HISTORY
In the mid-1980’s, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation began initiatives to close existing landfills that were no longer compliant with the newly updated solid waste regulations. NYSDEC enacted strict requirements for the siting, construction, and operation of disposal facilities. Consequently, many local communities found it beyond their financial and managerial capability to continue to dispose of waste in traditional ways. Local municipalities requested that the Ulster County government assume the responsibility for solid waste management.
In 1986, the Ulster County Legislature obtained authorization from the State Legislature for the creation of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency (the “Agency”), a public benefit corporation formed for the purpose of developing, financing, and implementing a comprehensive Countywide solid waste management program. The Agency’s organizational structure consists of a five-member Board of Directors; an Executive Director; Agency Counsel; and thirty administrative and operations personnel.
For over 30 years, UCRRA has been actively pursuing its mission to protect public health and the environment, promote sustainable practices and efficiently manage solid waste with a focus on resource conservation. UCRRA manages municipal solid waste (MSW), construction and demolition debris (C&D), dual stream recyclables, source-separated organics, electronic waste (e-waste), and biosolids. UCRRA operates two permitted facilities; the Ulster Transfer Station (TS) and the New Paltz TS.
Since 1997, UCRRA has been responsible for providing post-closure services to two closed landfills in Ulster and New Paltz. UCRRA manages the landfill leachate collection and monitors groundwater quality and other environmental controls at these closed landfills.
The UCRRA Materials Recovery Facility was constructed in 2002 and processes dual stream recyclables from local municipalities or commercial businesses/institutions. The permitted capacity of the MRF is 90 tons/day, with storage capacity of 400 tons. UCRRA’s Recycling Outreach Team offers educational facility tours of the facility, and many other services to promote recycling, composting, and waste reduction throughout the County.
On December 18, 2012, Flow Control was signed into law by the Ulster County Executive. Flow Control allows that all municipal solid waste generated in Ulster County, including curbside collection, must be directed to UCRRA. Construction & Demolition debris, organics, and recyclables are not regulated through the flow control law and can therefore be managed at other facilities not designated by the UCRRA. To learn more about local laws governing materials management, visit our webpage about local laws.
The UCRRA Organics Recovery Facility was constructed in 2012 as a small pilot project, and was expanded in 2016 and in 2020. The Organics Recovery Facility processes source-separated organics (food scraps) from commercial partners using Extended Aerated Static pile method of industrial-scale composting. The food scraps are blended with woodchips, processed over 90 days, and is manufactured into an STA certified compost product that the Agency sells in bulk. In 2021, UCRRA was recognized as the Small Scale Compost Manufacturer of the Year by the U.S. Composting Council.
Presently, the Agency has embarked on a new ten year Local Solid Waste Management Planning period and is committed to its mission to serve the County of Ulster and manage the waste stream with a focus on resource conservation. The Agency Board of Directors and staff continue to seek innovative, environmentally responsible, and cost effective ways to offer programs and services in pursuit of our mission and vision to Grow Ulster Green.
What are Public Authorities?
Public authorities are corporate instruments of the State created by the Legislature to further public interests. These entities develop, operate and maintain some of New York ‘s most critical infrastructure including roads, bridges and schools. Public authorities have various levels of autonomy from the State based on the powers, as well as constraints, built into their legislative mandate. Some public authorities are completely self-supporting and operate entirely outside the budget process, while others rely on State appropriations to fund operations. In addition, most authorities are authorized to issue bonds—without voter approval—to develop and maintain infrastructure, or to fund projects for third parties. The debt service for these bonds is usually supported by revenues of the project, such as tolls that are levied by the authority, fees paid by the third party or appropriated payments from the State to repay outstanding debt. The State has also assigned specific revenue streams to an authority as a way for the authority to pay debt service. Unlike traditional State agencies, many authorities conduct business outside of the typical oversight and accountability requirements for operations including, but not limited to, employment practices, contracts and procurement procedures, and financial reporting. Each public authority is governed by a separate board of directors appointed by elected officials for varying terms of office. Learn more here.