In a position paper submitted to the Department of Sanitation, (see full link to full document below), GWAPP asks that the following be included in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement:

1) That the DEIS re-analyze the impacts of commercial waste. The study conducted previously concluded there would be "no adverse impacts" to our community from the truck traffic carting commercial waste to and through our neighborhoods. This study is obviously flawed.

2) The DEIS must study possible new on/off ramps that could be included in the Kosciusko Bridge Replacement to greatly reduce local truck traffic leading to any new transfer station.

3) The DEIS must analyze best alternatives for eliminating truck traffic in residential areas, keeping it within the boundaries of the "Significant Maritime Industrial Use Area" defined by the state Coastal Zone Management Plan.

4) The DEIS must study borough self-sufficiency. Each borough should handle its own garbage.

5) The DEIS must study closing existing land-based transfer stations as they open new marine and rail transfer stations- and halt all new permits for commercial solid waste stations in Community Board 1.

6) The DEIS must take into account increased neighborhood traffic that will result from the rezoning in all truck traffic impact studies.

Greenpoint and Williamsburg have long been overburdened with facilities no other community wanted, resulting in a plethora of environmental ills. Our community is home to one of the largest sewage treatment plants in the Northeast, has the largest underground oil spill in North America, a storage facility for medical radioactive waste, a NYPA power plant and hosts nearly 1/3 of all the land based transfer stations for solid waste for the entire city. In short, our community hosts more than our FAIR SHARE.

It is long past time to balance the burden of the solid waste issue. There is currently the opportunity to either reduce the amount of solid waste that passes through our community - in particular, to reduce the truck traffic that delivers it - or to INCREASE it. GWAPP is asking the Department of Sanitation to conduct studies in their current Solid Waste Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement to address this issue.