Press release
Local residents are protesting the Genesee Economic Development Center (GCEDC)’s plans to use horizontal directional drilling (HDD) on the WNY Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) site in Alabama, New York to install the first segment of a planned wastewater treatment pipeline Village of Oakfield Wastewater Treatment Facility Proposed Connection of STAMP Force Main Basis of Design Report – June 2024.pdf – Google Drive that would carry 20,000 or more gallons of untreated wastewater from STAMP to the Village of Oakfield Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facility Oakfield WWTP Force Main BODR Route Map 1.25 (1).pdf – Google Drive
Nearly two years ago, GCEDC’s first attempt at constructing a STAMP Wastewater Treatment Pipeline resulted in ‘frac outs’ that spilled 500-700 gallons of hydraulic drilling fluid into wetlands of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (INWR)Feds shut down construction of pipeline for STAMP industrial park : Investigative Post.
GCEDC now plans to install a section of the rerouted pipeline on the STAMP site using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) – the method that proved disastrous in 2023. GCEDC intends to use this controversial method under waterways that flow directly onto the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and into the INWR. STAMP_Maps.pdf – Google Drive
As in summer 2023, not only does GCEDC intend to begin construction of the STAMP Wastewater Treatment Pipeline without carrying out adequate soils testing, they are also taking action despite lacking necessary permits DEC materials – Google Drive and agreements for construction of this pipeline and treatment of the wastewater. While GCEDC claims that they have finalized construction and supply agreements with the Village of Oakfield, these documents remain unsigned.
Village of Oakfield Construction and Supply Agreements – unsigned – Google Drive
The stakes of this planned construction are high – the US Department of Agriculture has deemed soils in this area “poorly drained” and thus poorly suited to HDD. Wetland_STAMP_Memorandum (1).pdf – Google Drive Frac outs in this location would pollute Tonawanda Seneca Nation waters and threaten the health of Nation citizens, who use Nation waterways for subsistence and who rely on well water. Other local residents also rely on well water supplied by waterways that would be impacted by GCEDC’s planned drilling. STAMP_Maps.pdf – Google Drive
GCEDC was forced to seek an alternate route for the STAMP Wastewater Treatment Pipeline following the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s June 2024 revocation of a key right-of-way permit allowing construction of the pipeline through INWR. SEQR Update with GCEDC 7 1 24.pdf – Google Drive U.S Fish & Wildlife revoke key permit for STAMP industrial park : Investigative Post
GCEDC now proposes to build a sewer pipeline that would pump raw sewage from STAMP uphill and under multiple waterways, as well as over a former gypsum mine, to the Village of Oakfield Wastewater Treatment Facility, which lacks a current SPDES permit. Gypsum_Mine_STAMP_Memorandum.pdf – Google Drive
To reach grade, this “force main” would require three separate pump stations along the route, each designed to collect raw sewage in a “wet well.” Treated wastewater would be discharged into a tributary of Oak Orchard Creek, Oakfield Force Main Discharge Map 6.24.pdf – Google Drive which is already phosphorus impaired. While the pipeline is being designed and constructed, a process that GCEDC claims would be complete by 2027
at the earliest, GCEDC plans to hold raw sewage in tanks on the STAMP site and transport these sewage-filled tanks by truck to the Oakfield facility. A damning review by third-party experts raises serious concerns about impacts from the proposed pipeline to local public health and the environment. STAMP BODR Pipeline Review by SUEFC Draft_v3.docx – Google Docs
On the afternoon of June 27, 2025, GCEDC denied a request by the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s to pause its planned construction of the STAMP wastewater pipeline to allow for sufficient soils testing. Not only did GCEDC state that they could not “accommodate this request” to protect Nation citizens’ health and safety, they also provided 100 new pages of technical information – including information that confirms the risk of frac out from the use of horizontal directional drilling in the planned location. The Nation has since repeated its request. 6/27 WWTP Docs – Google Drive TSN Ltr to USACE & DEC re HDD Pause 6.30.2025.pdf – Google Drive
Despite 15 years of effort and more than $410 million in taxpayer subsidies, GCEDC has struggled to attract viable tenants or construct basic infrastructure at the rural site proposed to become a “mega industrial park.”STAMP is struggling to fill its industrial park in Genesee County : Investigative Post
The agency pivoted to data centers to fill a gap in financing for the onsite electrical substation following the withdrawal of funding from Plug Power, which paused construction on its green hydrogen manufacturing facility in 2023. Edwards Vacuum is the only tenant under construction at STAMP. Plug Power woes cause issues at STAMP, spark data center fight : Investigative Post