Thompson, the ball is in your court. 

Last month, the Village of Monticello’s Board of Trustees unanimously passed a law designed to protect the health of its citizens—a priority Mayor Rochelle Massey put on a par with public safety. 

Among the most stringent in the nation, the Monticello Clean Air Law does just that: It requires any waste-to-energy facility in the village to continuously test its emissions for 20 toxic substances and to post those results online in real time. 

Contrast that with current state and federal regulations, which require continuous testing for only three contaminants. Tests for other pollutants that impact human health are conducted just once a year. (Sad to say, major waste-to-energy companies have been found to rig such annual stack tests, considering million-dollar fines an acceptable cost of doing business.)

But technology has greatly advanced since those laws were enacted two decades ago, making it possible to continuously monitor for many more hazardous substances. It is simply irresponsible to operate under air pollution rules that are a quarter-century out of date.

When communities cannot rely on either the federal, state or county government to look out for them, what are they to do? Fortunately, New York’s Municipal Home Rule Law guarantees local governments the power to adopt local laws—including the ability to set their own standards for clean air. 

If a company is willing to meet the terms of the clean air law—without cheating, of course—then by all means, welcome them with open arms. But Monticello’s trustees explicitly want to protect public health by requiring state-of-the-art technology that provides transparency into polluting emissions. 

Does the Town of Thompson want anything less for its citizens?

Rebekah Creshkoff and Eric Feinblatt
Co-founders, Sustainable Sullivan
Sullivan County, NY