ADIRONDACK COUNCIL
CALLS ON D.E.C. COMMISSIONER SHEEHAN TO HALT WHITEFACE WATER
TANK UNTIL ATTORNEY GENERAL RULES
Group Says Plan to
Allow Town to Own Water Tank on Forest Preserve
Violates 'Forever Wild' Clause of NYS Constitution
For more information:
John F. Sheehan
518-432-1770 (ofc)
518-441-1340 (cell)
518-456-4512 (home)
Released: Friday, October 14, 2005
WILMINGTON, NY - The Adirondack
Council today called on NYS Acting Environmental Conservation
Commissioner Denise Sheehan to halt the approval process for
a plan that would allow the Town of Wilmington to build, own
and operate a municipal water tank and water lines on state Forest
Preserve lands at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center here.
The Adirondack Park is a six-million-acre reserve of public and
private land covering nearly 20 percent of New York State. The
public Forest Preserve is protected forever against logging,
lease or development by anyone, under the NYS Constitution's
Article 14, Section 1 (the Forever Wild clause). The remainder
is overseen by state land-use regulators.
All of Whiteface Mountain Ski Center is located on state Forest
Preserve. It was constructed under a Constitutional Amendment
that limits the total ski trail area and prohibits any construction
not required for the operation of the ski center. While the tank
would serve Whiteface, the plan says it would be owned and maintained
by the town and the town would draw water from it as well.
"We have been urging the Town of Wilmington to seek a formal
opinion from the Attorney General since January of 2005,"
said Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian L. Houseal.
"So far, no opinion has been rendered and we have seen no
evidence that a formal request was ever made. In fact, the Adirondack
Park Agency was reluctant to sign-off on the project in its meeting
today. Several commissioners were worried that this plan violates
the NYS Constitution. The APA doesn't have the authority to rule
on Constitutional matters. That's why we want Commissioner Sheehan
to ask for the Attorney General's opinion before granting final
approval to this plan.
"We don't want to prevent Wilmington from improving its
water system and we don't want to stop Whiteface Mountain from
improving the quality of its drinking water. But the partnership
proposed in this agreement is simply not legal. The town cannot
own a water tank or any other facility on the Forest Preserve
without the consent of the state's voters through a Constitutional
Amendment," Houseal explained. "We are very committed
to protecting the integrity of the 'Forever Wild' clause.
"We are confident that the Attorney General will reach the
same conclusion we have," Houseal said. "We are very
confident that the state's courts would agree. It makes sense
to save everyone the time and hassle of a potential court fight
by getting a formal opinion before the bulldozers start rolling
and the writs start flying."
The agreement Houseal mentioned is a cooperative agreement between
the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates Whiteface
Mountain Ski Center, and the Town of Wilmington, where the center
is located. The agreement would allow the town to obtain a $3.4-million
state grant for water system improvements. One of those improvements
would be a new storage tank, located just north of the ski slopes.
"This contract seems to violate the plain language of the
Constitution," Houseal said. "Even the section of the
Constitution that allows towns to petition to dig reservoirs
on the Forest Preserve specifies that the state will own the
water system and bill the town for its use."
The agreement is based on a plan to use an Environmental Facilities
Corporation (EFC) loan program, which would provide $3.2 million
to the Town of Wilmington for the water tank and other improvements
to its water system. The town would build and own the facility,
then turn around and tax the Olympic Regional Development Authority
(ORDA) to get the money to pay back the EFC. (The State is obligated
by law to pay full local property taxes on all Adirondack and
Catskill Forest Preserve lands.) The contract specifies that
ORDA will buy the entire facility for the original purchase price
if the contract is ever invalidated or terminated.
"This convoluted agreement needs to be amended so that it
doesn't violate the Constitution," Houseal said. "The
'Forever Wild' clause was created to ensure that the Forest Preserve
could not be fragmented into a thousand little pieces by politically
expedient exceptions to the rules that protect the Park's public
forests. If every town that wanted one could build a water tank
on the Forest Preserve without special permission, we'd have
90-plus water towers on the Forest Preserve in a hurry."
The Adirondack Council's mission is to ensure the ecological
integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park through research,
education, advocacy and legal action. Founded in 1975, the Council
is an 18,000-member, privately funded, not-for-profit organization
with offices in Albany and Elizabethtown and members in all 50
United States.
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