By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-04 22:31:31 | Updated at 2026-09-04 23:35:01
1 hour ago
The location of the proposed Dom-Mar facility on Dolsontown Road, just outside the city limits of Middletown, in Wawayanda, N.Y., on Aug. 27, 2026. Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The applicant for the Dom-Mar Transfer and Recycling Facility site development in Wawayanda said it will respond in due time to comments made during an Aug. 25 public hearing.
Attorney Paul Van Cott, representing Dom Kam LLC, told The Epoch Times in an email on Aug. 31 that it will take time to put together a response due to the sheer volume of comments. Project engineers previously responded to the town planning board to concerns about monitoring, radiation detection, and control of odors raised at a June 24 public hearing.
At the August hearing, the proposed waste and recycling and transfer facility was met with an overwhelmingly negative response from the community.
Van Cott, who said the project was proposed by Michael Marangi of Dom Kam LLC, told The Epoch Times in an email that there has been a lot of misinformation and confusion about the facility pervading the community.
He said several environmental impact studies reviewed by the planning board showed the waste transfer facility, measured individually and with other projects in the area, minimizes environmental impact.
The proposed site for the facility is planned for a 44.3-acre field on Dolsontown Road. The road is one of the busy routes that connects the Dolson Avenue commercial strip and the town of Wallkill’s commercial district.
More detailed information on the project can be found on the Town of Wawayanda’s front page under “Public Notices - Planning Board.”
The facility’s purpose is not waste disposal. Solid waste that is processed at the Wawayanda facility is separated into recyclables and waste; the waste is taken to a different facility for disposal and the recycling is sent out for reuse.
According to its proposed design, the building would have the capacity to process 950 tons of waste per day, 271,000 tons per year. All activities at the site, including unloading and processing, will be indoors.
Van Cott said the project has been reviewed by both the town and state departments of Environmental Conservation over the past six years since its introduction in 2020.
He said that some people at the public hearing called for the planning board to make a decision on the project based on community opposition, and some wanted a decision to be made that night.
Zoning boards cannot reject a project due to overwhelming community opposition, but need “substantial evidence.”
The stated upside of the project is that it will bring jobs and tax money to the county, state, fire district, and school district.
Van Cott said the board made the right decision by declining to vote on the project and allow for a response to public comments, and said “it is anticipated that the Planning Board will continue to follow the law in reviewing the Dom Mar project application.”
