Board Chairman Says Delaware County Is ‘Losing Incentive’ to Continue Negotiations for NYC Land Acquisition Permit
From the Walton Reporter, abbreviated, January 20, 2010
(The article expressed the disapproval of a New York Attorney General settlement with five healthcare facilities within the NYC watershed to cease flushing unused pharmaceuticals down sinks and toilets, and to pay a fine of less than $18,000 for the five institutions combined. The board felt the institutions were not doing anything wrong. The end of the article (which follows) concerns James Eisel, Chairman of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors and the NYC land acquisition program.)
Eisel also claims the attorney general’s enforcement activities are selective and not intended for the betterment of all New York residents. “The AG’s office is concerned about the law and ‘proper conduct,’ yet did not take action when the state, environmental groups and federal government cut a deal behind closed doors, absent a watershed resident presence, requiring New York City add $241 million more to its land acquisition program for another 10 years. NYC Environmental Protection staff had already stated they only needed a $55 million land acquisition program to safeguard their water supply. The burden of this backdoor decision is being borne by the watershed residents and the NYC water ratepayers, two groups who can ill afford to fund such a large effort.
“New York City is currently negotiating to receive a new land acquisition permit to acquire land ion the watershed. This action against upstate healthcare institutions, combined with the AG’s office actions undertaken during the negotiations over the renewal of the NYC permit, the AG’s office has breeched the spirit of partnership contained in the landmark Memorandum of Agreement. In light of this breech, Delaware County is fast losing incentive to continue negotiations for the renewal of the land acquisition permit.”
In summation, Eisel wrote, “it is unfortunate the AG’s office doesn’t have the same respect and compassion for watershed residents as they do for the nine million water consumers in and around New York City. The NYS Attorney General ‘serves as the guardian of the legal rights of the citizens of New York, its organizations and its natural resources,’ but, obviously, the rights of the citizens in Delaware County are not included under its mission.”
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