News
Open house July 23 on proposed power plant
July 20, 2011
Northern Dutchess News
by Andrew Austin
DOVER – An energy company has proposed to build a 1,000-megawatt natural gas fired power plant on an old industrial site along Route 22. Some residents worry about the effect it could have on air quality and noise in town.
Cricket Valley Energy, an affiliate of Advanced Power Services, a Boston-based energy development company, has proposed building the plant on a 131-acre property that includes the Great Swamp. Cricket Valley says the swamp area itself will not be disturbed. Seventy-four acres of the site will be conserved and no significant wildlife habitat will be lost, according to information on the company’s Web site.
Concern swirls over Power Plant Bid
July 7, 2011
Poughkeepsie Journal has written a thoughtful Editorial on Cricket Valley Energy, remarking on the significant environmental impacts that will be felt in the Harlem Valley and beyond:
“Fewer projects are of more significance to eastern Dutchess County – and for the larger region, for that matter – than a proposed $ 1 billion electric power plant in the Town of Dover. The state is continuing to accept public comment about the proposal….”
- See article in The Poughkeepsie Journal, July 7, 2011
Push to shut Indian Point could help proposed Dover plant
July 5, 2011
- See article in The Poughkeepsie Journal, July 5, 2011
Cricket Valley to Increase Power While Cutting Emissions
June 13, 2011
Millbrook Independent
By Antonia Shoumatoff
“Coal generates 54% of our electricity, and is the single biggest air polluter in the U.S.”–Union of Concerned Scientists, 2010″
At a Citizens Advisory Workshop on April 7, the energy consultant for Cricket Valley Energy estimated that carbon emissions in this region would be reduced by 716,818 tons by 2018 because Cricket Valley’s gas-fired plant will replace many obsolete coal-fired plants. These were just one of several impressive figures Fred Sellars of Arkadis Arcadis mentioned in the review of the air quality issues that Cricket Valley is dealing with in its permit process now before the NY State DEC.
HVA hosts Swamp River Water Quality Forum at Dover Furnace, June 4th, 2011
May 20, 2011
-See article in the Pawling Press, May 20, 2011
Earth Day worth celebrating in Dover
April 29, 2011
DOVER — The middle school gymnasium at the Dover Middle/High School had plenty of environmental flair on Friday, April 15, as part of the Dover Conservation Advisory Council’s (CAC) third annual Earth Day event at the school.
-see full article in The Millerton News, April 28, 2011
-see full article in Pawling Press, April 22, 2011
Cricket Valley’s Wetlands and Traffic Solutions
March 30, 2011
By Antonia Shoumatoff
Alternatives to Indian Point’s nuclear power plant relicensing in 2012 are being hotly discussed in New York State government and New York City media as Japan struggles to avert a severe meltdown at its Fukushima Daiichi plant after a tsunami two weeks ago. The NYS Attorney General addressed a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week that addressed concerns about Indian Point being located on two earthquake fault lines. Read more
Cricket Valley Energy Advisory Workshop
February 28, 2011
Cricket Valley Energy invites you to attend the next series of Advisory Working Groups (AWG) related to our proposal to develop a state-of-the-art, combined-cycle power plant located at an inactive industrial site off Route 22 in Dover.
Engineers and environmental specialists will cover items identified by attendees at the next set of meetings beginning in March. Meetings will focus on: Traffic & Safety; Water, Wetlands & Wildlife; and Air Quality. You are invited to join one, two or all three groups — no experience or special expertise is required.
Cary scientists interpret Water Quality Study results
January 26, 2011
Millbrook Independent
by Antonia Shoumatoff
Protecting water quality, particularly in the watershed of the four streams and rivers of the Harlem Valley, is the special domain of non-profits and governmental agencies. The ever-present concern is that increased development in the area may cause water quality degradation. People who live here expect to open the tap and have clean water. Experience elsewhere has shown that once water is polluted, it is very difficult and expensive to clean it up. The story in The Millbrook Independent about the horrors of the High Meadows Trailer Park is just one example of how contaminated water disrupts everyday living.
The Release of The 2010 Demographic Analysis Population Estimates
January 13, 2011
From the census.gov blog
As I mentioned in an earlier post, “Demographic Analysis” And The Census, one method of measuring the size of the US population relies on historical birth registration, death registration, as well as estimates of in-migration to and out-migration from the United States. Census Bureau demographers have completed the assembly of national estimates for the April 1, 2010 population of the United States, and we will release them on December 6, 2010. Since demographic analysis produces only national estimates, it cannot be used for the reapportionment and redistricting purposes required of the 2010 Census. It is, however, a useful comparison to the Census.
Dover ZBA rules in favor of allowing the Rasco project to proceed
December 9, 2010
Read Dover Zoning Board Special Meeting Minutes, December 8, 2010
Rasco decision delayed; More evidence weighed
October 21, 2010
By Antonia Shoumatoff
The Dover Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) listened to Michael Liguori, the ZBA’s attorney, describe and read from 100 new documents about previous uses on the Mid-Hudson Recycling Industrial Park at the October 20 meeting which had been thought to be the date of a final decision. He painstakingly read the documents that had been discovered on microfiche over the course of three hours, getting through less than half of them.
- See article in The Millbrook Independent, October 21, 2010
Rasco Application at Dover ZBA
September 23, 2010
By Antonia Shoumatoff
On September 1, the Dover Zoning Board of Appeals reviewed the record and heard comments at its second public hearing on the Rasco application to operate a processing plant to convert soil contaminated with oil to asphalt. The attorney for the applicant, Jon Adams, was not present so the applicant, Jack Nelson of Rasco, spoke for himself. He stated that he was sure the NY State DEC would make regular inspections of the site to assure that the operation was being conducted properly and that there would be no violations.
- See article in The Millbrook Independent, September 23, 2010
Website Notice:
August 26, 2010
This website was recently updated; all posts from September 2009 through August 26, 2010 were posted from August – December, 2010.
Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments
June 18, 2010
The NYS DEC ran Public Comment Sessions on the Draft Scoping Document on Saturday, June 5 and Wednesday, June 9th. In addition, Written Scoping Comments were accepted through June 18, 2010.
On the plus side of the ledger are job creation, a net positive contribution to the Dover and Dutchess County tax base; a brownfield clean-up and wetlands restoration. On the negative side the the public spoke primarily to the environmental impacts: smokestack emissions contributing to already poor air quality in a valley and close to a school; potential drawdown or contamination of our groundwater even though the Applicant proposes to drill below the Aquifer; noise (a “light rain,”
as the Applicant suggests, or the drone of constant traffic as suggested in the Scoping Comments?)
The environmental impacts that affect our residents and neighbors were raised during the Scoping Sessions. Many of the environmental impacts to the Great Swamp itself are addressed in the Scoping Comments from Friends of the Great Swamp. The Scoping Comments submitted by Robert Herzog, former Director of New York City’s Energy Office and Wingdale resident, argue persuasively for the No Action Alternative.
– Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from Robert Herzog, June 18, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from Wayne Fahnstock Tanner, June 6, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from Dover Union Free School District, June 10, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from FROGS, June 16, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from Oblong Land Conservancy, June 17, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from George M. Janes & Associates, June 18, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from Evelyn and Joseph Chiarito, June 18, 2010
–Cricket Valley Energy Scoping Comments from DC Dept. of Planning & Development, June 18, 2010
–NYS Dept. of Public Service, June 18, 2010
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August and December, 2010.
Rasco: Public Comment to the Dover Planning Board, May 17, 2010: Friends of the Great Swamp
May 17, 2010
-Read May 17, 2010 letter to Dover Planning Board
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Rasco: Public Comment to the Dover Planning Board, May 17, 2010: CRGD
May 17, 2010
Dear Dover Planning Board Co-Chairs Wylock and LaRobardier,
We believe that the Rasco Application should be held to the same high standards as every project proposed in or adjacent to the Great Swamp Critical Environmental Area. This should be especially true for Rasco, a business that relies on bringing Petroleum Contaminated Soils to a site above our single source Aquifer. Why should Rasco be granted an exception that would have been unthinkable for its neighbor, Cricket Valley Energy, or the Dover Knolls and Wind Rose developments up river?
The fact that the application arrived at your desks is another matter all together.
Thank you for doing everything in your power to protect the water supply of the residents of Dover and Wingdale, and for giving the “hard look” to all site plan proposals within the Great Swamp CEA, as required under SEQR.
Respectfully,
Stancy DuHamel
Coalition for the Responsible Growth of Dover
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
“Dover Residents Question Legality of Rasco Application”
April 24, 2010
The Millbrook Independent, one of the local newspapers covering Dover, reported on the Planning Board meeting on April 5, 2010, at which the public commented on the Rasco Application for Site Plan Approval before the Board.
“Many environmental and local watchdog groups made written and oral comments that expressed deep concern about the potential effects of the proposed cold asphalt operation which would store and transport PCS [Petroleum Contaminated Soil] to and from the former Wingdale industrial park. The Housatonic Valley Association stated: “The application, as submitted lacks sufficient information to assure the Town that no contamination of the site and adjacent land and water resources will occur. We strongly urge the Planning Board to require a full SEQRA (State Environmental) review of this application.”
- See article in The Millbrook Independent, April 15, 2010
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Dover prohibits solid waste management facilities; Harlem Valley Bottom Aquifer is “sole source aquifer for Eastern Dutchess County’s 20,000 residents”
March 29, 2010
In 1999, during an almost decade long battle with a solid waste facility proposed in the Town of Dover, and with the help of a local citizen’s group, “Stop the Dump,” the Dover Town Board passed a zoning amendment prohibiting solid waste facilities. After the considerable efforts and funds spent by prior town administrations fighting to successfully keep at bay the growing number of solid waste projects proposed for various sites around town, it was particularly disappointing that the current administration chose instead to sign a Stipulation Agreement to define the currently proposed solid waste project a “pre-existing” operation and therefore apparently not subject to our zoning laws. And is is proposed for a site above our single source aquifer, “the only significant source of water for Eastern Dutchess County.”
On March 29, 2010, Constance DuHamel sent a letter to Supervisor Courtien and Planning Board Co-Chair Wylock, and attaching an article, “What’s Really Needed to Effectuate Resource Protection in Communities,” by Jayne E. Daley, describing the nine year effort to defeat the solid waste facility, culminating in the passage of a zoning law prohibiting “all classes of ECL Part 360 solid waste management facilities not owned or operated by the Town, and the use of solid waste or material that has previously been part of the solid waste stream … as fill or reclamation material for surface or underground mining:”
Hi Ryan and Dave,
In case you have not read this report recently, it touches on some of Dover’s history with the solid waste business which led to the Town’s decision to deny further applications from this industry, and in so doing further protect its water supply. The study references the Harlem Valley Aquifer.
From the study:
“In response to public demand, the Town commissioned its own engineering study that identified the existence of “a distinct valley bottom aquifer system composed of glacial sediments and a geographically distinct carbonate bedrock formation”, which met all criteria for designation as a principal aquifer (fn45.)This issue was particularly important because the aquifer supplies water to over 20,000 people (46) and represents the only significant source of water for Eastern Dutchess County (47.) This report and other pertinent information that was gathered by the Town’s consultants were forwarded to DEC for consideration and review.
36 Id. at 2-1. 37 Id. 6 NYCRR part 360 governs permits for C&D landfills. 38 Id. 39 See generally, Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law. 40 Letter from NYS DEC to Anthony Palumbo, Dated July 21, 1995, in DEIS supra note 16, Appendix Q. 41 Id. Letter from NYS DEC to Anthony Palumbo, Dated July 21, 1995. 42 A primary aquifer is defined as a highly productive aquifer system used heavily for public water supply. Principal aquifers are of similar value, but not yet as heavily used as primary aquifers. DEC, Final Upstate New York Groundwater Management Plan, May 1987 at IV-19. 43 6 NYCRR Part 360.74(a)(5)(i)(a)(1). 44 DEIS, supra note 16 at 3.7. 45 Letter to Alan Fuchs, Regional Solid Waste Engineer, Region III, NYSDEC, dated October 25, 1995. 46 Harlem Valley Watershed Investigation, supra note 14 at Table 1. 47 Town of Dover’s Memorandum in Support of Adjudicability of Principal Aquifer Issue, In the Matter of the Application of Danny Fortune and Company, Inc. for modification of a mined land reclamation permit, State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation, NYSDEC Project # 3-1326-00031/00003.”
Please view the entire article, “What’s Really Needed to Effectuate Resource Protection in Communities” by Jayne E. Daley
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
Rasco: DuHamel Letter in Response to Stipulation Agreement
March 29, 2010
This letter was written in response to reading the Rasco Stipulation Agreement, produced in the FOIL process. The Dover Town Board determined Rasco was a pre-existing facility, effectively allowing a solid waste project, banned under current Town Code, to begin operation, pending Site Plan Approval by the Planning Board. Surprised the Town Board chose not to to fight this determination, Stancy DuHamel wrote,
“It would appear that the alternative method of determining whether the project is grandfathered is to take it thru the courts. That route would necessarily involve legal fees, and I am curious to know the amount of the legal fees our Town Attys estimated it would cost to argue that the project was not grandfathered, and moreover should not be located above our water supply.”
This letter was read into the record at the April 5th Planning Board meeting.
*Note: printed post date is for chronological clarity. Actual post date is August 13, 2010.
