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Not Quite A Done Deal Yet

KJ, DEC spar over aqueduct tap
Backup wells' use holding up permit talks

By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 08/29/12

Kiryas Joel's long quest to tap the Catskill Aqueduct now hinges on the state's approval of new wells the village wants to activate to assemble an adequate backup water supply.

With money bonded for the $29 million water project and no further legal obstacles in its way, Kiryas Joel has been pressing state environmental officials for a key permit it needs to connect a bountiful well in Mountainville to the 13.5-mile pipeline it plans to bury beside roads from the village to New Windsor.

The same permit would allow the village to tap a new well within its borders and make greater use of two existing wells in Kiryas Joel.

Village officials expect to qualify to buy up to 2.5 million gallons per day of New York City's aqueduct water, based on their community's 2010 population, and have been trying to cobble together an equivalent backup supply, as the city requires upstate aqueduct users to do in case it must shut down one of its water tunnels for repairs.

Representatives of Kiryas Joel and the state Department of Environment Conservation met at the department's New Paltz office on Aug. 7 to review a draft permit and iron out remaining issues.

One sticking point is the state's proposal to restrict future use of the village's wells by labeling them backup sources once the aqueduct connection is made. In a follow-up letter last week to the DEC's Region 3 director, William Janeway, a lawyer for Kiryas Joel protested that the village should have the option to continue using its wells and might need them to supplement aqueduct water during peak-demand times.

"The Village is entitled to that flexibility," lawyer Michael Sterthous wrote.

According to documents submitted to the DEC, water use in Kiryas Joel averaged 1.6 million gallons per day in 2011, but reached 2.2 million gallons at peak times. Those surges exceeded the 1.9 million daily gallons the village is allowed to draw from its well network.

Water use is especially high before Passover, when residents of the Hasidic Jewish community scrub their homes to prepare for the weeklong holiday. The village brought in 70,000 gallons in water tankers to augment its supply for the most recent Passover in April, Mayor Abe Wieder told Janeway in a May 8 letter.

The village has been planning since 1999 to tap the Catskill Aqueduct to meet the long-term water demands of its growing population, counted at 20,175 in the 2010 census. Orange County sued twice to challenge the environmental review for the project, but dropped the case in 2010 as part of a legal settlement with the village.

Installation of the 24-inch-wide pipeline is expected to take place it two phases. The first would stretch 6.5 miles from Kiryas Joel to an undeveloped parcel beside Route 32 in Mountainville, where the village plans to build a pump station and connect an unused well it says could produce more than 600,000 gallons per day. The path would follow Seven Springs Road, Ridge Road and Route 32 in Woodbury.

Woodboring

Woodbury is, at least for the moment, rather boring.

You want the Uncle to come up with the energy to post something? Then do something!

Rob a bank.

Stage a nude sit-in at Town Hall.

Name a dog something other than Bailey.

There's lots going on in the world. Missouri senate candidates scaring the bejeebers out of the Republican party. Congressman skinny dipping in holy water. Joe Biden talking. Donald Trump being Donald Trump.

BUT YOU FOLKS DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!

So don't blame your Uncle!

Annexation, Segmentation, Aggravation

The property in question, more or less.

So, Woodbury assembled at the IBEW and denounced the idea of annexing town land into Monroe (by the way, if the annexation went through, the land would end up as being in the Town of Monroe, but would remain in the Village of Woodbury, aint New York State municipal law fun?).

The most compelling argument against the annexation petition had to do with SEQRA (the State Environmental Quality Review Act).

Under SEQRA a small action that has little or no environmental impact can be granted a “Neg Dec” (a negative declaration), meaning that a full SEQRA review is not needed. Since Brach’s petition claims that there are no plans to develop the land, he has requested a Neg Dec.

However, if he has no plans to develop the land, he has no reason to seek annexation. It is obvious that he wishes to build there.

By claiming that there will be no development now, while in fact planning to develop after annexation, he is breaking his overall plan into smaller parts, so as to avoid a full SEQRA review.

This is called “segmentation” and is a definite no-no under NYS law.

If a court looks at this, and IF they are honest, that should put an end to this annexation.

As to the meeting itself, some highlights.

The meeting was overseen by the Woodbury Town and Village Boards and the Town of Monroe Board. Every denunciation of the annexation was loudly applauded, but it seemed that the loudest applause followed each of the many attacks on the Monroe Board, with Sandy Leonard and Harley Doles the targets of choice.

That old gang of Ralph’s reassembled. It did the Uncle’s heart good to see Ralphie, the Ankle Biter, the Rump Roast and others.

Our personal favorite moment came when Ralphling Amy Fitzgerald spoke and then thanked “My Board and the Village Board.” A moment of honesty, Amy?

The prize for least persuasive argument probably goes to Brach’s attorney who spoke about ridge lines and “the Queen.” He did not make clear which particular queen he had in mind. He also said that town and village borders are not carved in stone. In that most old borders are in fact marked by stones, he might have gone for a more apt metaphor.

Doin's

It goes without saying (it went, nothing was said) that yesterday was Dominion Day up there in Canadaland.

Today (Monday, the Twoth of July) the Town Board will vote on Chief Kwiatkowski's successor. If you've been reading the comments posted here, you know this might be a somewhat contentious issue.

Wednesday is Independence Day. No extraterrestrial invasions, please.

Thursday there will be a public hearing at the IBEW on Ziggy Brach's petition to annex land he owns on CR 44 into Monroe. Contention also a possibility.

Friday is free play. Do as you wish (or go to work)

Saturday we celebrate the Chinese invention of fireworks. All day long. Mostly at the Middle School.

Enjoy!

City Mouse, Country Mouse

There's a five way battle for the chance to go against Nan Haywort, who holds the seat in the 19th Congressional District, which is about to become the 18th Congressional District (is that a promotion?).

There's Duane Jackson of Buchanan; Thomas Wilson, Mayor of Tuxedo Park; Matt Alexander, Mayor of Wappingers Falls; Cortlandt Councilman Richard Becker and former White House aide under President Bill Clinton, Sean Patrick Maloney, until recently of New York City, but now of Cold Spring.

Maloney seems to have a lot of money - enough to pay for endless robo-calls featuring his heavy hitter friends (and three names to his opponents two apiece). He also, according to a few local Democratic officials, seems to have absolutely no knowledge of, or interest in, local problems.

Those same local folks have been lining up behind Becker, who, they say would acdtually represent the district and not simply the party. He would also make the November contest Doctor vs Doctor.

As to Jackson, Wilson, and Alexander, go know?

Any of you have any ideas?

Whadya Think: Brookside Grill?

OK, so the Savory Grill is no more. In its place is the Brookside Grill.

Early word is not very enthusiastic.

Any opinions?

The Uncle Wakes

Now, this is my kind of weather. It reminds me of home.

So now that winter is over and I have resumed consciousness, let's get this moving again.

This week Neil Crouse and David Sutz faced off with nobody and achieved a fine victory.

Next week Dems pick a congressional candidate and Reps pick a Senatorial candidate. And the Uncle, Uncharacteristically, is interested in your opinions on that and other stuff.

We'll start, above, with food.

Vox Populi

Anonymous said...
Can the Uncle start a new comment on the M-W School Audit? The school board according to the state audit has been hiding millions of dollars in slush funds which are illegal for schools to do. They should have used this money to lower our school taxes. We need to vote all these people out of office.

Did The Earth Move For You?

KJ set to start Aqueduct pipeline dig
13.5-mile-long pipe would tap NYC water
By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM - 03/16/12

Kiryas Joel is preparing to start construction of the first phase of a 13.5-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct, a $29 million project the village has planned for more than a decade to solve its ever-increasing demand for drinking water.

For this initial work, the village plans to bury a 24-inch-wide pipe under state and county roads from Kiryas Joel to Cornwall, a 6.5-mile stretch that takes in all of Seven Springs Road and Ridge Road and the northern half of Route 32 in Woodbury, according to papers submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation in October.

A project engineer met with Woodbury officials in February and told them construction might begin in May. Woodbury Supervisor John Burke responded last week with a long list of questions and demands intended to minimize the traffic disruption and potential property damage.

Kiryas Joel still needs permits for the work, according to various permitting agencies.
As of Wednesday, the DEC had yet to grant permits to cross wetlands and disturb streams, an agency spokeswoman said.

The stream permit is needed because the water main would burrow under the Woodbury Creek.

NYC permission on hold
Meanwhile, the agency that oversees New York City's vast, upstate water supply and must grant Kiryas Joel permission to tap the Catskill Aqueduct says it hasn't finalized a water-supply agreement.

They also said they have had no contact with Kiryas Joel about its water project for at least a year.

If true, that lack of communication is surprising because representatives of the village and the city's Department of Environmental Protection agreed they were on the verge of finalizing a deal when they met to discuss the project in mid-February 2011, according to notes from that meeting that the Times Herald-Record obtained last year.

In response to a Freedom of Information Law request for any meeting notes, email exchanges or other documents concerning the project since April 1, 2011, department spokesman Mike Saucier said there were none.

The first stage of construction will end at a property on Route 32 in Cornwall where Kiryas Joel plans to build a pump station and connect a new well it needs to boost its backup water supply, according to the village's paperwork.

Upstate communities that use the city's water are required to maintain adequate backup sources they can use when the city's massive water tunnels are shut off for repairs. Kiryas Joel still had to prove it could meet that requirement when its lawyers met with the Department of Environmental Protection in February 2011.

Kiryas Joel's engineers told the state in October that its new Cornwall well can produce 600,000 gallons of water a day, which is a gusher. Drawings submitted with its permit application suggest the well is on a vacant, 9.7-acre parcel Kiryas Joel bought for $264,000 in November 2010.

Backup wells required
Farther north on Route 32, Kiryas Joel also hopes to connect an abandoned water system once used by the Star Expansion factory. Kiryas Joel officials told the city last year that the Star Expansion wells can produce 1.5 million gallons of water per day.

Ultimately, Kiryas Joel plans to extend its pipe to New Windsor and share that town's tap into the Catskill Aqueduct. It also plans to build a treatment plan on Seven Springs Road in Woodbury to filter the aqueduct water.