borough Authority, PA: WWTP Montour Falls, NY Village of: WWTP Nelson Township, PA: WWTP Nunda, NY Village of: WWTP Owego, NY Town of: WWTP Perry, NY Village of: WWTP Portville, NY Village of: WWTP Sabinsville, PA Village of: WWTP Trumansburg, NY Village of: WWTP Warsaw, NY Village of: WWTP Waverly, NY Village of: WWTP Wayland, NY Village of: WWTP Westfield, PA Borough of: WWTP Whitney Point, NY Town of WWTP

DEC Letter re Suspension of Time Frames until February 28, 2023, January 20, 2023.
Application materials from Leo Dickson and Sons including 1. Asset Purchase Agreement; 2. Lease Agreements and Land Use Agreements; and 3. Updated Facility Manual, October 14, 2022.
Notice of Incomplete Application for Bay Park Source, October 13, 2022.
Notice of Incomplete Application for Bay Park Source, August 11, 2022.
DEC Request for Information and Suspension of Time frames re Permit Transfer Application, July 22, 2022.
Checklist to add a Biosolids source to Land Application Permit, April 2, 2020.

Weekly Sludge Spreading Reports and Index of Fields

Annual Landspreading Reports
2021 Annual Report
2020 Annual Report
2019 Annual Report
2018 Annual Report (report missing from DEC FOIL response, follow-up in progress)
2017 Annual Report
2016 Annual Report
2015 Annual Report

2013 Landspreading Permit

Part 360 Composting Permit

Expired Composting Permit
Permit ID: 8-4666-00022/00001, Permittee: Leo Dickson & Sons, Inc.
Effective Date: 6/28/12 Modified: 1/7/13 Expiration Date: 6/27/17

Composting Renewal Application, Notice of Incomplete Application, July 1, 2021.
Composting Renewal Application filed by Dickson's Environmental Service, June 17, 2021.
Composting Facility Manual, June 2021.

Part 364 Waste Transporter Permit

Current Waste Transporter Permit
Permit ID: 8A-195, Permittee: Dickson's Environmental Service
Effective Date: 02/1/2023 Expiration Date: 1/31/2024

Air Facility Registration Certificate

Current Registration Certificate
Registration ID: 8-4699-00012/00006, Registration Issued to: Leo Dickson & Sons, Inc.
Registration Effective Date: 01/10/2012

Expired CAFO Permit

Dicksons have retired their Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation which was permitted under DEC's General CAFO Permit. Current General CAFO Permit isssued July 22, 2022.

Media Coverage of Sludge Spreading

A local government stands tall, Michael J. Fitzgerald, Finger Lakes Times, September 1, 2023.

After Thurston Officials Say They’ll Vote by Sept. 20 on Law to Ban Sewage Sludge Spreading, Casella Issues Legal Warning, Peter Mantius, Water Front, August 29, 2023.

Casella Urges Agriculture Commissioner to Help it Derail Thurston’s Plan to Ban Sewage Sludge Spreading on its Fields, Peter Mantius, Water Front, August 26, 2023.
Battle over "forever chemicals" in sludge spread on farmland, MyTwinTiers.com, August 25, 2023.

Thurston Poised to Ban Field Spreading of Sewage Sludge, Complicating Casella’s Plan to Spread Sludge From Long Island, Peter Mantius, Water Front, August 17, 2023.

DEC Official Touts Use of Sewage Sludge as Fertilizer, Warns That Local Spreading Bans May Violate Right to Farm Law, Peter Mantius August 11, 2023.

NYS Shrugs Off Threat of PFAS in Sewage Plant Effluent and Sludge as Farmers Force Michigan, Maine to Act, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 19, 2023.

Thurston Fights PFAS Contamination of Their Water and Land, Bill Mattingly, Finger Lakes Sierran, June 2023.

3rd Steuben County Town Enacts Waste Moratorium to Head Off Casella’s Plan to Import Sewage Sludge From Long Island, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 13, 2023.

Spreading sewage sludge contaminated with PFAS on agricultural land is insane, Tom Ellis, Altamont Enterprise, June 8, 2023.

Advocates call on state to mitigate toxic sludge used on farmland, Altamont Enterprise, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

Sierra Club Urges State to Quit Promoting Sewage Sludge as Fertilizer and Ban Its Spread on Fields Statewide, Peter Mantius, Water Front, June 2, 2023.

Sierra Club seeks ban on spreading of sewage sludge, Brendan J. Lyons, Albany Times-Union, June 1, 2023.

Sewage Sludge ‘Fertilizer’ Contaminates Farms with Toxic PFAS, Tracy Frisch, Wayne Miller, Abby Scher, Karl Palmquist, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, June 2023.

Hochul Administration Is Projecting Major Expansion of Sewage Sludge Spreading as Fertilizer on Farmland, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 26, 2023.

PFAS Found in All 35 Water Samples From Sites Near Sewage Sludge Fields in Steuben; Casella Calls Levels ‘Minuscule’, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 20, 2023.

Our sewage often becomes fertilizer. Problem is, it's tainted with PFAS, Barbara Moran, New England Public Media WBUR, April 10, 2023.

Sewage Sludge Debate in Cameron Turns Into ‘Complete S**tshow’ Pitting Right-to-Farm Law Against Neighbors’ Rights, Peter Mantius, Water Front, April 6, 2023.

From Maine to California, the solution to sludge disposal is not settled, Penelope Overton, Press Herald, March 19, 2023.

Ignoring Casella’s Request, Thurston Board Votes 5-0 for Moratorium That May Interfere With Its Sludge Business, Peter Mantius, Water Front, February 15, 2023.

Three Casella Officials Watch in Silence as Thurston Warms to Idea of Banning Permits for Sewage Sludge Spreading, Peter Mantius, Water Front, February 2, 2023

Anxious that Casella Recently Took Control of 2,789 Acres, Thurston Weighs One-Year Moratorium on New Landfills, Peter Mantius, Water Front, January 24, 2023.

Casella Poised to Spread Sewage Sludge Over Hundreds of Acres in Steuben as Maine Bans Practice Due to Tainted Milk, Peter Mantius, Water Front, November 8, 2022.

2013 Consent Order

Consent Order in the Matter of Violations of Article 17 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law including Section 17-0505, 6 NYCRR Sections 750-2,1(e), 750-2,5(a)(1), 360-1,7(a), and 360-4,6(b)(1), and the SPDES General Permit for CAFOs ("GP-0-09-001"), by Dickson's Environmental Services, Inc., Philip Dickson, Jay Dickson, and Leo Dickson and Sons, Inc., DEC Case No, RS-20110526-11, January 7, 2013.

Transcript of Public Hearing on Part 360 Solid Waste Management Permit for Leo Dickson and Sons, held at Bath-Haverling High School, Bath, New York, August 6, 2012.

1993 Decision of the Commissioner

Decision of the Commissioner in the matter of applications for permits to construct and to operate a waste storage time stabilization tank for wastewater treatment plant sludge, septage and manure at the Leo Dickson & Sons property located in the Town of Cameron, Steuben County; and a renewal permit to spread sludge on lands in the Towns of Bath, Cameron, and Thurston pursuant to ECL Article 27 and 6 NYCRR Part 360, March 26, 1993.

1992 Steuben EMC Report on Sewage Sludge Spreading

An Information Report on Land Application of Sewage Sludge, Steuben County Environmental Management Council, January 1992.

Materials on PFAS in Sewage Sludge

Click here for a list of materials on PFAS in sewage sludge.