Tag Archives: new york

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Cease-and-Desist Served on AIM |

http://saneenergyproject.org/2015/10/07/cease-and-desist-served-on-aim/

” Blued Trees, created by eco-artist Aviva Rahmani, consists of trees in the line of destruction on which a blue sine wave is painted. One such tree is one note in the score. One-third mile of these notes constitutes one full measure in the symphony.

A Cease-and-Desist Demand has been served on the Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC. That corporation seeks to condemn the private property in Peekskill, NY, on which the overture for the project was installed on June 21, and copyrighted.”

Use of eminent domain for corporations to increase profits is questionable at best.

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Legislators more confident after D.C. face-time

Property owners and sport fishing industry voice their concerns to Senators about the IJC Plan 2014 for Great Lakes. Stakeholders have forum with aid of International Joint Commission. Excerpt follows:

“In a conference call with county leaders, Johnson said they stressed their concerns about the plan and its impacts on the southwestern shoreline with legislative aides to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen. Charles Schumer.

“It was apparent they were well-versed on the subject,” Johnson said,” and they indicated that they feel no decisions should be made in the short-term … it was a very productive hour.”

Later, Collins’ office hosted the delegates for a meeting with representatives from the State Department’s Office of Canadian Affairs and Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, two groups who will weigh in when the federal government considers the Lake Ontario water level regulation plan.

Godfrey said Collins backed their opposition.

“He told them (Plan 2014) is in violation of the IJC charter, that no plan should result in disproportionate loss to any area from the plan,” Godfrey said. “It needs to be thrown out, let’s not waste any more time on it.”

Johnson said the trip was successful in presenting a view countering the IJC’s, which she said was based on out-of-date info — from the use of old Census data to documents addressing how the plan would effect the long-gone Fast Ferry between Rochester and Toronto.

“Our mission was to tell them that their study group has outdated information,” Johnson said. “I think we really educated them.”

Continue reading →

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Tinker Falls in NY

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Found this trail description in NY Hiking:

Located in the 1483 acre Labrador Hollow Unique Area is the beautiful main 50 foot Tinker Falls with its impressive natural rock amphitheater above a 30 foot rocky cascade. The falls are most spectacular during the spring thaw and after a major rain storm. The falls can be reached for viewing from a short accessible trail from NY 91.

A large parking lot off NY 91 marks the trailhead for Tinker Falls.  It is located south of Labrador Crossing Road, just south of the Onondaga/Cortland County line on the west side of the road.  The GPS coordinates are N42 46.820 W76 02.182 for the parking area.  This is also the trailhead for the Skyline Trail, the “Hang Glider Spot on Jones Hill” and the North Country National Scenic Trail, which actually passes nearly directly above the waterfall.

The Tinker Falls Trail begins across NY 91 at the kiosk.  Handicap parking is available on that side of the road where the trail begins. The accessible trail follows along Tinker Falls creek, which is on your right as you walk along the path.  You may notice the steep walls begin to surround you as you get further away from the kiosk.  A few benches are available along the trail for those who’d like to take a break. The trail is very easy with a very gentle grade and can be enjoyed by everyone in your family.

The accessible trail ends at 0.25 miles from the kiosk. There is a partial view of the falls from here. Many people walk up further through the slippery stream bed to get closer to the falls and even behind the falls.  You do this at your own risk of serious injury.  Remember that the rocks are very slippery and can be dangerous. Look up above the falls and remember that the North Country Trail is located just beyond the top of the falls on its long journey from North Dakota to Crown Point, NY. 

http://cnyhiking.com/TinkerFalls.htm

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Technically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive matetial – Observer

Tara Kinsell reports on TENORM stuck in Greene County. Fracking in Pennsylvannia is generating such waste. This material includes biproducts from oil and gas exploration and pumping. A more permanent solution to transportation and storage needs to be found to contain or reclaim radioactive materials. Here is an excerpt:

It isn’t like we are taking nuclear fuel rods. It is mostly medical waste and low level drill cuttings coming up from deep digs, not really high level radiation,” Poister said. “The problem lately is making sure it doesn’t leach into the ground so it doesn’t become a larger problem. Obviously you don’t want that stuff sitting on site. It is supposed to be safely disposed of.”

He said there are stringent guidelines that must be followed when dealing with TENORM.

Companies face fines when they are out of compliance. However, looking at fines for various infractions, including some for failure to properly dispose of or clean up waste that threatened polluting waters of the commonwealth, resulted in fines of just a few thousand dollars. It seems like a drop in the bucket for wells that are raking in millions.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates the United States may produce more than 1 billion tons of TENORM annually from all sources. Large quantities of TENORM are currently undisposed of with much of it existing in abandoned mine sites across the country, according to the NRC.

Poister said TENORM is part of the reason the DEP launched a study in January to look at naturally occurring levels of radioactivity in materials associated with oil and gas development.

Flowback waters, treatment solids, drill cuttings, transportation issues, storage and disposal of drilling wastes and levels of radon in natural gas are being looked at, along with the potential of exposure to industry employees and the public.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20130708%2FNEWS02%2F130709434#.Ud6Vvqz7ZRZ

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Great Lakes basin water hogs | Great Lakes Echo

Reblog of the article by Becky Mckendry on water use by Ontario, Quebec, New York, Pennsylvania. Water hog designation depends on type of water use from agriculture to hydro power:

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More than 44 billion gallons of water were extracted daily from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin in 2011, according to a new report.

Of the region’s states and provinces, Ontario withdrew the most water, at about 37 percent and Pennsylvania took the least at .07 percent. Uses for the water include irrigation, public drinking and industrial needs.

That amount does not include water used for hydroelectric energy.

When including energy uses, the picture changes dramatically. Quebec, New York and Ontario together make up  more than 97 percent of the water withdrawals.

The findings are part of an annual report recently released by the Great Lakes Commission. The full report can be found here, as well as previous years’ reports.

http://greatlakesecho.org/2013/06/18/data-shows-daily-withdrawals-from-great-lakes-basin/

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Amazing Adirondacks!

Ten things you might not know about the Adirondacks in upstate New York:

 

#1. Glacier, Yosemite, the Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon National Parks could all fit inside New York’s Adirondack State Park.

 

#2. The Adirondack Mountains are growing faster than the Himalayas, at a rate of one foot every 100 years.

 

#3. Lake Placid, located in the northern Adirondack Park, is one of three places in the world to host the Winter Olympic Games twice, once in 1932 and 1980.

 

#4. The term “vacation” is said to have originated in the Adirondacks. Wealthy New Yorkers would “vacate” the city during the sticky summer months and head for the cool northern woods.

 

#5. In 1901, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States at North Creek Station. This was after learning that President William McKinley – who had been shot a few weeks earlier – had died.

 

#6. The Adirondack Park is the largest park in the continental United States.

 

#7. The park is the size of the state of Vermont.

 

#8. The Adirondack Park contains 85% of all wilderness in the eastern United States.

 

#9. 60 million people live within a days’ drive of the Adirondack region.

 

#10. The Adirondack mountains highest point is on Mt. Marcy at  5,344 ft (1,629 m).

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Northeast Wildlife habitat threatened

“If you wanted to create a perfect storm for biological invasion, you would do what the energy companies are doing in north-central Pennsylvania,” said Kevin Heatley, an ecologist with the national firm Biohabitats who works to restore areas that have been damaged by human activity. “You can only put so many bloody parking lots in the woods.”

Energy companies, which say they are being responsible stewards of the land, have rushed to unlock the natural gas lying in the shale beneath Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The gas has lowered energy costs, allowed the U.S. to lessen reliance on foreign energy and provided private landowners who sit atop well sites with a gold mine in royalties. New York, which also has large reserves, is trying to decide whether to allow fracking.

The new energy development is “almost a spider web coming down to the forest,” said Nels Johnson of the Pennsylvania chapter of The Nature Conservancy, which estimates the state could see thousands of miles of new pipelines over the next two decades.

Even northeastern states that have put a hold on fracking aren’t immune, because many import natural gas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that 245 miles of new pipelines were laid in the Northeast last year, and that figure is projected to grow.

Wind turbine development poses similar threats, too. The Nature Conservancy says Pennsylvania already has more than 600 of the giant blades, with the potential for thousands more in coming decades.

The total acreage taken up by the pipelines, wind projects and related development isn’t that large, but the open spaces they create allow predators and invasive species to permeate a canopy of trees that once kept them at bay.

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Fair Distribution of water, STAKEHOLDERS INTERESTS, and Water Levels-WHAT IS BV7 and Why is IJC STALLING?

Excerpt from Senator Bob Runciman address talking about the status quo to maintain water levels and IJC recommendations. Is IJC kowtowing to interest of wealthy New Yorkers? Is status quo working? Link to full address included: “…They [INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION – IJC] came up with what is known as Plan BV7, a plan that respects the natural flows of the river, that satisfied, for the most part, boaters, tourism operators, residents and, in particular, environmentalists. A plan that would extend the tourism season in the Thousand Islands and wouldn’t drain the wetlands along the river’s banks. A plan that is much more environmentally sound than the 50-year-old approach now in use. Plan BV7 would not solve everyone’s problems, but it would balance their interests. Everyone would have enough water, most of the time. We’re not likely to do better. In 2011, we were told by the International Joint Commission that the new plan would be in place by the end of 2012 or early 2013. Last spring, they held public consultations, with the promise that public hearings – the final step before implementation – would follow last fall. Finally, after decades of delays, it seemed that change for the better was coming. But nothing has happened and a cloak of secrecy has descended over the entire process. What happened is anyone’s guess. But I suspect the IJC has decided to side with a few wealthy property owners who built on the floodplain in the Rochester area of New York state and believe the proposed plan could result in flooding of their property. Thousand Islanders fear that a few powerful interests could scuttle the good work and millions of dollars spent to develop a plan that the overwhelming majority of people support. Meanwhile, the optimism, the hope that finally the IJC was listening to the people is quickly fading. Today, I call on the International Joint Commission to move forward and fulfill the commitment it has made. http://www.bobrunciman.com/index.cfm?ID=111&ViewItem=Yes&IDln=137&ShowText=No