County Legislature Unanimously Supports Requests To DEC

Rockland County Legislator Alden H.Wolfe, vice chairman of the legislature and chairman of its Environmental Committee, introduced a resolution asking the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) consider issues raised by the Rockland Coalition for Sustainable Water.  The requests are to adjust the timeline for the public comment and review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for United Water’s

The resolution, which received the unanimous approval, supports three requests made by the coalition to the DEC. Currently, the only public hearing scheduled will take place in two sessions on Tuesday, March 6 at Haverstraw Town Hall. There is an April 20th deadline for the DEC to receive written comments. 

● Extend the public comment period to six months to allow citizens and experts adequate time to review the document.  The DEIS is 4,000 pages.

● Hold multiple public hearings in different locations to allow for  increased participation.

● Issue a strong recommendation to United Water to provide intervenor funding for municipalities and citizen groups to pay for independent expert review of the proposal.

“Given the complexity of this project, it's impossible for members of the public to conduct their own independent analysis of the DEIS in the time allotted,” said Wolfe.  “The public should be granted the courtesy of sufficient time and opportunity to review the DEIS and provide their comment. As a corporate neighbor, United Water should also commit funding to allow the public to review its data and comment appropriately.”