When Tenafly, New Jersey and Seneca Falls, New York became sister cities this summer, it was a tribute to our shared history, bound by the legacy of the leader of the Suffragette movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton, who lived in both Tenafly and Seneca Falls throughout her life, led the agenda for women’s rights and suffrage in the 20th century. From her leadership at the first Women’s Rights convention in Seneca Falls to her advocacy for equality while living in Tenafly, Stanton forged a powerful connection between our two communities that nods to her incredible legacy.
But today, we share another connection — one that is far less noble. The Seneca Meadows landfill, located in the birthplace of women’s rights, Seneca Falls, poses a serious threat to each of our towns. While our friends and neighbors in New Jersey might not live in the shadow of the dump like we do, you are a victim of its toxins and poisonous outputs too.
Seneca Meadows is New York State’s largest landfill, towering 30 stories high in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. The landfill accepts up to 6,000 tons of trash each day from New York, New Jersey and beyond. Wastewater and runoff from the landfill contains PFAS, “forever chemicals” that can cause serious health issues. Seneca Meadows produces up to 200,000 gallons of its PFAS-laden wastewater each day before it is shipped off to towns across the state and beyond — including millions of gallons sent to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission annually. The most concentrated of the toxic leachate, which Seneca Meadows generates in excess, flows untreated into Newark Bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, eventually flowing into the Hudson River.
PFAS chemicals are insidious and dangerous. Linked to cancer, liver damage and reduced immune function, PFAS can persist in the environment for centuries. While Seneca Falls bears the brunt of the odor, truck traffic and degraded air quality due to proximity of this colossal dump, Tenafly and other communities in the Passaic River watershed, including the Hudson, are left to contend with toxic chemicals quietly invading their waterways.
Seneca Falls has tried to fight back. Ten municipalities and three county governments have passed resolutions against the Seneca Meadows Landfill expansion, and more than 400 public officials and business owners throughout the Finger Lakes, and 40 New York state senators and assembly members have signed letters of opposition to the landfill’s growth. Residents have rallied against its impact on their environment, and called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to honor her commitment to the state’s environmental goals by closing the dump. But the fight can’t be won alone.
The toxic water from Seneca Meadows doesn’t care about state lines, and neither should we. Our communities are intertwined — not just by the legacy of Elizabeth Cady Stanton but by the responsibility to protect our environment for future generations.
Tenafly and northern New Jersey must join the fight
That’s why we’re calling on Tenafly and all of Northern New Jersey to join Seneca Falls in this fight. New Jersey has long been a leader in environmental protection and clean water initiatives, setting ambitious goals for safeguarding its natural resources and public health. The state has enacted some of the most stringent PFAS regulations in the nation, recognizing the severe threat that these "forever chemicals" pose to drinking water and ecosystems. In 2018, New Jersey became one of the first states to establish maximum contaminant levels for certain PFAS compounds in drinking water, including PFOA and PFOS, setting a precedent for other states to follow.
The contamination flowing from Seneca Meadows landfill into Newark Bay directly contradicts these efforts. As PFAS-laden leachate enters the Passaic Valley watershed, it undermines the progress New Jersey has made to protect its water resources. Despite the state’s proactive stance, this cross-border pollution introduces new risks to the very communities New Jersey’s regulations are designed to protect. Allowing these toxic chemicals to flow unchecked not only threatens public health but also compromises New Jersey’s leadership in environmental stewardship. To uphold the state’s clean water commitments, it is essential for New Jersey to join the fight to shut down Seneca Meadows and prevent further PFAS contamination from degrading the state’s waterways.
As Stanton’s legacy brought our communities together to fight for equality, so must we unite once more to fight for a livable, healthy future. Participate in the upcoming public comment period, write to your local officials, demand action from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and let Gov. Phil Murphy and Hochul know that this fight doesn’t stop at the state line. Together, we can close Seneca Meadows and put an end to this degradation.
Our connection was born out of a shared history of fighting for what’s right. Let’s continue that legacy today.
Yvonne Taylor is the co-founder and vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian, a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving and protecting the health of the Finger Lakes and beyond.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Opinion: This NY landfill harms NJ's water supply. Stop this public health threat
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