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Video: NJN – DRBC Grants Controversial Permit for Natural Gas Drilling in Delaware River Watershed

Dennis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:28:08 +0000

Regulators have granted a controversial permit for a natural gas drilling project in the Delaware River water shed.

Alert: Stop Unregulated Gas Drilling in the Delaware River Watershed

Dennis — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:34:41 +0000

An unregulated drilling technique is putting the water supply for Trenton, Phillipsburg and many South Jersey towns at risk and we need your help to protect it. (Click this link to send an e-mail message and to take other actions!)

Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale (PA & NY) is threatening to pollute New Jersey’s drinking water for a million and a half people and to deforest the Delaware River watershed. A new process called hydrofracking , injects chemicals into millions of gallons of clean water to drill horizontally for natural gas. The chemical mixture that remains is difficult to treat and risks seeping in to our drinking water.

Come join the NJ Sierra Club and the Delaware Riverkeeper next Wednesday (7/14/10) to rally outside of a Delaware River Basin Commission Meeting on this important issue. Until federal regulations for hydrofracking are set our organizations are asking for a complete moratorium on all natural gas projects in the Marcellus Shale.

What: Rally at Delaware River Basin Commission Public Meeting

When: 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 14

Where: West Trenton Volunteer Fire Company http://www.wtvfc.org/directions.htm

40 West Upper Ferry Road, Ewing, NJ 08628-2714 (609) 883-0325

Why: We need a complete and total moratorium on all natural gas projects in the Delaware River Watershed until the comprehensive study of the cumulative impact of gas projects is completed and all regulations are adopted. It’s urgent that we act to preserve the high water quality of the Delaware River.

The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf is a daily reminder what can happen when energy companies go unregulated. Tell the DRBC we don’t want the same to happen in the Delaware River.

Let us know if you can join us at the hearing or send a letter to the commission.

Thank you for your support,

NJ Sierra Club Staff

P.S. There are carpools being organized in the Philadelphia area and a car shuttle running from the West Trenton Septa Train Station. To get more info on carpools or train pick up, contact DRN at 215-369-1188 ext. 110.

More information:

- The Delaware River Watershed supplies drinking water for 15 million people including one million New Jerseyans. Hydrofracking can, and has, contaminated drinking water supplies and streams and rivers.

- Each fracking well will destroy 15 acres of forest and need a half mile of roadway. There are currently proposals for more than 50,000 wells. This could mean the removal of 750,000 acres of woodlands and the construction of 25,000 miles of road. The runoff and pollution will cause irreparable damage to the Delaware River Watershed.

- The EPA is currently researching a comprehensive report due in 2012. The federal government has not yet passed the Frack Act to force the drilling companies to reveal the hundreds of toxic chemicals injected into the wells and comply with the Clean Air and Water Acts and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

- The DRBC has placed a temporary and incomplete moratorium. The current moratorium will expire before the EPA’s impact study is released and full regulations are in place. The moratorium does not include previously permitted drilling projects or related projects like Stone Energy’s application to withdraw 700,000 million gallons per day from a major tributary.

- Consequently, it is essential that the DRBC act by adopting a total moratorium on gas projects while conducting a thorough analysis of the cumulative impacts of extended gas development and then adopts comprehensive regulations to protect and preserve the Delaware River Watershed for us and future generations.

Public Hearing in Delhi Concerns DEP’s Land Acquisition Program

Dennis — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:29:08 +0000

Colchester: Cole Clove Brook emptying into the Pepacton Reservoir.

Walton Reporter (no website) June 30, 2010

By Glenn Graves

DELHI – Delaware County Commissioner of Watershed Affairs Dean Frazier is notifying county residents that a public hearing for comments on New York City’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Complete Water Supply Permit will be held on Monday, July 12, at 6 p.m., at SUNI Delhi’s Evenden Tower, Room 104.

“This is an opportunity for county residents to comment on New York City’s plan for continued acquisition of lands in Delaware County,” Frazier said. “The renewed Water Supply Permit for land acquisition gives New York City the authority to purchase lands in Delaware County within the watershed boundaries that supply water to residents in and around New York City.

“The Watershed permit enables the City to avoid building a filtration plant and maintain their filtration avoidance determination (FAD) status with the New York State Department of Health. The city is seeking to extend its land acquisition permit to 2022. The hearing is an opportunity for folks to learn about the plan, ask questions and/or make a public statement. We strongly encourage the public to attend.”

Included in the DEIS is a description of how the land acquisition program will effect the supply of developable land, tourism and agriculture in the west-of-Hudson watershed and its anticipated impact on [property values.

The DEIS also discusses the potential percentage of land in each town that the city expects to acquire, either by easement or purchase. It also includes mention of the potential introduction of a riparian buffer pilot program to which the city would commit $5 million for three years to acquire easements for or purchase riparian buffers.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is available for viewing at www.delcowatershed.com and two copies are available for review at the Delaware County Department of Watershed Affairs, 1 Courthouse Square, Suite 3, Delhi.

Written comments are to be post-marked by July 30 to DEC, ATTN: Martha A Wood, Project Manager, Region 4, Field Office, 65561 State Highway 10, Stamford, NY 12167. Comments can also be submitted to R4DEP@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Additional Info can be found at the NYC DEP page, Extended New York City Watershed Land Acquisition Program.

There will be three public hearings:

1. Monday July 12, 2010 at SUNY Delhi, Evenden Tower, Room 104, 2 Main Street, Delhi, NY 13753,

2. Tuesday July 13, 6 PM at Hunter Elementary School, 7794 Main Street, Hunter, NY 12442,

3. Wednesday July 14, 6 PM at Tri Valley High School, 34 Moore Hill Road, Grahamsville, NY 12740.

Walton Theatre to Host Sundance Festival Winning Film, “Gasland”

Dennis — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:59:49 +0000

From The Walton Reporter (no website), May 26

On Monday, June 7, at 6:30 PM, the Walton Theater will host one stop of Josh Fox’s 20-stop tour of Pennsylvania and New York, as a run-up to the June 21 HBO premiere of his new film, “Gasland,” winner of this year’s Sundance Special Jury Prize. The admission-free screening is organized by Franklin Local Ltd., a not-for-profit citizen’s group in Franklin, dedicated to rebuilding local economies, self-reliance and support networks; operating a weekly farmer’s market; and publishing a newsletter, the New Franklin Register.

“Gasland” tells the story of the effects of the largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history that is sweeping across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” just beneath the Marcellus shale formation.

When filmmaker Josh Fox was asked to lease his land for drilling, he set out to learn more about it and embarked on a cross-country odyssey that uncovered a trail of secrets, lies and contamination and “Gasland” is the story of what he discovered.

Fox will be present at the screening and available for questions afterward. Franklin resident and geologist Brian Brock will also participate in the discussion.

The screening tour is being organized by Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Catskill Mountainkeeper and Earthjustice.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations to help support the cost of the event will be gratefully received. Visit www.gaslandthemovie.com for details about the tour.

For additional information about the Walton event, contact Eugene Marner at 607-829-8451.

The Drill, the Spill, and the Pill

Dennis — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:53:07 +0000

From The Walton Reporter (no website), May 19, 2010

The Drill, the Spill, and the Pill By Nick Albaugh

Last Wednesday the Reporter published Joan Tubridy’s timely piece, “Gas Drilling: Economic Boom or Bust,” that concisely countered a number of economic beliefs by drilling advocates and raised cautions about the real costs to affected communities. She reminded readers of the far greater value of other New York industries threatened by unconventional drilling and warned that the economic concerns do not even begin to address the environmental and health treats.

On the same day, British Petroleum (finally) released videos of the oil leak from the riser pipe a mile below the Gulf surface. Some analysts, commenting on the changing colors and features of the discharge, attributed these to methane released along with the oil – the gas commonly suspected in last month’s explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon platform. The irony that the technological expertise that so intimately documents the disaster was not employed to prevent it, did not escape many who have viewed the videos, widely available on YouTube and other Internet sites.

There is a lesson for Delaware County in this disaster a thousand miles away. It tells us what we should expect from an industry that values profits above anything else, and from a government that is either in thrall to its lobbies and campaign donations, incapable of safeguarding the public interest, or both. To be sure, on that same Wednesday the Washington Post reported that the Obama administration plans to split the notoriously corrupt and collusive Minerals Management Service into two parts, separating the enforcement group of it 1700 employees from those who collect the royalties.

But that’s like splitting a colony of rats, where you just end up with double the number of breeders. Judging by Washington’s performance in recent decades, we’ll get two larger, more expensive, more corrupt and collusive groups than the present one.

Can the costs of the Gulf cleanup and compensation to injured industries and workers deter the big drillers from reckless practices? In theory, maybe, if the costs were real, and if the drillers were accountable to a truly free-market economy. But that’s a huge if, first because these corporations are entities created by government and legislation – read politics – not by the market place, and second, because the government is so involved in subsidies and protections of big corporations that the real and eventual costs are mostly passed on to taxpayers and consumers.

Under the Oil Protection Act of 1990 (enacted a year after the Exxon Valdez dumped 11 million gallons of Alaska crude), companies are responsible for the cost of the cleanup (however that finally gets reckoned) and for up to $75 million in compensation to damaged businesses and other parties like the Gulf fishermen, who (used to) haul in 1.2 billion pounds of seafood a year. The figure is a pittance compared to both the resources of a giant like BP or to the actual costs to Gulf livelihoods, which in addition to fishing include 620,000 jobs in tourism and recreation. The Deepwater Horizon platform cost $365 million to construct, and it leased for half million a day. That one platform was worth five times what the Washington clowns fixed as a driller’s maximum liability.

Now, consider that there are over 4,000 oil and gas platforms operating in the Gulf, minimally regulated, and we begin to get some sense of scale, frequency, and whether the expense of outfitting all those rigs with adequate safety features is worth the cost to operators in calculating profit and liability. Again, scale: CBS reported BP’s net profit for the first quarter of this year at $5.1 billion (almost double last year’s), largely that’s to the $3 a gallon you are paying at the pump. If this writer didn’t miss a decimal place, that’s $67 million a day. In other words, BP can cover its statuary liability with just over one day’s profits.

And what’s the reaction of our clowns in Washington? Some noise about raising corporate liability retroactively, even though they have no idea of the eventual costs. But, notwithstanding their prior villainy, 2) the usual operation of law that looks poorly on legislating ex post facto, 3) the arguable precedence in this case of a billion dollars from the obscure Oil Spill Liability Trust, funded by a small tax on crude that is of course passed on to consumers, and 4) the possibility that the oil giant may stage a PR play and volunteer some (cleverly spent) funds in excess of their liability, it is those among us still able to pay our taxes, and all those watching the meter at the pump, who, one more time, will swallow the bitter pill for the long haul and fund the greed of one more group of predators too big to fail and too efficient in their courtship of the politicians.

The disaster in the Gulf with all its unfolding effects and collusive causes is a preview in large of the multitude of scattered abuses we can expect, following communities from Dish to Dimock, when the big rigs set up over New York’s Marcellus.

Delaware Supervisors Want DRBC to Finish Gas Drilling Regulations

Dennis — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:43:22 +0000

Hamden covered bridge over the West Branch of the Delaware River.

Walton Reporter (no website) May 19, 2010

By Robert A. Cairns

DELHI – The Delaware County Board of Supervisors wants the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to hurry up and approve regulations for natural gas drilling.

At last week’s board meeting, supervisors adopted a resolution, calling on the DRBC to “expedite the promulgation of rules and regulations to allow natural gas drilling” in areas that drain into so-called “special protection waters.”

The resolution notes that the portion of Delaware County that lies in the New York City watershed is subject to stricter regulations than most areas of the state and says the DRBC is exercising “discretionary authority” in the county. It states that, without rules and regulations, permit approval procedures are “arbitrary and capricious.”

The resolution “strongly recommends” that New York Governor David Paterson, who is a commissioner of the DRBC, intervene and demand that rules be established.

Meredith Supervisor Keitha Capouya said she was “in complete accord” with much of the resolution, but could not support it. She read a letter from an opponent of gas drilling and said she had received others. While she agreed that Delaware County should be treated equally with the rest of the state and not face additional regulations because it is in New York City’s watershed, she said the process of creating regulations should not be rushed. “I think there’s a lot of work to be done, and I’d like to see it done,” she said.

Hancock Supervisor Sam Rowe said the DRBC “is taking this stance,” holding up its regulations, without seeing what will be in the final state rules on drilling. “It’s got to be done responsibly, we all know that,” he said. He noted, however, that regulated drilling is already happening in the watershed of the Susquehanna River. “I don’t think they need to try to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “Government and industry should be coming together to develop the green technology to extract this stuff.”

Colchester Supervisor Robert Homovich criticized the DRBC. “It’s an environmental group. They’re always against everything. They always will be,” he said. “The last thing we want is the DRBC to join forces with the city and completely take over this county.” He said rules that prevent residents from selling resources are “thievery,” and said, “If they want to take that, they should pay for it.”

Board Chairman and Harpersfield Supervisor James Eisel said gas can be extracted safely. “Every day, there’s new technology coming out,” he said. “The technology is there. They just have to hear us. We just have to find the right way to do this.”

At the end of the discussion, the resolution was approved with only Capouya opposed.

Hydro-Fracking Is the Real Enemy of the Watershed

Dennis — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:24:24 +0000

Walton Reporter (no website) May 19, 2010

Letter to the Editor:

Last week there was an article in The Walton Reporter on page 3 quoting pro-drilling Colchester Supervisor Bart (sic) Homovich, whose position is that because Delaware County sits on top of the New York City watershed, the residents are being denied the rights to exploit and profit from their land that are abailable to other Marcellus Shale property owners in New York state. There is a great deal of anger in the county about that and many people feel that if NYC is going to save up to $30 billion on water filtration by not drilling in the Delaware Watershed, some of that money should be spent here in Delaware County. They do have a point. It is unfair.

That hydraulic fracture gas drilling in the Marcellus and other shales is an environmental crime against humanity that should not take place anywhere seems to be lost in the anger against New York City. This is counterproductive. We should be fighting for a sane energy policy, which our government seems unwilling to do.

The first thing we should do – before investing helter-skelter in the tax-payer funded alternative, unproven, energy alternatives of big industry – is use less energy. Here in Delaware County, partly because we are sp poor, I think we pretty much do our share in this respect, heating with wood and insulating our homes and so forth. But nationally – and certainly in New York City – no measures have been passed about energy use, which is wasted there just like our precious water is wasted.

My position is that we need a national rationing system of all our resources. Once we know what the minimum amount of energy that we need to live is – and that, by the way, would also give the earth a chance to live – then we can figure out the best and safest alternative ways to power our society.

Actually, here in Franklin, we have unusual and capable people who have taken steps themselves to power down their homes and their community by building passive solar homes, living off the grid, creating new sources of energy.

Not everyone has the knowledge and ability to do that. We need leadership. The Delaware County Board of Supervisors, by reacting with knee-jerk anger to New York City’s bullying, is not providing that leadership, much less our national government.

Carole Satrina Marner

Bar to Gas Drilling May Extend Beyond Watershed’s Border

Dennis — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:33:03 +0000

Colchester: Cole Clove Brook emptying into the Pepacton Reservoir.

Walton Reporter (no website) May 12, 2010

By Glenn Graves

DOWNSVILLE – Colchester Supervisor Robert Homovich has informed the town council that New York City may not be content with the recent decision made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that greatly reduces the chance any natural gas drilling will occur within the Catskill watershed, and is seeking to have all gas development stopped near the city’s drinking water infrastructure outside the watershed.

“My interpretation of the watershed is that it’s what’s above the dam,” Homovich said last Wednesday. “The city’s interpretation is it’s anything within five to seven miles of their tunnels, too. This is going to cut a 15-mile swatch through sections of this county and surrounding counties that aren’t even in the city’s watershed.”

Three weeks ago, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that whatever regulations are forthcoming in the environmental review process it is preparing for natural gas drilling in the state, will not apply to drilling in the New York City Watershed. Commissioner Pete Grannis announced that in order to protect the unfiltered drinking water for New York City and Syracuse, their watersheds would be excluded from pending regulations and applications to drill in the Marcellus shale formation will require a case-by-case environmental review process to determine whether appropriate measures can be developed to mitigate the potential impacts of horizontal drilling.

New York City’s Catskill watershed and Syracuse’s Skaneateles watershed provide unfiltered drinking water from surface water sources. The watersheds are subject to filtration avoidance determinations (FADs) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that present distinct land use issues that DEC says are independent of issues in other parts of the state, which will be regulated by the pending regulations.

New York City estimates that if it loses its FAD, it will need to spend $10-$20 billion to build water filtration facilities and at least hundreds of millions a year for operation and maintenance of the facilities. When the city made its comments to the DEC regarding the draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement that will determine the rules and regulations for hydrofacturing, or fracking, of the shale formation in the state, it asked for an outright ban on drilling in the watershed and near its infrastructure.

“Natural gas spacing units should be excluded within a zone of seven miles from New York City subsurface water supply infrastructure to minimize the risks and impacts associated with contaminating drinking water with fracking chemicals and formation water,” the written comment stated, regarding areas outside the watershed.

Homovich said that if the city is saving itself billions in infrastructure costs by achieving a ban on drilling, it ought to reimburse landowners in the watershed and those near the tunnels for the lost potential revenues from selling or leasing natural gas rights and the ensuing royalties.

“I hope the city and all the environmentalists who got this stopped have some answers for the economic situation in this county,” Homovich, who is also the county’s budget director, added. He said the county would need the increase in sales tax and the financial stimulus he believes drilling would bring to keep county, town and school property taxes from taking double-digit leaps in the coming years, as the state demands more of local municipalities and provides less revenues to pay for the mandates, and as the local economy fails to keep pace.

Homovich said 27 percent of the county’s population is on welfare, “and we’re adding one percent to the rolls each month.” He said the county is also “fourth in the state in the loss of sales tax.”

The supervisor said that the town has already taken a hit on some of its anticipated revenues for 2010. He said the town receives two mortgage tax revenue payments each year from the county, “and the first check was 47 percent less than it ought to be.” He added, “I don’t know if we’re going to meet the revenues I put in the budget.”

Gas Drilling: Economic Boom or Bust?

Dennis — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:37:23 +0000

From The Walton Reporter (no website), May 12, 2010

On Jan. 19 2010, New York State Oil and Gas industry lobbyist Brad Gill stated that because of gas drilling, Pennsylvania is “thriving with tens of thousands of jobs and tremendous economic vitality.” We must closely scrutinize the widely-held assertion that the economic benefits of unconventional gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale will outweigh its true costs, and balance the ledger with questions that seek to reveal the ‘externalities” of this industry.

Won’t gas drilling bring much needed jobs and ‘economic vitality’ to the region?

Not many jobs have been created after two years of intensive drilling in Pennsylvania, where crews are often brought in with the rigs. New York’s and Pennsylvania’s unemployment rates from 2005 to the present run neck in neck, and the current average weekly wage in New York is $868 compare with $805 for Pennsylvania. At their April 14 meeting, commissioners of Susquehanna County, Pa., a county of intense drilling activity, adopted a resolution designating the county a “Recovery area,” which denotes significant poverty, unemployment, home foreclosures or general distress.

Will gas drilling have any effect on other traditional economic endeavors?

Existing industries such as grapes, wine and other agriculture, tourism, outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing are not only incompatible with, but also threatened by, industrial shale gas drilling. The estimated potential gain of $22 billion from gas drilling in New York State over the next 20 years pales in comparison with the projected gain of $300 billion from these other industries over the same period. A diverse economy will be squeezed out and replaced by a boom and bust economy.

Won’t there be increased tax revenues to municipalities from gas drilling?

While energy boomtowns see revenues increase from gas drilling, it is rarely enough to meet the increased demands on infrastructure, maintenance, and administration. Deprived of local control over gas extraction, municipalities will face new costs without adequate funding of base-line water testing, emergency response, health department monitoring of complaints, tax assessment changes and demands on school systems.

Will the economic benefit to local communities exceed the infrastructure costs of building and repairing roads?

The DEC’s own figures project 715 to 2,615 truck trips per single gas well. From Wyoming and Colorado, through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Madison County, communities have seen a rise in road repair and infrastructure costs that far exceed the revenues generated by gas drilling. Without adequate bonding, taxes will increase.

Will there be any effect on social services, emergency services, and law enforcement from gas drilling?

Areas of gas drilling activity have experienced increases in crime and drug use; demands on emergency services from chemical spills; fires; accidents on the rig and on the roads; demands oh health care and emergency room services; and requests for housing assistance by non-industry residents.

Will property values be affected by gas drilling?

The HUD handbook states, “A property with a gas or oil lease is therefore not eligible for FHA financing…” and, “No existing dwelling may be located closer than 300 feet from an active or planned drilling site.” This will affect leased as well as adjacent unleased properties. Visions Federal Credit Union, for one, will not give a mortgage loan secured by the property if there is an oil and gas lease on the property. Some insurance companies have either raised premiums or will not insure properties with gas leases, considered business exposures with increased risk of injury.

Won’t landlords enjoy higher rents from gas rig workers?

Yes. And homelessness is on the rise in areas of gas drilling activity, as fixed income residents and those not involved in the industry are squeezed out of affordable housing by industry workers able to pay higher than average rents.

The economic considerations above do not even attempt to address the enormous environmental and health concerns of water, air, and soil pollution from gas-drilling. When the drill rigs roll into town there will be winners and losers, the haves and have-nots, but even the winners will lose.

(Joan Tubridy is a middle school teacher and member of Chenango Delaware Otsego Gas Drilling Opposition Group (CDOG). After two years of intense study of the issue of unconventional gas drilling, CDOG stands firm in its demand for a statewide ban of this practice.)

Acid Rain and Its Impact on Fish and Forest in the Catskills – Thursday April 29, Sullivan County Community College

Dennis — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:00:23 +0000

Acid Rain Impacts Topic of Program

From The Walton Reporter (no website), April 14, 2010

Two U.S. Geological Survey scientists will share the results of their research on the effects of acid deposition on trees and streams of the Catskills at a program to be held Thursday, April 29, at 4:30 P.m. in the Seelig Theater at Sullivan County Community College, Loch Sheldrake.

“Acid Rain and Its Impact on Fish and Forest of the Catskills” will feature presentations by Doug Burns, director of the National Acid Deposition Assessment Program, and Barry Baldigo, research biologist with the USGS. The free program is sponsored by the Catskill Institute for the Environment (CIE). The public is welcome.

For further information, contact 845-434-5750, ext 4447 or kscullion@suny.sullivan.edu.

Burns has worked as a research hydrologist at the USGS in Troy since 1987. He holds an MS in environment sciences from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in water resources management from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse. Author of more than 60 scientific papers and reports, Dr Burns will be lead author of a report to the U.S. Congress due to be submitted in fall 2010.

Barry Baldigo holds an MS in fisheries biology from SUNY ESF and has worked as a research biologist with the USGS since 1990. Baldigo currently leads several collaborative studies with the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC), New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and other agencies. He has worked closely with the DEP over the past 20 years to document the effects of acid deposition, flow modification and restoration of fish communities ion streams of the Catskill region.

The CIE, established in 1998, is a consortium of representatives of colleges, institutions and individuals that coordinates symposia and special programming to promote environmental awareness, education and scientific cooperation in the Catskill region. For more information, contact Dr. Morton (Sam) Adams, chairman, at madams@mail.nysed.gov or go to www.catskillinstitute.org.

NY-NJ Trail Conference Catskill Trails map set available for purchase NOW!

Dennis — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:04:03 +0000

The Trail Conference is pleased to announce the new, digitally-produced ninth edition of our Catskill Trails map set has arrived at their office and is now available for purchase!

At $16.95 ($12.71 for Trail Conference members), the Catskill Trails map set is a must-have for anyone who wishes to explore the many trails and protected lands in the Catskill region. The new six-map set can be obtained by shopping on their website (http://www.nynjtc.org/product/catskill-trails-map-set), calling 201-512-9348, or stopping in at the Trail Conference office in Mahwah, NJ. Copies will be sent out to outdoor retail stores and other suppliers as quickly as possible, including the map sponsor Tent & Trails, located in New York City.

If you are interested in learning more about the maps and the Catskills, please visit the Catskill Trails Map webpage (http://catskills.nynjtc.org). A description of the enhancements and improvements to the maps, examples of the maps, and listings of upcoming presentations are included. There is also information about the mapmakers, suggested hikes, park contact information, a complete map index (about 650 features!), and additional resources such as public transportation and campground information.

You are also invited to attend a Launch Party for the map that is being held at Tent & Trails on Tuesday, April 20th from 6-9 PM. Tent & Trails is located at 21 Park Place, New York, New York. The Trail Conference wishes to thank Tent & Trails for their sponsorship and many members of the hiking community who provided input into the final version. Anyone is welcome to attend, refreshments will be served, and there will be an opportunity to acquire the new map set at a discount, so consider stopping by! If you wish to attend, please RSVP by 4/9 to Josh Friedman (Joshua_tenttrails@yahoo.com, 212-227-1760) to help them plan the launch event.

The Trail Conference certainly hope the maps help to enhance your hiking experiences in the wonderful Catskills!

~New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

Mystery Photo – What is It?

Dennis — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:31:10 +0000

I have no idea what this is. The above photo is a close-up. The object is about two inches long. It is not wet or slimy, was stuck to the grass, doesn’t have a smell, feels like soft plastic. I’m sure it is produced by something common. Any ideas?

Ronald MacDonald No Longer Gets Driveway Plowed (for free)

Dennis — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:32:11 +0000

Blizzard Day 3 Driveway Drift, originally uploaded by Sandy*S – off to nebraska for a bit.

From The Walton Reporter (no website), March 17, 2010

Here’s a item highlighting rural charm, plucked from the pages of a town’s council meeting report. The photo is from Nebraska.

Ronald Tippet had requested the town (Harpersfield, NY) highway department continue to plow his driveway, and was upset that the practice had stopped. The town crew had plowed for his uncle, Ronald MacDonald, but after MacDonald’s death in November the town had stopped plowing. This arrangement goes back to a “gentleman’s agreement” made in 1946. At that time, when the town had to widen a road, it would ask a landowner for permission, and in exchange would plow his driveway. Over the years these agreements have expired as the original landowners have died or moved. Eisel checked the pertinent deeds but found nothing in writing. The board agreed the town would no longer plow Tippet’s driveway.

Delaware County SWCD to Lead Streamside Protection Program Funded by DEP

Dennis — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:34:51 +0000

West Kill Spring Scenic 2, originally uploaded by Anton de Flon.

From The Walton Reporter (no website), January 27, 2010

By Glenn Graves

WALTON – The Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District (DCSWCD) will administer a new incentive of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to protect and manage stream banks within Delaware County and the Catskill/Delaware Watershed. The DEP has committed $3.6 million to the program in the watershed, and Delaware County is slated to receive $600,000 in funding in the next four years.

The Catskills Stream Buffer Initiative is for residential conservation projects only, but could include some projects that have already been implemented on many watershed farms, such as developing riparian buffers. Originally, the DEP announced that the deadline for filing an application for funding was Feb. 1, but DCSWCD Executive Director Rick Weidenbach said his organization will be accepting and prioritizing applications until all the grant money has been allocated.

“We’ve got approximately $150,000 a year to work with,” Weidenbach said. “Our problem at this point is staffing. We figure we may be able to do about 20 projects this year, and we probably already have 10 in the pipeline.”

The DEP explains that the program will help landowners obtain permits for a streamside project or provide access to financial support, labor and materials. The initiative also offers free planning assistance and educational seminars to help landowners understand how best to keep stream banks stable and protect property from erosion.

“We’ll be doing ongoing education and outreach throughout the four-year contract period,” he added.

Weidenbach said the grant program is set up to fund projects that will protect stream banks, help improve water quality, create shade and reduce the amount of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from entering the stream.

“We’re going to provide technical assistance to establish or enhance vegetative buffers,” he said. “We want to have people call us up and we’ll determine whether they’re eligible. I would encourage them to do a little website browsing so they’re familiar with the program when they call.”

Weidenbach said this program fills an acknowledged need, because prior and concurrent programs have only addressed stream corridor protection for agriculture and municipalities.

“The purpose of this program is not to fix every stream bank, obviously we aren’t going to have the funding for that, but to provide assistance where it’s needed most,” he said.

Among the guidelines for the Catskill Streams Buffers Initiative is the provision that landowners who are involved in another DEP-funded program, such as the Watershed Forestry program’s Management Assistance program, may be eligible for supplemental assistance for riparian planting activities or bank stabilization projects.

Applicants will be selected based on how high they score in the rating criteria. The criteria includes information on the number and specifics of riparian functions to be addressed, location, whether the applicant is eligible for other watershed programs, the presence of invasive species and sustainability of the completed projects.

Applicant contributions are also among the criteria, according to the program’s website, and applicants who are willing to sign “a 10-year temporary easement or greater” rate higher than those wherein the landowner is only willing to sign “a five-year license agreement.” Projects score better when landowners are willing to contribute 10 percent of the costs of the projects, as well.

Landowners can view eligibility guidelines and the program rules for the projects at the website www.CatskillStreams.org/CSBI. The telephone number for the DCSWCD is 607-865-7161. The office is located at 44 West Street in Walton.

NYS Budget Funding Drying Up, But $17 Million Downsville Central School Renovation Moving Forward – Copper Turrets Restored

Dennis — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:11:20 +0000

This post may seem to stray from the environment, but it’s right on the money. In good times and bad, environmental programs are never fully funded. The poster child for this is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, created in 1964. In over 40 years, the program has rarely been funded, its funds siphoned off to balance the budget. Likewise the RGGI funds, that should be spent on green energy projects. There are plenty of other examples. We desperately need laws to mandate funds to be used for their intended purposes. Otherwise they are just slush funds.

Apparently NY State is funding school construction with funds that even in this horrendous budget year are being spent on their intended purpose. We may question how they are spent, but I’m glad at least some funds are not diverted to pay for tax cut offsets or pet projects. Every person deserves a first class education.

But, there certainly are issues with how the money is spent.

While New York City students may be required to pay for their bus fare to help bring down the budget deficit, and almost 15,000 teachers across the state could be laid off, the Upstate Delaware County Downsville Central School is in the midst of a state funded $17 million restoration… including the restoration of copper turrets!

To be fair, the school buildings have asbestos, and this is being removed. But, could the asbestos be contained, could the renovation have been completed for less?

Keeping in mind the needs of your local school, here’s the details on this project: new playground, septic replacement and repair, restoration of the copper turrets on the roof, renovation of the locker rooms and gymnasium, new bus garage, new library wing (with skylights), new state of the art science laboratories and science classrooms, and a new computer lab.

According to Superintendent James Abrams, “Though we’ve asked them to make sacrifices and oftentimes work in temporary quarters, the staff’s been great.” I hope so. Most schools are cutting back on staff and programs.

This is a great project for the students and town of Downsville. The school is known for its student teacher ratio, scholastic achievement, and small student population. But shouldn’t every student in the State of New York be entitled to similar facilities?

Meanwhile in Walton, several “items” were left out of the most recent building project, the EXCEL project, which was funded entirely by the state. Superintendent of Schools Thomas Austin has asked the board to take a look at the possibility of another $3 million project to address some of those items.

He said there will be no reduction in the state building aid formula in the coming year.

Well, at least one budget item, education, or at least education construction is above the budget cuts.

SierraActivist » Catskills

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