The state Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to approve a controversial expansion of the capital's Rapp Road landfill. The expansion would encompass 15 acres, 13 of which were designated for "full protection" in a 2002 master plan for the Pine Bush Preserve, an aide to Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings told the Times-Union.  

As part of the deal, Albany will restore 250 acres in and around the Rapp Road landfill.Of the total area expected to be approved, seven acres already are on landfill property, and the remainder are located within the Pine Bush Study Area just outside the preserve, which is a critical habitat for some endangered species.   

In return for obtaining the necessary expansion permit, which would extend the landfill's useful life by seven years, Albany has pledged to restore a total of about 250 acres of Pine Bush habitat on landfill grounds and surrounding areas. The remediation will cost between $15 million and $18 million, according to mayoral aide Bob Van Amburgh.

Save the Pine Bush, a local advocacy group, picketed the state DEC headquarters on Monday. In a Web posting, the organization said it also planned to march from the DEC to City Hall on Thursday afternoon to challenge the Common Council Finance Committee in its discussions about how to pay for the remediation.

In an interview with the Times-Union, Lynne Jackson, a member of Save the Pine Bush, declined to say whether the organization would file suit to stop the landfill expansion. Its lawsuit to protect the Pine Bush resulted in creation of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission. The organization also has criticized Albany for filling up the landfill ahead of schedule.