What's Happening
IN THE NEWS:
Marcellus Shale Scoping Comments
Posted: December 18th, 2008
The Scoping Comments for the Supplimental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) regarding Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop the Marcellus Shale can be found here. The file is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader (download here).
Colchester to Team Up For Horse Brook Project
By: Glenn Graves
Reprinted with permission from The Walton Reporter (Glenn Graves)
DOWNSVILLE - Some anglers’ organizations and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition are planning to join forces with Delaware County and the town of Colchester for a culvert replacement project on Horse Brook. Between the monetary expenses and in-kind services, the project, to replace two culverts with a bridge on Rogers Hill Road, is valued at nearly $200,000.
Scotty Gladstone, stream project coordinator for the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District (DCSWCD), proposed the cooperative project to the Colchester Town Council last Wednesday. After learning that all the town would be responsible for would be to provide some labor and equipment and that the funding for the project is expected to come from Theodore Gordon Flyfishers and Millennium Pipeline, the council agreed to work with the diverse partners through the planning and testing stages, to judge the efficiency and effectiveness, before committing to the complete project.
Jeremy Waddell, representing the Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC), said Millennium had contracted with his agency to oversee a mitigation program aimed at deficient culverts to compensate for environmental disturbances in the Delaware River Basin during construction of the pipeline. He said the USC is a group of 16 New York and three Pennsylvania conservation districts, whose aim is to improve water quality in the upper reaches of the river.
Waddell said the USC is looking to partner with other agencies and municipalities to implement projects that correct culvert deficiencies in prioritized streams in the Delaware system and to partner with other agencies and organizations for funding. He said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation had directed USC to Horse Brook, where the faulty culverts were preventing three species of trout and other aquatic life from passing through and fragmenting four miles of spawning stream, and pose a threat to the stability of Rogers Hill Road.
He said Millennium will fund about $30,000 of the project and Theodore Gordon Flyfishers could be funding the majority of the remainder, particularly the cost of the new culvert structure.
Gladstone said the local chapter of Trout Unlimited would provide a design for controlling the grade and the USC, using Millennium’s funding, would do test borings to see if sheet pilings could be used to control bank erosion under the bridge and purchase some of the other materials. The soil and water conservation district would take care of the project design and permitting.
The Delaware County Department of Public Works would drive the sheet piling and cast the concrete slabs to support the road surface. Gladstone asked the town to remove the existing structure and install the concrete decking and associated work to complete the project.
Colchester Highway Superintendent Louie Banker said the town doesn’t have the necessary equipment, particularly a crane, to place the concrete slabs and may have trouble removing the culverts currently in place without one.
Gladstone said he would talk to the other partners about Banker’s concerns and assured the town that when the project was completed, it would no longer be Colchester’s to maintain. This is going to be a 22-to-23-foot span, he said. It’s going to end up being a county bridge.
Besides the advantage of handing the future responsibility for the bridge to the county, Gladstone said this would be an opportunity for the town to correct a problem, before the correction is mandated by the state. New York state has a high priority on the fisheries, he said, As you know, we live in a highly regulated environment, and it isn’t going to get a lot better. This is a chance to capitalize on a funding opportunity and could be a model for all these entities to work together to get this accomplished.
He said he had set up a timeline that would complete the project in 2011, because he was aware Colchester was already involved with many major stream and infrastructure projects due to repeated flooding in the town.
Banker said he supported the effort to replace the culverts, but added, I’m still amazed that we’re willing to spend $200,000 to do this when we have places that are just falling apart.
Town Supervisor Bob Homovich explained what Banker already knew, that in order to get funding and support from Theodore Gordon Flyfishers and Trout Unlimited, the project must involve the fisheries. Without the Theodore Gordon group being involved, this wouldn’t be feasible, he said.
Homovich encouraged the board to proceed with the project, although he asked that the resolution to proceed should allow the town to back out if the terms discussed on Wednesday can’t be met or are altered. He said the town can’t afford to take on any of the costs, except for the manpower and equipment needed for construction. He also asked that the resolution request that the timeline be shortened. I suggest we move ahead with this while we have everybody on board, he said. An awful lot can happen in three years.
The council agreed and passed the resolution as he suggested.
Looking for Compromise
In another matter, Homovich explained that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) is still demanding that the Downsville Water District filter its major water source, which are springs. The DOH considers the springs a surface water source, which, according to state and federal laws, requires filtration.
Homovich said the cost to district water customers would be exorbitant. The filters and pumps alone would cost $50,000 to $100,000, Homovich said, and we’d need a new building and there would be annual maintenance costs. And, when we were done, we’d have a less efficient system.
Homovich said the springs provide water to the district using gravity, but filtration would require pumping the water. He added, You all know our history of flooding. In a disaster emergency situation, if the electricity goes out, we would have no water, either from the filtration plant or the well. Using the springs, everybody in the district can have water, including the shelter we set up at the school.
Homovich said there has never been any problem with water quality from the springs.
He said he had sent a letter to the DOH stating that the district is willing to use its well as the prime source of water for the district, but he also asked that the district be allowed to use the springs, as is, as a back-up system for emergency situations. He said he hasn’t yet received a reply.
© Reprinted with permission from The Walton Reporter (Glenn Graves)
TGF FOUNDER JOE PISARRO PASSES AT 88
By: Bennett J. Mintz
bjmintz@socal.rr.com
Joseph A. Pisarro, the son of Italian immigrants who grew up to love the sport of fly-fishing, its history and its people, died in California on June 7, just a few weeks shy of his 89th birthday.
Pisarro spent most of his professional career with the National YMCA in New York as the associate and subsequently director of communications for the organization, working with national media and producing interpretive materials for use by community YMCAs and in financial development. He retired about 25 years ago when the Y moved its corporate offices to Chicago.
Born and educated in Trenton, New Jersey, Pisarro served in the army during the Second World War. He often used his rudimentary home-style Italian to translate from prisoners during the North Africa Campaign in 1942 and 1943.Following military service, he held small newspaper and wire service reporting jobs before joining the National YMCA staff in the early 1960s.
A passionate if infrequent fly-fisher, Pisarro was a founding member of the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers. An ardent conservationist, he frequently joked, I not only release them, I hardly ever catch ’em.
He was editor and contributing writer to the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers’ literary annual, Random Casts; and the first editor of the Federation of Fly Fishers quarterly magazine, The Flyfisher. His story of a tattered man fishing for eels through a New York manhole in the 1980 issue of Random Casts became an often-requested classic.
Pisarro was as comfortable trading quips, barbs and a dram of scotch with fly-fishing luminaries Ed Zern, Ernest Schwiebert and Lee Wulff as he was with YMCA staff and volunteers. He was a voluminous reader and prided himself on finishing the New York Times crossword puzzle on the subway between home and office. Joe was seldom if ever seen without a pipe.
Following his retirement from the YMCA, Pisarro moved to northern California, but returned to the East Coast after the untimely death of his wife, Ruth. He settled in East Wallingford, Vt., to be near his son, Paul. Once in the Green Mountain State, Pisarro worked as a 10-year volunteer at the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester.
When his health deteriorated , he was moved to a retirement facility in the Los Angeles area to be near his family. He remained in California only about two months before his passing.
Pisarro’s 400 book collection of fly-fishing literature was given to the American Museum of Fly Fishing.
Predeceased by his wife and son, he is survived by his daughter, Judy Pisarro-Grant, his son-in-law, and two granddaughters.
Memorial tributes may be made to the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, Inc., P.O. Box 2345, Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163-2345; or to the fishing conservation organization of your choice.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to Judy Pisarro-Grant, 19808 Acre St., Northridge, CA 91324.
From the Times Herald Record
Reprinted by permission of the Author
It's time for Catskill casino backers to admit defeat
By: John L. Barone
January 26, 2008 6:00 AM
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.
That's the advice Kenny Rogers' down-on-his-luck gambler gives in his immortal song. And it's the right advice for Catskill casino advocates, who were just dealt a losing hand when the U.S. Department of the Interior rejected applications for two casinos.
After years of speculation, the news dealt a severe, if not fatal, blow to the prospect of casinos in the Catskills. But surprisingly, many casino supporters say they will continue to fight.
It's worth examining the consequences of the federal government's decision to better understand the uphill battle now facing casino supporters.
Theodore Gordon Flyfishers (TGF), an environmental conservation group with a long-standing presence in the Catskills, opposed the Neversink casino for its proposed location along the revered Neversink River, which continues to attract thousands of anglers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts every year.
The plan to build a casino at Monticello Raceway without preparing the required environmental impact statement also troubled TGF. (TGF and the author take no position on gambling or whether such projects are economically viable for the region.) Here are the casino proponents' most recent comments:
- We'll take them to court": That's already happened. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe sued Interior Secretary Kempthorne. The argument: The decision was arbitrary and violates the law.
But federal judges traditionally give great deference to federal decision-makers. They are particularly loath to overturn decisions of this nature, which are based upon sound policy that is politically supported throughout the nation. Even if a court did rule in the tribe's favor, the matter would not be reversed, but rather would be returned to the Interior Department for further review.
Beyond that, an unsettled federal lawsuit charges that the Interior Department neglected to conduct key environmental reviews for the Monticello Raceway proposal. Such litigation would delay construction further.
- "We'll wait for a new administration": Even the most pro-casino president will have a tough time overturning a "final determination" by the Interior Department.
It's unlikely that a new administration would rely upon rejected applications made up mainly of reports conducted in the 1990s, unless the new administration is prepared to face additional lawsuits. More likely, any casino applicant would need to restart from scratch — a process we already know takes years.
- "We'll pass legislation in Congress": While our U.S. senators have power, they are unlikely to convince their colleagues to grant a precedent-setting exemption from Interior Department rule-making, especially to approve fiercely opposed "off-reservation" casinos across the country.
- "We'll pass legislation in Albany": New York state's Constitution bans casino gambling, which is why the federal government had to transfer land into trust for the Catskill casinos.
It would take a constitutional amendment — requiring two yes votes in separate sessions by the state Assembly and Senate, and then a statewide voter referendum — to change New York's gambling rules. If you think the fight so far has been bitter and long, can you imagine the stalemate that attempting to get casino gambling past the Legislature and the state's voters would create?
Theodore Gordon Flyfishers understands the need to address economic development issues in Sullivan County and believes that such development can, and must, be undertaken in a responsible manner that does not jeopardize the natural resources of the Catskills.
We hope that local and state leaders focus instead on the kind of smart, sustainable economic development that the region has long lacked.
In other words, let's deal ourselves a new hand.
John L. Barone is a Director of Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, Inc. and a lawyer.
Belleayre Resort Agreement Announced
A win-win for all parties
We've won a key victory in our drive to defeat casinos in the Catskills!
Last week, the federal government effectively ended the threat of casinos along the fabled Neversink River and at the Monticello Raceway - and we hope this is the end of the foolhardy drive for a Las-Vegas-in-the-Catskills. On Friday, U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne made a final administrative decision to reject these two pending Catskill applications, along with about more than a dozen other "off-reservation" casino proposals around the country.
Officially, Kempthorne rejected these Catskills applications because he said the casinos would be too far from the sponsoring Indian tribal reservations (350 miles for Monticello and more than 1,000 miles for the Neversink). But there is no doubt that our NEPA lawsuit and our three years of other environmental work - including in no small measure the coalition sign-on letters you joined - played a key role in killing the Catskills proposals. We thank you very much for joining with us throughout this campaign. Your support made a huge difference.
In the coming months, Catskills casino boosters say they still will try to win approval for these projects, first by suing the Interior Department to reverse its determination. Indeed, a lawsuit was filed this week by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe challenging the decision on the Monticello Raceway proposal. Our legal analysis shows that it is very unlikely that the federal courts would overturn a final decision of this nature, given the broad discretion afforded the Interior Secretary to grant or deny trust land applications. We would be happy to provide you with more details on whether this suit will succeed.
Should the litigation fail, casino supporters may continue their efforts to build in the Catskills either by waiting for a new presidential administration or by going to Congress. Both of these options face similarly uphill battles. Any application before a new administration would have to start from the beginning, which would take years to go through the proper reviews. And there does not appear to be any appetite in Congress for approving casinos and thereby overriding the Interior Department's decision-making process.
Our next battle: winning approval for a new approach in 2008 -- one that will advance sustainable, smart planning rather than mega-projects that do not fit in with the Catskills landscape -- from officials at the local level, in Albany and in Washington. Together, we've won a victory that will help preserve the southern Catskills and save it from traffic, air pollution and sprawl.
Again, thank you very much. We will keep you posted on any next steps.