St. Lawrence County raises per-ton tipping fee by $8

CANTON — The per-ton cost to dispose of trash at St. Law-rence County's transfer stations will rise from $97 to $105 next year.

Lawmakers have approved an $8-per-ton tipping fee hike to increase the amount of leachate the Solid Waste Department removes from closed landfills in Ogdensburg, Canton and Massena. Leachate is the liquid that drains from a landfill.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation requires that the county annually remove 8.32 million gallons of leachate from the landfills. Recycling Coordinator Scott A. Tho-rnhill has said the department can manage to remove only about 3.07 million gallons a year.

The Development Authority of the North Country's landfill in Rodman, where St. Lawrence County trash is dumped, charges the county a $42-per-ton tipping fee.