.jpg) |
 |
Details of Conference Call on Yaphank Lakes
The conference call was lengthy, an hour and 15 minutes, and was attended by many people. It was difficult to assess at times, but by my account, it was 14 plus myself. I wrote it down as it was happening. The agencies involved were: Town council, County legislator, State assemblyman, NYSDEC, The Nature Conservancy, SC Dept of Health, SC Exec. and a couple of interagencies, ie: Town Environmental Protection, State Habitat Protection, and the Environmental Defense Fund, who I really don't understand who they are affiliated with. I believe the Town, but I'm not sure.
The first 45 minutes was exhausting. I heard so many people come up with so much BS, I had to really sit back in my chair to understand what was going on. I heard every agency talk about how many studies had to be done: Environmental Impact, Feasibility Study, Lake Inventory, Water Quality Test,.... there were a couple more, but I can't think of them now. I was trying hard not to scream at them that this has been going on for years, " Why hasn't this stuff been done already??? We've talked about this for years.!!!"
Anyway, I maintained my composure, and after much discusion I asked, "Who is ultmately responsible for the decision making for what happens with the lake.....The Town...Right?" After a slight delay, Connie Kepert said YES!!! Pete Scully finally said that the DEC is there to regulate, moniter, and advise,.. it is up to the responsible party : ie: The Town, to come up with a plan to address the problem.
Now for the plans.... I specifically asked Connie Kepert, Kate Browning, and Marc Alessi if they liked and/or were in favor of my idea of a physical solution to the problem, meaning draining the lake, and removing material from the river bottom, and ALL said yes. That did not say every position of my plan, but it did mean exactly what I said... A physical solution to the problem.
There were several solutions that were discussed: My plan; simply treating it with a herbiside; draining the lake and leaving it that way; ( Of which I /We are vehemently oppossed to); draining the lake, letting the weed die, and then refilling; weed eating Carp ( off the table); weed cutting machine; and several variations and combinations of all these ideas.
The way I believe we left off was, the Town was going to look into all solutions, and come up with a plan to address the situation. My gut feeling is that they are in favor of my plan, or certainly some variation of it. There will be alot of opposition along the way. There will be several groups that will trash this idea, and give us a hundred reasons why it's no good. My feeling is,... we will need to hold their feet to the fire as to WHY they believe this idea is no good, and counter everything that they say. I have plenty of reasons for dredging,.. they need to come up with more reasons why they're against, as well as a better solution for years of neglect
Chad Trusnovec
.