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It is estimated that the stream rules being considered by the Lake George Park Commission will affect over 5,500 acres in the Lake George basin. If 5,500 acres become basically unusable, this will have a terrible effect on the tax base.

While we must do more to protect Lake George, the last thing we need to do is take this amount of acreage off the tax rolls. Our opinion is that there is a better way. Below is a comprehensive strategy that would work to improve water quality without burdening private property owners with more regulations for some and higher taxes for all.

1.) Ever consider why we get algae blooms in the Spring?

Think for yourself: what is more damaging to the clarity of the lake? Someone building a house with a silt screen ringing it while also dealing with the regulations of the APA, DEC, LGPC and the county OR every bit of salt applied during the winter months running unfettered into culverts which public highway crews cut intentionally into streams that feed Lake George?

If you’re in doubt, this is the single greatest reason why we have algae blooms in the Spring. If you’re on any of the local roads right now, they’re white from road salt. The phosphorous is what makes algae grow. The Adirondack Council recently released a report on the damaging effects of road salt. To read it, click here. (Pages 19-22 are about Lake George)

Part 1 of our plan would be a comprehensive strategy that would educate highways crews and seek to cut the application of road salt by 50% within the basin within 3 years. Taxpayers and municipalities would both win because one of the greatest winter expenses is road salt. Private homeowners should be encouraged to use products like sand or MagicSalt, a new product which we featured previously. From now on, when any environmental group informs us they’re meeting with a highway department, we’ll let you know.

This plan will need the support of all local governments. These same towns and villages are seething right now because they are not being listened to and new rules are being written by environmentalists without any regard to their input. We would guess that if the the proposed rules are enacted in their present form, you can forget about any cooperation from the Towns on the road salt issue for the foreseeeable future.

2.) You need gas for your boat but please don’t overfill.

Almost all boats on the lake have overflow valves where, if the gas tank is filled too high, gas will spill out into the water. When I was growing up, I pumped gas. It was shocking the number of people who wanted to pump their own gas and then would overfill their tanks and have gas spill into the lake. We need to undertake a major public awareness campaign to educate consumers and gas pump operators not to overfill. The Lake George Association just started a campaign like this to educate ice-fisherman to take their garbage off the Lake. While we all need gas to be available on the lake, no one should overfill and not a drop should be spilled in the lake. Education on this issue would go a long way.

3.) New technologies need to be encouraged.

There are many new technologies that are being implemented across the country that, if used in new construction or existing homes, would really help the environment. We’re not talking about low-flush toilets here. We’re talking about cool technologies that have the power to lead us in a green revolution. Storm water infiltrators that return storm water that hits impervious areas to the ground below the impervious area are being used in many highway projects today. Air infiltrators that change the microbial composition of drain fields and increase their longevity are being studied in other states. Lake George should be a leader in these technologies. We shouldn’t have our head buried in the proverbial sand.

4.) Incentives Work – Why Not Try Some

Incentives have been shown to work in professional planning. Incentives should be tried before any person’s property rights are taken away. Some possible ideas include: a “credit” accruing for future stream corridor development in return for removing an existing structure or impervious area, and a “credit” for preserving stream corridors against dock fees that the LGPC collects. The LGPC could also inform local taxing jurisdictions and recommend a lower assessment for those property owners who preserve sensitive tracks. People do things for a reason. If you give them an incentive, like saving money, you’ll be surprised. Why not try some?

5.) “Thou Shalt Not Steal” Applies to the Government Also

A lot of people who would never walk into their neighbor’s house and steal something, nevertheless think nothing of lobbying the government to take away another person’s property rights. Ultimately, property rights and personal rights are the same thing. One cannot be preserved if the other is violated.

It never hurts to remind ourselves of the nation’s founding principles. We all like open space, nice views and beautiful surroundings but sometimes we have to remember that things we might like belong to others. People sacrifice to own real estate.

Consider this as we head down the path toward controlling everything we see: How long before someone else claims a right to what you own because they feel the environment would be benefited from it? It is our suggestion that the maximum amount of flexibility and encouragement be given to the landowners who have maintained their property until this time in its natural state. They shouldn’t be beaten up and robbed, they should be thanked.

The Lake George Park Commission had their only public meeting dedicated to receiving public comments on their proposed stream corridor rules yesterday and it got quite heated.

The rules as written do not address the main cause of lake pollution; road salt. These are from my written comments:

“The proposed regulations don’t accomplish what they set out to accomplish in so far as they exempt State, County and Town highway crews from cutting drainage ditches and clearing surface vegetation along their highway right of ways. Washington County Route 6 has a steep grade down the mountain until it reaches Huletts Landing.”

“During the summer of 2008 and in previous years, Washington County cut drainage ditches from their highway rights of way over our property directly into Fairy Creek. Their rationale was that this helped drainage along County Route 6. In doing so, all salt and petroleum runoff from the road, which studies show are very damaging to the lake, now go directly into Fairy Creek which in turn flows into Lake George. The Washington County highway workman in charge of this job in 2008 stated that the Lake George Park Commission had no jurisdiction over Washington County or any governmental entity and that the County was free to cut drainage ditches into any stream they wanted to. The proposed regulations do nothing to address this and place an unfair burden on private property owners. The proposed regulations, with a loophole this large, given the extent of public roads in the Lake George basin, are inequitable to private landowners and entirely negates the intent of the proposed regulations.”

What can we do? What must we do? We will release our ideas for improving water quality in Lake George tomorrow. Unlike these proposed rules, our ideas should gather support from all sides.

The Post Star has an almost live update from the Lake George Park Commission meeting where the proposed stream corridor rules are up for public comment.

Growing up we had a dog named Freckles who was a wonderful dog in all regards. He was loyal and friendly and just a great dog. At our home in NJ we kept him in our backyard and he was always on a chain where he could roam around half the backyard. Well we had a neighbor kid who would cut through our yard on the way home. He was the type of kid who had no friends and no one liked. As he went through the yard he would throw small stones at Freckles and annoy the dog and then run away. He did it intentionally and was real mean spirited about it. When confronted he would run. This went on for a few months.

Well one Sunday, they had a blessing of pets on the feast of St. Francis and I took the dog down to the church and he was so happy to get blessed and have some holy water sprinkled over him. He licked everyone and I never forgot what a nice day it was with all the other people with animals, etc. If you’ve ever gone to one of these, it’s quite an experience.

Well St. Francis must have smiled on Freckles that day because the very next week the dog’s daily torture of being hit by stones ended abruptly when his chain snapped as he was being hit by stones. Freckles, who never hurt anyone in his entire life, went after that kid like a lightening bolt. I will phrase this as kindly as I can. I witnessed first hand, a dog clamp on to an ass’s ass and that put an end to the stone throwing. Even St. Francis would have smiled.

The moral of the story: when you throw stones – sometimes you get what you deserve.

You will remember that we worked almost two years with the Lake George Association to clean up the mouth of Foster Brook. This was at no cost to anyone and the LGA was going to pick up all expenses. Their representative spoke to the HLPOCA at the July 4th meeting.

When the project didn’t start in the fall. I emailed the LGA, and this was part of the response I got back.

“As per Foster Dredging- the permit has not been issued yet. The Park Commission took some time to respond, they said there was no issue with the permit application and it followed what was outlined in the Environmental Impact Statement. There has been a delay due to some comments from the Waterkeeper. DEC is addressing them and should issued later this fall. Another issue is that DEC will not allow any dredging to take place after Oct 1st. The earliest we can do it is May 1st …”

(The dates of May 1st thru Oct 1st are problematic because of the issues with increased traffic on the road and the dock being occupied but we will try to work through these also. So the Lake George Waterkeeper, has in part, (the LGA is also trying to raise the funds in a down economy) halted this project for at least one year and maybe more with their opposition.)

So I emailed the Waterkeeper at the time and asked for their objections. I never heard back but found their objections on their website and published this post.

What I ask today is that you make a distinction in your mind between environmental groups that want to help the environment and groups that are simply interested in “throwing stones.” All environment groups working in the Lake George area are not equal.

The Lake George Association is the oldest environmental organization on the Lake. They were willing to fund two projects in Huletts totaling almost $100,000 last year and worked to make it happen.

The Lake George Waterkeeper likes to object to projects but when asked what projects it is in favor of, they refuse to respond. They have partnered with another extreme group, the Fund for Lake George, to support the new stream corridor regulations.

I wrote a letter to the Post Star this week where I attempted to point out the radical nature of these two groups. You should know what these groups are all about and what they are advocating. To read my letter click here.

It was only after my letter ran in the Post Star this week that I heard from the Waterkeeper. He finally told me that he will respond to my email from about four months ago. I hope he will go further. I hope he will begin to work with us and the LGA for the good of the community and cease his objections to the Foster Brook project that the LGA is willing and attempting to fund. Until we hear otherwise, I ask that you do not support the FUND for Lake George or the Waterkeeper.

If you want to support an environmental group that is interested in accomplishing something, the Lake George Association is the better choice.