Yesterday, New York City announced that it had won a key federal permit for its proposed East River waste transfer station at 91^st Street.

The approval is a major step forward for the widely-supported Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP), a City Council-ratified initiative that aims to create a fair garbage and recycling processing system in the five boroughs. Currently, New York trucks most of its garbage to facilities in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but the 2006 SWMP will create a more equitable and environmentally friendly distribution plan for the city. Under the plan, each borough will bear some responsibility for its trash and recycling needs, and much of the city’s waste will be handled at marine transfer stations (MTS), from which point the waste will be floated off on barges. The plan simultaneously creates a more equitable waste management system and reduces truck traffic on local streets (it is estimated that the implementation of the plan will reduce vehicle miles traveled in New York City by more than 3.5 million per year).

91^st Street is one of four new MTS facilities planned in the SWMP, and the only new facility located in Manhattan.

Though a lawsuit is pending, the permit allows the plan to move forward. New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway was unequivocal in a statement: “[we] are on track to break ground before the end of this year.” According to the city, the 91^st Street facility will open in 2015.