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WINTER QUARTERLY MEETING - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY
12, 2004 - 10:30 A.M.
PLACE: Suffern Free Library - Community Meeting Room, downstairs
210 Lafayette Avenue (Route 59)
Suffern, New York
10:30 A.M. Reports on Environmental Issues
11:15 A.M.
Program:
CONSIDERATION
OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON FOOD PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
Chuck Stead, Adjunct
Professor, Ramapo College Environmental History and Social Ecology
Empire State College, Environmental Studies
He first delivered this lecture at the
World Hunger Teach-in held at Ramapo College in November.
The discourse, which for the most part examines the impacts
of fresh water scarcity world wide, will also consider
steps toward the sustainable remediation of our water supply.
An author and a storyteller, Mr. Stead's
first book, "Back Porch Stories," was
published last year.
He is now working on his second collection of short stories.
His plays have been produced regionally and on cable television.
Lunch will be served.
Since 1930, the Rockland County Conservation
Association has been working to preserve, protect and conserve our natural resources. Dues and donations from members and friends
have made it possible for RCCA to carry on its work for so many years.
We hope that you will continue to support
the efforts of this volunteer organization. We need you.
A membership application and return envelope are
enclosed. Thank you very much.
The Rockland County Conservation Association is a not-for-profit organization
with a 501(c)(3) status. All contributions are deductible
as allowed by law.
NAKOMA
BROOK UPDATE
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a
field visit to Nakoma Brook in the early part of December in response to concerns from the Village of Sloatsburg
about ongoing degradation (siltation and foaming) of the Brook and adjoining
wetlands from a construction site in the Town of Tuxedo, Orange County.
Chuck Stead and Geoff Welch, of the RCCA Board of Directors, together with Sloatsburg
Trustee Mark Reimer, accompanied Army Corps engineer Ronald Brattain
to several locations along the Nakoma Brook. As you may recall from the RCCA Summer Quarterly Newsletter,
Chuck and Geoff started investigating this problem last June and located the source of the problem as
part of field work done by the environmental class that Chuck teaches
at Empire State College. Since
then, despite New York State Department of Environmental Conservation action (site visits, three letters
and a meeting with the builder), runoff from the large amounts of exposed soil at the hillside construction site
has continued to wreak havoc on the wetlands and the Nakoma Brook.
The Army Corps report states, "The sediment
eroding from upstream and adjacent locations due to construction activities is accelerating the natural deposition
action of the Brook and thereby degrading the habitat value of downstream locations.” Mr. Brattain's
report recommends a follow-up Army Corps study to look at wetland restoration "addressing water quality issues while creating habitat;
bio-engineering of eroding or threatened uplands and banks; and restoring the riparian habitat while controlling
sediment transport. If the Village
opts for federal involvement, there are several options for it to seek.” Sloatsburg will request that federal funds be
made available for the much needed Army Corps Nakoma Brook
Study. Meanwhile the question
is, will the NYSDEC effectively enforce the law at this polluting construction
site and finally protect the Nakoma Brook and wetlands from further harm?
- Geoff Welch, Ramapo Director, RCCA
New
Rules for New Jersey
Environmentalists applaud Governor James E.
McGreevey for the new regulations, announced on January 5, that would prohibit construction within 300 feet
of rivers, streams and reservoirs.
The buffer could protect as much as 300,000
acres statewide. About 6,000 miles of rivers and streams qualify
for the protection. The regulations are meant to reduce flooding
and improve the state's drinking water supply.
Builders strongly oppose the new regulations,
but Governor McGreevey, who has been fighting urban sprawl, said that making way for new residents in a
state that does not take care of its natural resources would not make
good economic sense. "What
we have done today is say that there is nothing more basic or precious
for our families and for our children than the quality of our water," he said.
"With these rules, Governor McGreevey
has taken the single largest step of any state in the nation to protect
drinking water, the environment and future generations,"
said Maya von Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. "He has set the standard
for the rest of the nation to follow."
- Information from The Associated Press and The New York Times
Vigilance
and Oversight
The
correlation between wastewater management and public health was profoundly
revealed in the mid-nineteenth century by removing the water pump handle
at Broad Street, in London. This simple action
by Dr John Snow was a result of his critical observations and understanding
of the relationship of cholera patients having drunk tainted water from the Thames. This
epidemiological study of the sewage from London flowing downstream to
where unsuspecting people were drawing water at the Broad Street pump is a reminder of the significance of proper water supply and
its relationship to disease. As
revealed by this study, drinking water from a properly maintained watering
hole does matter.
Rockland County is surely not without its ongoing
water problems. Drought conditions
caused by less rainfall and more development, have drawn us to give
more attention to the message of the old adage waste not, want not. This position of efficiency and frugality
does have consequences. The installation
of a sewage collection system in Western Ramapo raises concerns for recharge
and low river flows of the Ramapo River, particularly for United Water of New York (UWNY). In order to maintain water within the Ramapo
River Basin, it is proposed that treated wastewater will be directed
back to augment the flow of the river. So
the question is, just what waste are we retaining? A baseline study of the existing water condition
to determine current contaminants, if any, should be conducted.
What are acceptable levels of mercury, pharmaceuticals and
hazardous waste in our drinking, water?
UWNY has an interest in maintaining water flow in order to be able
to sell water. The need for proper waste removal is an obvious need
for good public health conditions. So
two needs have been melded together in search of one solution. But who pays?
In this case, UWNY has agreed
to contribute to the cost of the sewage treatment facility. Is this really a contribution or merely a pass
through to water ratepayers for the cost of system improvements?
While best available technology is proposed
(which gives a whole new understanding to, it's as good as it gets),
Rockland County Conservation Association supports greater vigilance over just what is going into the waste system/watershed.
The Rockland County: River
to Ridge plan offers guidance to promote efficient sewer service and
promotes the creation of a watershed protection program.
Every effort should be made to include within the facility proposal
and other sewer districts a protection program that can be enforced
on a local level. Oversight of inappropriate waste disposal must
be tied to a viable enforcement measure and meaningful waste
management
Much has been learned about wastewater management
since 1854, but the needs to maintain good health and a balanced environment remain the same.
The extent to which we are
willing to allow the degradation of the environment is best defined
by how we care for it and what we leave behind for others.
Dorice Madronero
2nd vice-president, RCCA
The Journal News
Friday, January 16, 2004
Court to Bush: Cool it
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Judges
pull the plug on another rollback
A federal court has rejected an attempt by the Energy
Department to roll back air conditioner efficiency standards — even before they were to go into effect — that would
save consumers money and conserve energy. It was the third rebuke by a federal court in less than a month to Bush administration efforts to relax environmental
regulations.
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, in a
decision issued Tuesday, ruled that the Energy Department's attempt to reduce the requirement that air conditioners
be 30 percent more energy-efficient to 20 percent violated the intent
of Congress when it set the higher standard. The standard doesn't go into effect until 2006. The lawsuit to overturn
the downgrade was brought by the attorneys general of 10 states, including New York, and environmental
groups.
Air conditioner manufacturers argued that the
higher standard would increase the cost to consumers and
make the appliance too expensive for lower-income consumers. The opposite is true. Reduced
efficiency burns more energy and results
in higher energy bills.
Charles Harak of the National Consumer Law Center
called Tuesday's ruling "a tremendous victory
for low-income consumers.” Indeed. The Alliance to Save Energy, a private advocacy group, said the higher standard would reduce
electricity bills by as much as $1.1 billion a year by 2020, when the more efficient
units are expected to be widely
used.
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Andrew DeLaski, executive director
of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, said that air conditioners use two-thirds of electricity during peak summer demand periods, and that the increased efficiency would conserve
energy and ease the strain on
power plants. Every bit of efficiency helps when people
want more power but are unwilling
to have an energy-producer
in their neighborhood.
Last month, a
Washington appeals court ruled
in favor of a dozen states, including New York, and more
than 20 cities in overturning an attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency to relax Clean Air Act requirements for industrial anti-pollution controls important to protect the environment from wind-blown pollution.
And a Washington
court ruled last month against
the EPA's plan to increase snowmobile
use in Yellowstone National Park,
despite the impact of noise and pollution
on wildlife and the environment
In another environment-related case, EPA Administrator Mark Leavitt said last month
that President George W. Bush personally
decided not to proceed with a Clean Water Act rule-change that would
have permitted developers to fill in as much
as one-fifth of the nation's wetlands. Bush
acted after receiving a letter signed by
218 House members, including 26 Re - publicans,
urging him not "to remove federal
protection from waters... that have been
covered by the Clean Water Act for decades."The message in support of existing environmental
laws is there, but is the administration getting it?
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RCCA Newsletter: Betty Hedges, bhbettyhedges@aol.com
Distribution: Faith Leigh
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