New website tracks $4.2B bond act

The state released a new website and interactive map showing how and where it is spending the $4.2 billion environmental bond voters authorized in November 2022. The website also informs the public of what funding opportunities are currently available.

You might recall, we attempted to document an accounting of the last environmental bond act voters passed in 1996 and were unable to do so. Each agency responsible for the $1.75 billion kept track of those projects differently and no audit was ever completed. This new website will be updated by all the agencies and will provide a helpful one-stop shop for how these latest bond act funds are divvied up.

In our reporting on this, we also learned from the state Department of Environmental Conservation that $83 million remains of the 1996 bond act funding. Read more here.

Legislature

The state Legislature passed a bill renaming Carpenter’s Flats Bridge across the Ausable River after Captain Christopher J. Garrow, a state police officer of 23 years, who died in 2023 from pancreatic cancer linked to his service during the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Garrow was a Peru High School graduate and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was awarded the Marine Corps Medal and Good Conduct Medal. In 2000, Garrow joined the New York State Police and served out of Troop B in Lewis. Garrow assisted with search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center in New York City. He is survived by a wife and two daughters.

State Sen. Dan Stec and state Assemblyman Billy Jones sponsored the bill.

This is the last scheduled week of session for state legislators.

We will see if the Assembly makes first passage of a constitutional amendment to take the former prison Camp Gabriels out of forest preserve. And we’ll be on the lookout for whether the Senate passes a bill seeking additional consideration for the preservation of historic buildings in the forest preserve. Will lawmakers pass a bill for the fifth time authorizing retirement parity for forest rangers and environmental conservation officers? Will Gov. Kathy Hochul make appointments to the Adirondack Park Agency board, which by the end of June will have five board members serving on expired terms and one seat that has remained vacant? Will the Senate have time to confirm them?

There are quite a few outstanding issues before summer begins.

Adirondack Park Agency public comment opportunities

View all APA public comment and hearing opportunities at: https://apa.ny.gov/Hearings/index.cfm.

• Vineyard Solar proposes to build a 10-megawatt AC community solar generation facility to include a fixed-tilt, ground-mounted solar array within two separately fenced areas in the town of Crown Point. One 5-megawatt array is proposed on the west side of Vineyard Road on about 18 acres and a 5-megawatt array on the east side of Vineyard Road and the south side of Pearl Street on about 15 acres. The area to be developed consists of active hay fields and wooded hedgerows, requiring 4.5 acres of tree clearing. No changes are proposed to an existing sand and gravel mine located on the same site to the west of the western solar site. No development is proposed north of Pearl Street. Comments are due by June 20. To view site plans, a visual impact assessment and proposed decomissioning plan and to submit comments, go to https://apa.ny.gov/Hearings/ApaCommentPopup.cfm?ProjectNumber=2024-0046.
• Lyme Timber Company proposes to harvest 300+/- acres on lands near Turner Road in the town of Edinburg. The project involves removal of mature over-story stems with reserves to focus growth on future crop trees and promote regeneration of desirable northern hardwood species, according to the project description. The property is subject to the Forest Stewardship Conference and Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification programs, and on lands subject to a New York State Working Forest Conservation Easement. Comments are due by June 20. To view site plans and submit comments, go to https://apa.ny.gov/Hearings/ApaCommentPopup.cfm?ProjectNumber=2024-0089.
• Applicants Thomas and Anne Reed propose a four-lot subdivision of approximately 95 acres resulting in three building lots accessed from Hidden Valley Road and one vacant lot in the town of Lake Luzerne. The three building lots will each be approximately 1.5-acres and be developed by one single family dwelling, on-site wastewater treatment system and individual water supply well. The fourth lot is the remaining 90.81 acres with no new land use or development proposed. Comments are due June 20. To view site plans and to submit comments, go to https://apa.ny.gov/Hearings/ApaCommentPopup.cfm?ProjectNumber=2021-0186.

DEC public comment opportunities

View all the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s weekly environmental notice bulletin projects.

• Applicants William and Joanne Stock applied for a stormwater management permit from the Lake George Park Commission for a residential redevelopment with erosion and stormwater controls at 2305 Comfort Point Way in Fort Ann. To learn more and submit comments, go to https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2024-05-29/public-notice/village-of-fort-ann-lgpc-application-id-sw24-000022.
• The DEC has made a draft determination to grant its own facility, Lake Durant Campground in Indian Lake, a state pollutant discharge elimination system permit. The DEC proposes to approve a renewal and modification of an existing discharge of 9,800 gallons per day of treated sanitary wastewater to Rock River an unclassified waterbody (assigned Class AA standards) from a secondary treatment plant.  The modifications to the permit include adding seasonal effluent disinfection, a schedule of compliance from implementation of effluent disinfection, and adding max effluent limits for coliform and residual chlorine. Comments are due June 28. To view the draft permit and to submit comments, go to https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2024-05-29/completed-application/town-of-indian-lake-lake-durant-campground.

Photo at top: A rail trail user crosses the road in Lake Placid. Photo by Mike Lynch.

This first appeared in Gwen’s weekly “Adirondack Report” newsletter. Click here to sign up.