City, DEC agree to address Lower Esopus turbidity
by Violet Snow
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced Sept. 26 an agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on a draft consent order for modifying releases of water from the Ashokan Reservoir into the lower Esopus Creek.
Local reactions varied from cautious optimism and a promise of vigilance, on the part of Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, to outrage from Saugerties Supervisor Kelly Myers, who accused the agencies of excluding local entities in their deliberations and failing to make the text of the agreement public.
The DEP releases turbid water from the reservoir in order to keep New York City’s drinking water clean enough to be exempt from filtration, a multi-billion-dollar prospect that the city skirts by means of a Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD), which must be renewed periodically. A new draft of the FAD is currently under consideration, but the state’s Department of Health has refused to hold public hearings on the document.
The Ulster County Legislature put together its own public hearing on the FAD on Wednesday, Sept. 25. The DEC’s press release arrived in the midst of the hearing, said Myers, adding, “That was offensive. I think they’re trying to take the sting out of public comments on the FAD. But we can’t even see a copy of the consent order. When we called to get a copy, we were told it won’t be available until after public comment period on the FAD ends on Oct. 15. The two documents really have to jibe together, and the public needs to see how they fit together.”
Read more at http://www.saugertiesx.com/2013/10/04/city-dec-agree-address-esopus-turbidity/