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Threats to the Basha Kill
- Yukiguni Maitake
Refer to Latest News section for latest information on this proposed project.
- Basherkill Subdivision
As readers will recall, this is a Shawangunk Ridge major development located on almost 700 acres of the western ridge, bordered by County Route 61, Route 211, and Port Orange Road. A public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) of the Basherkill Subdivision was conducted before the Town of Deerpark planning board on September 10. [Editor's Note: the September 10 public hearing was continued until October 22 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall in Huguenot.] Notably, written DEIS comments will be accepted until October 31, 2008 and may be filed with the Town of Deerpark Planning Board, Town Hall, P.O. Box 61, Huguenot, NY 12746. The DEIS is available at the Town's Building Department and may also be viewed online by visiting www.townofdeerpark.org. Click on "Planning Board" and scroll down to Basherkill Subdivision.
This proposal entails 354 residential units (townhouses and single-family homes) on lots ranging from ¼ to 1½ acres, along with a "commercial retail component." A small portion of the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area borders this property, while the Basha Kill ("Basherkill") itself meanders through the entire western section of the proposed development and is prone to flooding. The D&H canal is nearby and steep slopes abound. It is a bad, bad plan!
Three years have passed since BKAA participated in this project's scoping. Information gleaned from scoping produced the Table of Contents for the subsequent DEIS. Many hoped this undertaking had collapsed, as an inordinate amount of time had elapsed between scoping and the recent DEIS submission. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In fact, despite numerous outcries from BKAA, myriad Shawangunk Ridge organizations, and local residents during scoping, this massive subdivision proposal was not reduced one iota.
In conclusion, the BKAA will assume a lead role in reviewing this DEIS and in formulating related advocacy strategies. To start, we again hired the team of David Clouser, engineer, Dr. Katherine Beinkafner, hydrogeologist, and Spider Barbour, ecologist, to scrutinize the DEIS and comment at the public hearing. Fortunately, substantial engineering study costs have been borne by an extremely generous grant of $7000 to BKAA from the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition. Nevertheless, BKAA is responsible for paying remaining engineering fees as well as hydrogeologist and ecologist charges.
You can help voice your concern by writing letters and emails to your representatives in government.
Contact Members of Congress
To call your Member of Congress - US Capitol Switchboard: 800-504-0031
Senator Schumer's Website. Email address: senator@schumer.senate.gov
Write Your Representative - Lookup Representatives
The rep for this area is Congressman Maurice Hinchey. Email is: mhinchey@mail.house.gov
Governor David Patterson Email: http://161.11.121.121/govemail
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