Foster Brook Halted Again – APA Stops Project

Do You See Waste or Gravel?

Sadly, I have to report that the Adirondack Park Agency has thwarted the removal of the clogged mouth of Foster Brook. The Adirondack Park Agency is sticking to an interpretation that is in conflict with the Department of Environmental Conservation and common sense. While the DEC has issued the permits to start dredging, there is no place to put the dredged material. As one of the owners of the parcel where the material was going to be put, I wanted to tell you first hand what is transpiring and why we have had to pull out of the project.

I was informed by the Lake George Association in the middle of the summer that the DEC had issued the permit to dredge Foster Brook. I posted that news here.

We have always wanted this project to proceed and, in this regard, we offered to allow the dredged material to be put in our gravel pit to save the LGA money. If they couldn’t use our pit, the LGA was looking at a substantial cost increase in moving the material over the mountain. They approached the APA and asked if a permit was necessary for the dredged material to be put in our gravel pit.

The APA conducted an on-site inspection during late July/early August. The APA sent two staff members to see the site where the material was going to be placed. During that meeting, one staff member asserted that a permit would be needed because the dredged material, being removed from Foster Brook, was “waste”. We later learned that he was instructed to make this interpretation by a supervisor.

Both the LGA representative and myself thought this interpretation was wrong. The DEC had previously tested the material and found it to be “clean fill”. We went ahead and applied for the permit in good faith, but I also wrote a letter to the APA which clearly indicated we did not accept their terminology and we did not consent to it being called “waste”. I said, in no uncertain terms, if the APA wanted to continue calling the material waste, we could not go ahead and let our property be used to place the dredged material.

I copied this letter to the DEC and the Governor’s office because both the APA and the DEC are executive agencies of the Governor’s office. On August 21st, the DEC called and told me our interpretation was correct and that the APA was in error to call the material “waste”. The DEC official was quite clear that, if gravel was defined as “waste”, almost every driveway throughout the Adirondacks would now have “waste” on it. The DEC official further told me that it was the DEC’s position that an APA permit wasn’t needed in order to put the dredged material in our gravel pit.

We repeatedly asked to see a draft permit from the APA during the week leading up to Labor Day. Only today did we receive a draft permit which attempts to assert jurisdiction under Section 810(d)(16) which applys to waste disposal areas. In addition, the draft permit tries to assert other conditions which we cannot agree to. In my opinion, this has been deliberately done, by some radical environmentalists at the APA, with the knowledge that we would not accept these conditions and that the project would not proceed. The most radical elements of the environmental movement see this delta as a wetland being created and do not care that private property is being impacted by flooding. Also remember that the DEC permit requires that the dredging be done by Ocrober 1st, so any delay is a full fledged effort to stop this project from going forward.

I am very disappointed that, after numerous years of work by many people, our good faith offer to allow the material to be put in our gravel pit has been met by one of the most outlandish interpretations ever made by the APA.

An interpretation such as this, which contradicts another state agency, has most likely been made in the Governor’s office. Either the Governor has specifically allowed this interpretation to be made or he is simply allowing the Adirondack Park Agency to run his administration. If you would like to call or email the Governor’s office directly you can contact him here. You can ask to speak to his secretary, Mr. Lawrence Schwartz.

Unless the Governor intervenes and corrects this interpretation or another site can be found to put the dredged material, the Foster Brook dredging will not take place this year.

Emulating a Thunderstorm Acapella

With the end of the summer, comes the end of thunderstorm season. The first two minutes of this video show the Perpetuum Jazzile of Africa performing the sounds of a thunderstorm. (Be sure to turn you speakers up for the beginning.) Wow!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbpwlqp5Qw

You’d Pay Big Money…

.. in a supermarket for wild mushrooms like this.

I found these as I was hiking through the woods. This illustrates how wet it has been this summer.

Bits of Everything

Good Samaritans Help Survivors of Dresden Car Wreck

The Post Star reports here on a bad car crash that took place on Route 22 in Dresden. I spoke to some at the scene and from what I can gather, it was quite a bad wreck. A helicopter was brought in to air-lift the survivors out. Everyone who stopped and helped should be commended.

Lake George Park Commission Delays Stream Action Another Month

The LGPC issued this press release recently.

Seeing the Big Dipper & North Star

With the clear August nights we’ve been having, I thought this video on how to find the “Big Dipper” and the North Star would be interesting.

You can spot the “Big Dipper” at this time of the year from Huletts, by looking across the lake in the evening between Deer’s Leap and Sabbath Day Point. This video gives some background info and how to find the North Star once you’ve located the Big Dipper.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hepzUgFhgis

Two Press Releases for You

The Lake George Property Owners Group sent out these two press releases which I’m linking to in this post.

The first press release is about the recent vote in Dresden to oppose the Lake George Park Commission’s proposed stream rules. Their take on the vote is interesting.

The second press release is actually a letter which I pass along for the sheer enjoyment of the first line alone; To Editors of Local Newspapers and Blogs. While there are some who are critical of bloggers and even what I do here, the blogosphere is here to stay. This is the first press release/letter that I’ve received that recognizes this. It explains who the founding members of this group are and lays out a serious argument.

Dresden Votes to Oppose Stream Rules

At Monday’s meeting of the Dresden Town Board, this resolution opposing the Lake George Park Commission’s stream rules was passed unanimously.

This adds Dresden to a growing list of towns surrounding the lake that are opposing the stream rules the Lake George Park Commission is proposing.

Town Councilman, John Barber, said it best: “They’re infringing on people’s liberty. You have to make a stand at some point.”

Towns To Make Complaint Against Waterkeeper

The Towns of Lake George and Bolton have passed resolutions to make a complaint to the Department of Education and the Attorney General against the Lake George Waterkeeper for misusing the letters P.E. after his name for approximately 18 months. Looks like they are even going to work together and submit the documents that were provided with the letters P.E. to both Towns.

Here is a copy of the Bolton resolution.

Looking for an Otter

An Otter is a very elusive animal. I spotted one last week and it took me another week carrying my video camera everywhere before I saw it again. But this time I got it on video tape. So here in 2.5 minutes is a week’s worth of work!

I present the Huletts Otter.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tmY2Sp3fBI

To learn more about the Huletts Otter read this.

Free Stuff Saves Money & Environment

I’ve noticed recently that more people are leaving old items out on the roadway for others to take by marking it as “Free”.

Yesterday I was on my way to Whitehall and I came across this little display covered with plastic because of the rain.

I stopped and opened it and found some interesting stuff. All of which you could take for free.

There was a remote control Dinosaur, some sheets, some interesting books, a puzzle and alot of other useful items. The word “Free” must trigger something in your psyche, because as I was leaving I heard brakes squeal and someone else stop. I picked up a few children’s books for my almost 3 year old niece who quickly started reading one about “pond life”. (She is studying ponds in school.)

I think this is one of those simple win-win-win all around ideas that more people should try. We have left free stuff opposite the Post Office on a few occasions this summer and all of it disappeared. It’s a win to the person getting rid of the stuff because you don’t have to lug it to the recycling center and pay to discard it. It’s a win for the person taking the stuff because you walk away with free stuff and finally it’s a win for the environment because the stuff doesn’t end up in the garbage pile.

I think we’ll see more of this in the days ahead. Perhaps you even have some “free stuff” hanging around your house.

The Darrin Freshwater Institute


The Wyatt’s cove culvert has shown remarkable improvement in water quality over the last 20 years.

I was sitting on the porch today thinking of things to write about and saw the boat from the Darrin Freshwater Institute pull up and take a water sample from what they call the Wyatt’s cove culvert. So I called the Institute and spoke with Larry Eichler and learned a few things.

1.) The Darrin Freshwater Institute regularly samples locations throughout the lake and monitors conditions. The Wyatt’s cove culvert in the center of the Landing has shown dramatic improvements over the last 20 years. Mr. Eichler attributed this to the town sewer system that was installed in the 1980’s. There is lessened algae growth on the bottom of Wyatt’s cove and fecal coliform levels are in accepted ranges. The Institute checks this site numerous times over the course of the summer but it has reached a point, where Mr. Eichler said; “We don’t really see problems with that site anymore. We monitor but that site has shown remarkable improvement.”

2.) When asked if he could give any conclusions about the Lake George basin as a whole, he responded; “We have seen salt levels rise dramatically over the past few decades”. In 1980 (the first year salt was regularly tested for) salt levels averaged 6 parts per million, by 2008 this level had risen to 16 parts per million, almost tripling. When asked what this could be attributed to, Mr. Eichler explained that while waste water does contain salt which usually goes untreated through the sewage treatment cycle, most salt enters the lake through the application of road salt on surrounding area roads in the winter.

3.) Zebra mussels have not been found to date in the Huletts area. They have been found at 8 locations throughout the lake, 6 in the south and 2 in the north, but the lake’s low levels of calcium make it hard for the mussels to survive. Zebra mussel’s need roughly 20 parts of calcium per million in order for the shells to harden, whereas Lake George averages 12 parts of calcium per million in most locations. Where they have been found, calcium levels have been heightened. In these locations, the problem is being dealt with by hand harvesting by underwater divers which seems to be working. In the areas they have been found, calcium levels have been high. Cement seawall’s have known calcification effects and the Darrin Fresh Water Institute is studying these effects.