By SHANTAL RILEY sriley @ tcnewspapers . com
Brown ’ s Pond will remain closed to recreation for the summer . The City of Newburgh announcement arrives about a month after the pond became the main source of city water due to PFOS contamination at Washington Lake .
The city has also issued a catch-andrelease advisory for fishing at Masterson Lake Park , located adjacent to Washington Lake . “ PFOS is the only PFC that has been shown to accumulate to levels of concern in fish tissue ,” a city
Town of Newburgh backs Skartados ’ bill to ban pipeline
Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , June 8 , 2016 3
City of Newburgh poised to switch to aqueduct water
WHAT : City of Newburgh watershedemergency preparedness event ( EPA sponsored ) WHEN : Tuesday , June 21 from 9 a . m . to 4 p . m . WHERE : Kaplan Hall / SUNY Orange , located at 73 First St . INFO : Cityofnewburgh-ny . gov * pre-registration required
press release states . “ Catch-and-release fishing only due to the discovery of PFOS in source waters ,” a sign read at Masterson Lake last week .
Elevated levels of PFOS , perfluorooctane sulfonate , were found in the city ’ s drinking water earlier this spring . A test sample taken at a pond at the Air National Guard Base at Stewart International Airport showed a level of PFOS at 5,900 parts per trillion on March 16 . The city subsequently switched to using water from Brown ’ s
Pond .
But , the city will likely switch to using pricey Catskill Aqueduct water in less than a week , Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy said Tuesday . “ We already have a commitment from the state to pay for the aqueduct water ,” she said . “ The state will make the city whole on this . It will have no financial impact to our water users .”
Citing concern over rising water levels and a vulnerable dam at Washington Lake , the city diverted Silver Stream away from Washington Lake and into the Moodna Creek last week . “ The lake was getting too full ,” said Kennedy , adding the creek was the stream ’ s natural channel . “ We were no longer using the water and there was water pouring in .”
Testing at Silver Stream in March showed levels of PFOS above the Environmental Protection Agency ’ s health advisory limit of 200 parts per trillion . However , the EPA dropped the PFOS advisory limit from 200 parts per trillion to 70 parts per trillion in late May .
The EPA will join the city to host a watershedemergency preparedness forum on June 21 . The public meeting will focus on the response to contamination of the City of Newburgh water supply . The event takes place from 9 a . m . to 4 p . m . on Tuesday , June 21 at Kaplan Hall / SUNY Orange , located at the corner of First and Grand streets . Pre-registration is required .
For more information , visit the City of Newburgh website at Cityofnewburgh-ny . gov .
A sign announces the catch-and-release fishing advisory at Masterson Lake Park .
Tuesday , June 14 is
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alongside the New York State Thruway with laterals crossing through the Chadwick Lake Reservoir watershed and other crucial water sources .
The Newburgh Town Board voted unanimously in support of the bill , which is also supported by the City of Kingston , the Town of Rosendale and both the Village and Town of Woodbury . Several audience members stood up and applauded the board ’ s decision Monday .
“ This is really a very dangerous pipeline that is being proposed ,” Skartados said Tuesday . “ It will be very disruptive to the scenic views , a danger to natural lands , water , tourism and farmlands . More importantly , it would put in danger the Delaware and Catskill aqueducts that supply water to our towns and cities .”
The bill would ban any potentiallyhazardous pipeline on property owned by the New York State Thruway Authority .
However , the legislation does not currently have a sponsor in the New York State Senate . Skartados said the bill would likely be reintroduced in the state Assembly in January .
Skartados has also introduced a second pipeline-related bill amending the state ’ s existing Transportation Corporations Law , which allows pipeline corporations to take property through eminent domain if the project is found to be in the public interest . The law also empowers villages and cities to block a fuel pipeline , but does not extend the same right to towns .
“ What this bill does is add towns to the existing law , which requires pipelines constructed on public property to get approval by local municipalities ,” said Skartados . The bill has a Republican sponsor in the Senate , the assemblyman said . “ I ’ m very optimistic it will pass in the Assembly ,” he said . “ I remain hopeful it will pass in the Senate .”
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