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Entries Tagged as 'pollution'

DEC Environmental Crimes Investigators Arrest Clinton Co. Man

February 3rd, 2015 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Charges Include Felony Endangering Public Health, Safety and the Environment

NYSDEC LogoAn investigation by State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Police resulted in the arrest of a Clinton County man on charges for illegally disposing of asbestos laden debris in a wetland, DEC announced today.

On January 29, 2015, investigators from the DEC Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation (BECI) charged Randy P. Bedard, 57, of Rouses Point, NY, with endangering the public health, safety or the environment in the 2nd degree, a Class D felony. Bedard was also charged with two misdemeanors; unlawful disposal of solid waste and unpermitted activity in a regulated wetland.

The investigation stemmed from the collapse of the former Drown Funeral Home on Route 11 in Mooers on January 11, 2014, and the subsequent removal of 150 cubic yards of debris. Bedard allegedly brought the asbestos laden debris to the Clinton County Solid Waste Management Facility and to an unpermitted disposal site on North Star Road in the Town of Mooers. The site on North Star Road is a regulated wetland.

Staff from DEC’s Solid Waste and Wetlands programs assisted BECI Investigators.

Bedard was arraigned in the Town of Mooers Criminal Court where he entered a plea of not guilty. He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear before the court on February 12, 2015.

Report environmental crimes to the DEC 24 hour dispatch at 844-DEC-ECOS (844-332-3267).

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2012 Extreme Year for Adirondacks

October 16th, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

ADIRONDACK COUNCIL CALLS 2012 YEAR OF EXTREMES FOR PARK AS TROPICAL STORM, INVASIVE SPECIES HIT HARD WHILE MAJOR LAND PURCHASE IS BEST ADDITION TO ‘FORVER WILD’ PRESERVE IN CENTURY

USEPA Advances Clean Air Regulations, Court Strikes Them Down; Year of Highs and Lows Detailed in ‘State of the Park 2012’

Adirondack CouncilThe Adirondack Park was subjected to a barrage of extreme outside influences over the past 12 months, some of which devastated small communities and public natural resources, while others brought unprecedented good news to park residents and visitors, the Adirondack Council noted in its 2012 State of the Park report.

“Last fall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo acted quickly to marshall state agencies to the aid of communities that were hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene,” said Adirondack Council Acting Executive Director Diane W. Fish. “In the process, however, damage was done to rivers and trout streams that will take great effort and substantial investments to repair.

“Then, this August, the Governor announced he would make the largest purchase of new public lands for the Adirondack Forest Preserve in history,” Fish said. “These lands are unique, biologically rich and vitally important to the park’s water quality and wildlife. They will be a lasting environmental legacy for the Governor and a big boost to local tourism.

“Still, budget cuts and expired terms of office are plaguing his environmental agencies, while his regional economic councils lack environmental representation,” she said. “On the whole, the Governor won more praise than criticism this year.”

State of the Park is a comprehensive, non-partisan, review of the actions of local, state and federal government officials that helped or harmed the Adirondack Park over the past year. It is issued by the Adirondack Council, a privately funded, not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. This illustrated, 18-page review is the Council’s 27th annual State of the Park report. A copy of the report is available online at AdirondackCouncil.org.

The Adirondack Park is the largest park in the contiguous United States (9,300 square miles). Unlike most American parks, it consists of both public and private land and contains 130 small villages and hamlets inside of 92 towns and 12 counties, with roughly 135,000 permanent residents. It also contains 2.7 million acres of “forever wild” Forest Preserve and most of the wilderness and old growth forest remaining in the Northeast.

The State Legislature earned praise for four progressive bills it passed by working across party lines. Among them was the state’s first law designed to slow the spread of invasive species, sponsored by Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman Bob Sweeney, D-Lindenhurst.

“This year, state officials confirmed that invasive species such as the Asian clam and spiny water flea have been found in Lake George and other popular water bodies, while feral pigs have been spotted digging up portions of Clinton County,” Fish said. “There are still large areas of the park that are not yet infested. We want to keep them that way.”

Also earning praise were: Sen. Environmental Conservation Committee Chairman Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo; Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome; Sen. Carl Marcellino, R-Syosset; Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, D-Forestburgh; Assemblyman Fred Thiele, I-Sag Harbor; and, Assemblyman David Gantt, D-Rochester; as well as the Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, who declined to pass four Senate bills and a proposed Constitutional Amendment that could have harmed the park’s environment. As a House, the Assembly won only praise in the report.

Singled out for individual criticism were: Senator Little for three anti-wilderness bills aimed at increasing motorized traffic on the Forest Preserve; and, Sen. Pattie Ritchie, ROswegatchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-Nelson, for a bill that would allow 1,500-pound all-terrain-vehicles on public trails.

On the federal level, praise went to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, for restoring funding for flood-warning gauges on Adirondack streams. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Schumer also helped to defeat a bill that would have prevented federal officials from implementing a new acid rain standard for power plants. The USEPA won praise for advancing new air pollution standards and the US Fish and Wildlife Service won favorable mentions for its work restoring trout streams and for nominating a rare native songbird (Bicknell’s thrush) for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, joined Schumer, Gillibrand and Owens in winning praise for his support of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The Adirondack Council – whose membership has expanded from just the Northeast to all 50 United States since its first State of the Park report was issued in 1986 – praised five out-of-state U.S. Senators for breaking with fellow Republicans in an otherwise party-line vote. Together, they defeated a bill that would have killed the new federal mercury regulations for power plants.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors won the highest praise for local governments in the report, for passing a local invasive species law that is much tougher than the state law passed this summer. Fines of $5,000 and up to 15 days in jail await anyone who introduces an aquatic invasive species into Lake George or the 20 other major water bodies in the county.

Local governments also made progress controlling all-terrain vehicle traffic on public lands; undertook major energy conservation and renewable energy development projects; and, rejected development plans deemed inappropriate for Peck’s Lake, near Gloversville.

The Department of Environmental Conservation made progress on invasive species this year, conducting a series of tourist-season roadblocks and vehicle inspections to stop thosewho might be carrying firewood into the park from other parts of the state that might be infested with invasive plants and insects such as the Emerald Ash Borer or Asian Longhorn Beetle.

The DEC also adopted new air quality standards that will better protect the park from acid rain and smog. It also destroyed its surplus of carbon allowances leftover from previous Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auctions, eliminating thousands of tons of carbon that otherwise would have been emitted by power plants in the 10-state RGGI region (Maine to Maryland).

The Adirondack Park Agency did improve the flawed resort project proposed for the ski hill outside of the Village of Tupper Lake, but its rules and regulations do not incorporate the latest science on water quality, wildlife and forest health. They have not been updated since 1971. Some of the rules can be changed by the agency. Others would require legislation.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman earned only praise in the report, focused on his work in defending new federal mercury standards, in defending the RGGI program and in seeking to compel federal officials to adopt tougher standards for emissions of soot from power plants.

Overall, it was an uneven year for court decisions, with six state and federal decisions favoring Adirondack conservation and four decisions that did harm to environmental protections.

Founded in 1975, the Adirondack Council is an independent advocate for the park. The organization doesn’t accept government grants or taxpayer-supported contributions of any kind. The Council does not endorse candidates for public office.

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2012 State of the Lake Report Released for Lake Champlain

August 2nd, 2012 · No Comments · Adirondack News

Lake Champlain Basin ProgramGrand Isle, Vt – The Lake Champlain Basin Program’s 2012 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators Report was released today. The report, produced every 3-4 years, informs citizens and resource managers about Lake Champlain’s condition and provides a better understanding of threats to its health and opportunities to meet the challenges ahead.

“We use scientific data to determine what kind of progress is being made on the management of Lake Champlain water quality and habitat health,” said Bill Howland, LCBP Program Manager. “Again, in 2012, we share both good and not so good news, depending on which issue and which lake segment is being discussed. Certainly the Lake is not meeting phosphorus concentratios targets, but each jurisdiction remains diligent and active in their efforts to decrease loads.”

The public is encouraged to request a copy of the report to learn more about Lake Champlain’s health. Highlights include:

Water Quality

  • Lake Champlain’s nonpoint source phosphorus target loads and in-lake concentratios are still too high.
  • Phosphorus trends in some tributaries are improving, such as the Pike River which flows through Quebec and Otter Creek in Vermont.
  • Some of the Lake Champlain embayments are generally meeting their phosphorus targets including Cumberland Bay, Burlington Bay, Shelburne Bay, South Lake B.
  • 2011 spring and fall floods boosted nutrient levels in most sections of the Lake to the highest annual average since the initiation of the Lake Champlain monitoring program in 1992.

Fish and Wildlife

  • Data collected in 2011 for sportfish in Lake Champlain reveal substantial declines in mercury levels in the tissue of walleye, lake trout and yellow perch. Fish mercury levels should continue to improve with newly issued US EPA regulations on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.
  • New York State has lifted most special fish consumption advisories for Cumberland Bay (near Plattsburgh) due to reduced PCB concentrations. By monitoring fish tissue samples, NYSDEC has been able to track progress over time on the decreasing PCB levels.
  • Sea lamprey wounding on lake trout and Atlantic salmon has dropped to the lowest rates since monitoring began in 1985.
  • Nesting populations of double-crested cormorants have dropped 50%.
  • Scientists have documented recent changes in the biological communities of the Lake’s food web, such as declines in zooplankton populations. These can cause a ripple effect all the way up to the top predators. State and Federal partners conduct annual surveys of the open water fish communities. Data suggest that native rainbow smelt numbers are declining while alewife are becoming more abundant.
  • More than 1900 acres of wetland habitat has been restored or enhanced through the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program since 2009. This success was due to willing landowners working with federal and state partners and nongovernmental conservation groups including local watershed groups and Ducks Unlimited.

Invasive Species

  • In the southern portion of Lake Champlain, water chestnut populations have been reduced to their southernmost point since 1999, about 6.5 miles south of Benson, Vt. More than 200 acres were mechanically harvested in 2011.
  • Round goby, Asian clam, and spiny waterflea are three aquatic invasive species on the doorsteps to Lake Champlain. Anglers, boaters and other recreational users must all remain diligent in preventing the spread of invasive species.

Human Health

  • Cyanobacteria blooms remain a concern especially in Missisquoi Bay. Similar to other lakes around the world, cyanobacteria blooms continue to be a nuisance with human health implications.
  • While most days it is safe to swim in Lake Champlain, beach closures remain a concern in the Lake, particularly in the northeast arm.

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy said, “Lake Champlain, the jewel of New England, is one of Vermont’s most valuable assets and defining features. Vermonters depend on the lake, and the future of the lake depends on us. This report makes it clear that the lake has never been more important to us — as a world class fishery, as a boating and recreational resource, as our primary water source. But these findings also make clear that all of us in Quebec, New York and Vermont need to work harder toward better stewardship. We need prompt progress in cleaning up nutrient pollution, we need effective steps to thwart the new invasive species now on the lake’s threshold, and we must begin planning for and adapting to a changing climate, if we are going to conserve this cherished resource for today and tomorrow. The lake’s future is our legacy, and our responsibility.”

The 2012 State of the Lake and Ecosystem Indicators report is now posted on-line: www.lcbp.org/PDFs/SOL2012-web.pdf.

For further information, contact, the Lake Champlain Basin Program at (802) 372-3213.

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