ADIRONDACK COUNCIL
PLEASED WITH NYS BUDGET BOOST
FOR NORTHWAY PHONES, LAND, PARK AGENCY & DEC
Environmentalists
Vindicated in Settlement of Northway Phone Dispute
For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-441-1340 (cell)
518-456-4512 (home)
Released: Monday, April 2, 2007
ALBANY, NY – The NYS Legislature and Gov. Eliot Spitzer
agreed on a new spending package for Adirondack environmental
priorities in the budget they negotiated over the weekend, providing
$1 million to improve Northway cell phone coverage. The budget
also included a total of $55 million for land acquisition, $10
million for water quality improvements and millions more for
additional staff at the Adirondack Park Agency and Department
of Environmental Conservation.
“All in all, the Adirondack
Park did pretty well in the 2007 budget,” said Adirondack
Council Legislative Director Scott Lorey. “Just as importantly,
we were vindicated in the settlement of the Northway cell phone
stand-off.
“It became very clear that
we were not standing in the way of a working cell phone network,”
he explained. “Sprint simply decided it was not going to
go through with the project it had helped design in 2002, claiming
it wasn’t profitable enough. During the budget talks, Gov.
Spitzer and the Legislature agreed to set aside $1 million to
help defray costs associated with finding a new vendor and initiating
construction.
“It is quite clear that
none of the laws that protect the Adirondack Park’s public
lands and scenic beauty are really an impediment to a working
cell phone network, given today’s technology,” Lorey
said. “We are pleased that the state is now on the path
to a permanent solution to this problem.”
Environmental Protection Fund
Increase
Lorey noted that the $55 million set aside for open space protection
statewide is a $5 million increase from the 2006 budget. The
additional money is sorely needed as a counterbalance to sprawling
development statewide. It is especially welcome in the Adirondacks,
where more than 1,000 new homes are being built every summer.”
The land acquisition increase
came as part of the $250 million Environmental Protection Fund
(EPF), which is part of the $121-billion overall state budget.
The EPF rose from $225 in 2006
to its current level, which includes increases in spending on
invasive species control ($5 million, up from $3.25 million in
2006); water quality improvement projects ($10 million, up from
$7 million in 2006); state land stewardship funding ($22.25 million,
up from $15 million in 2006); and, $2 million in new funding
for a “smart growth” funding category.
The EPF was created by the Legislature
in 1993 to help fund major environmental projects that lacked
a dedicated funding source. Since that time, the EPF has grown
from $30 million to $250 million annually. Since 1993, a total
of nearly $2 billion has been appropriated for the capital projects
eligible under the EPF’s Open Space, Parks and Solid Waste
priority lists.
New Personnel at APA &
DEC
Along with the additional spending on environmental capital projects
in the EPF, the Governor and Legislature set aside additional
funding for staff increases at the two agencies with the most
influence over private land development (APA) and over use of
public lands (DEC) in the Adirondack Park.
“The APA will receive funding
for 5 additional staff members,” said Lorey. “Given
the APA’s current staffing of 67 total employees, these
five professionals will be very welcome. The APA handled a record
number of subdivision and development requests last year, with
no slackening of the pace in early 2007. The Agency was averaging
more than 10 permit requests per day, which is far above the
level its staff can handle.”
Lorey said he expected new staff
would be directed toward project review, state land administration
and enforcement officers/attorneys to manage a rising number
of land-use violations.
The DEC also will receive additional
staff, with a total of 109 new positions funded by the 2007 budget.
Lorey noted that DEC’s staffing had dwindled under the
Pataki Administration.
The Adirondack Council is an
18,000 member, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to
ensure the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack
Park. The Council carries out that mission through research,
education, advocacy and legal action.
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