The ink was barely dry on Amherst's approval for the Buffalo Sewer Authority to incinerate its sludge when the deal fell through due to state air quality objections.

Amherst Supervisor Barry Weinstein said he was "shocked" the agreement fell through.The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants the Buffalo authority to improve the quality of air emissions now, rather than in two years, the legal deadline for compliance. Installing new scrubbers on each of the three incinerators would cost a total of $3 million, the Buffalo News reported.

Both city and town, which have been negotiating the deal for a year, seem to be coming out behind in the current calculus.  Buffalo, which has excess sewage incineration capacity, will not gain from a 10-year, $5 million agreement with Amherst.

Amherst, whose sewage pelletizer system is expensive and troublesome to maintain, now is negotiating with Aslan Environmental Services. The Fishkill-based company runs a more streamlined process for turning sewage into dry pellets at a plant in Kingston. Amherst likely will pay more to Aslan that it would have to Buffalo. The town also has to forfeit eligibility for a $200,000 state grant for inter-municipal agreements.