Participant Spotlight: Seneca Lake Guardian

The Environmental Health Project (EHP) works closely with other organizations to share air monitoring and data analysis capabilities in communities impacted by oil and gas activity, from extraction to waste disposal. This post continues our series highlighting these organizations to spotlight the groups holding industry and policymakers to account and protecting their neighbors.

This quarter we feature Seneca Lake Guardian, a recent participant in EHP's Environmental HealthWatch engagement.

When and how did Seneca Lake Guardian start?

Seneca Lake Guardian was founded by Joseph Campbell and Yvonne Taylor following the success of their first organization, Gas Free Seneca, which led the charge to stop Crestwood Energy from expanding gas storage along the shores of Seneca Lake in New York State. Recognizing the ongoing threats to the Finger Lakes region, they established Seneca Lake Guardian as a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the health of the Finger Lakes, its residents and visitors, its rural character, and its vital agricultural and tourism-based economy.

Today, Seneca Lake Guardian is taking on yet another battle – fighting Waste Connections, a Texas-based for-profit company, in its efforts to expand Seneca Meadows, New York State’s largest landfill, and extend its operations from 2025 to 2040.

Yvonne Taylor speaks at a rally. Photo credit: Kelly Marciniak

What are your activities and what do they involve?

Through public education, grassroots mobilization, direct advocacy, and coalition-building, Seneca Lake Guardian has become a leading voice in the fight against environmental threats in the Finger Lakes region and beyond. The organization’s victories have safeguarded clean air, clean water, and the region’s thriving agri-tourism industry while protecting Seneca Lake, the drinking water source for 100,000 people. Through tireless advocacy, Seneca Lake Guardian continues to defend one of New York’s most treasured natural landscapes against corporate exploitation.

What is the most important work that Seneca Lake Guardian does?

Currently, our biggest and most important fight to date is against the proposed expansion of New York’s largest landfill, Seneca Meadows. Seneca Meadows has been poisoning our community and the air that our neighbors breathe for decades. But this is not just a local issue – the negative effects of the landfill can be felt across New York State and beyond. The landfill produces millions of gallons of PFAS-laden leachate, which is trucked to treatment facilities across New York and neighboring states – many of which are not equipped to properly treat it. As a result, this toxic runoff contaminates drinking water sources, reaching communities from Buffalo to New York City. The landfill is also a major source of climate-warming methane emissions. The landfill releases toxic air pollutants that harm public health, while its overwhelming odor degrades quality of life for nearby residents. Fighting to shut down Seneca Meadows is not just about protecting the Finger Lakes, it’s about safeguarding public health and reducing climate impacts, and ensuring a healthier, more livable future for all.

Yvonne Taylor speaks at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservancy. Photo credit: Kelly Marciniak

Of what contribution or achievement are you most proud?

We are incredibly proud of our relentless efforts to shut down Seneca Meadows. Through strategic advocacy, we have elevated this campaign to a statewide issue, shedding light on the landfill’s environmental and public health threats. We have built a powerful coalition, mobilizing impacted community members, local businesses, and elected officials, and influencing legislators to take action. We advocate for bold zero-waste policies, including Extended Producer Responsibility and the Expanded Bottle Bill, to reduce waste at its source and move New York toward a more sustainable future. Additionally, we fight on behalf of a state-designated disadvantaged community disproportionately burdened by the landfill’s pollution, ensuring environmental justice remains at the forefront of this battle. We will continue to put pressure on the State Department of Environmental Conservation until they deny Waste Connections’ request to expand and extend operations, because protecting our water, air, and communities is not negotiable.

How does Seneca Lake Guardian’s partnership with EHP enhance the work you’re doing?

Our partnership with EHP is a game-changer in the fight to close Seneca Meadows. By equipping residents with accessible, science-based air quality data, we are strengthening their ability to advocate for a healthier community. Now, when residents report concerns about air pollution, they have concrete evidence to back their claims, making it harder for decision makers to ignore the landfill’s harmful impacts. This partnership is a crucial step in holding polluters accountable and advocating for policies that prioritize public health, environmental justice, and a zero-waste future.

What do you hope Seneca Lake Guardian will achieve in the near future? In the long term?

In the near future, our top priority is ensuring that New York State shuts down Seneca Meadows once and for all. This landfill is the state’s largest source of harmful emissions, toxic leachate, and environmental degradation – threatening public health, polluting drinking water, and devastating quality of life. New York’s first female governor must honor her commitment to environmental stewardship and take decisive action to close Seneca Meadows, protecting the Finger Lakes region and the birthplace of the women’s rights movement.

In the long term, we are fighting for New York to adopt its Solid Waste Management Plan that makes landfills the last resort for waste disposal. Advancing waste reduction and diversion strategies, such as expanding composting, recycling, and other sustainable alternatives, will significantly reduce the volume of waste entering the waste stream. We can lead the way and move New York toward a zero-waste future. As a Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate, our goal is to ultimately become the Finger Lakes Waterkeeper.

Do you have an anecdote about this cause/organization that really moved you?

What moves us most is the unwavering dedication of this community – the teachers who take time out of their busy schedules to advocate for their students’ futures, the business owners who rally their partners to protect the region’s economy, and the families who refuse to accept that their children should grow up breathing polluted air.

Two very special memories come to mind: the first is when we called on regional business owners to participate in a press conference when we were fighting gas storage, and one hundred of them showed up at the Watkins Glen Auditorium. It was incredible to see so many hard-working people, some who have spent generations building the Finger Lakes Brand, coming together in this way. The second is the day we learned that we had prevailed over this multibillion-dollar gas and oil corporation and the news of the victory quickly spread. In a spontaneous burst of celebration, hundreds gathered at a local winery where Finger Lakes bubbly flowed, along with tears of joy at our success. It’s truly the people of this region who make this work worthwhile.

At every Town Board meeting, we see neighbors standing shoulder to shoulder, speaking out against the landfill with passion and conviction. Their voices, whether sharing personal stories of health struggles, demanding accountability from decision-makers, or calling for the protection of our environment, fuel our fight. The spirit of this community is undeniable in its ability to come together, stand up for what’s right, and defend our constitutional right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment.

Yvonne Taylor at Seneca Lake. Photo credit: Kelly Gampbell

Do you have a message to share?

This fight is about more than one landfill. We need a statewide shift in how New York manages waste. Landfills must be a last resort, not a default solution. The state must fully embrace waste reduction and diversion strategies, like expanded composting and recycling, to reduce the volume of waste entering the system in the first place.

This movement is powered by everyday people. Their voices, their stories, and their relentless advocacy are proof of what’s possible when a community stands together.

We are fighting not just for Seneca County, but for every New Yorker’s constitutional right to clean air, clean water, and a healthful environment. We won’t stop until communities, not corporations, decide what their future looks like.

And, in this time of political disruption and upheaval, where the new administration is stripping away many environmental protections, people find it hard to keep fighting. Our message to anyone feeling despair right now is that, despite all odds, we stand on the side of right, and we must fight even harder now than ever. As scientist, author, and environmental champion Dr. Sandra Steingraber once said, “Now is the time to choose your instrument in this symphony and play it with all your might.” We hope you’ll pick up that instrument now, whichever one you can play, and join us.

Learn more about Seneca Lake Guardian at https://senecalakeguardian.org/