September 15, 2011
Mr. Joe Martens, Commissioner
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233
Dear Commissioner Martens,
I am writing to offer what I think is a reasonable solution to a major issue facing both the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and our local municipalities. Late last month, Tropical Storm Irene caused record flooding in many communities in our region. Local governments have a tremendous amount of work to do repairing infrastructure and taking steps to prevent flooding like this from occurring again. The sheer volume of work needing to be done, and the permits associated with it, has placed an impossible burden on the DEC. I do not intend that as a critique in any way of the efforts or dedication of your staff, but as an observation that the magnitude of the damage caused by this storm exceeds any organizational capacity we have at the state level.
I applaud your Emergency Authorization and the new General Permit that was issued to help ease the regulatory requirements on local municipalities attempting to make repairs and restore their communities to pre-Irene condition. The recent flooding in the Southern Tier and Mohawk regions will, however, place additional burdens on a Department already stretched too thin to respond to all permit requests from local governments.
It is for this reason that I am suggesting the DEC consider suspending all stream permit requirements for the next five months for municipalities to do restorative and mitigative stream work. Suspension of the permits would not be an open license for local officials to do whatever they would like. I would recommend the following provisions:
- Municipalities must contact their regional permitting office and inform them of the type of work being undertaken prior to starting work.
- All projects must conform to all DEC construction and design standards.
- The Department would reserve the right to inspect any and all such projects before, during, and after construction to ensure all the above mentioned standards are in compliance and enforce those that are not.
- The Department will have the right to inspect all projects after completion, as time allows, and any municipality that has not followed the guidelines above will be held accountable.
As you can see, it is not my intention to circumvent either the regulations or the authority of the Department. It is rather from a great sense of urgency that I recommend the suspension of permits for these projects. Winter is only a few short months away, and once weather conditions end construction activities, our communities will be left to face the spring runoff with compromised infrastructure and inadequate stormwater management measures. The recent flooding has drastically altered many local creeks, streams and rivers. Without sufficient time to make repairs and put in place preventative measures, I fear we will face catastrophic flooding again in the spring.
While I acknowledge and appreciate the effort the Department is putting forward to expedite all permit requests, I am concerned that any delay at this stage could have potentially devastating consequences for our communities, and I urge you to consider the proposal I have outlined above. If I can provide any additional information or answer any questions you may have, please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Tony Jordan
Member of the Assembly
112th District
