For Immediate Release: May 8, 2009
Contact:
Keith P. McKeever | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
RAY BROOK, NY – The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Thursday, May 15 at the APA Headquarters in Ray Brook, NY. This month’s meeting will be one day only. The Agency will meet in committees and convene the Full Agency to take all necessary actions on Thursday, May 15.
The May meeting will be webcast live. Please use the link found on the Agency’s homepage to view the webcast. (http://www.apa.state.ny.us)
The Full Agency will convene on Thursday morning at 9:00 for the Acting Executive Director’s monthly report. Following the Executive Director’s report Meril Fujiki, from the Honolulu, Hawaii based East West Center, will outline the objectives and itinerary of their study tour of U.S. protected areas involving a delegation of nature preserve managers from the People's Republic of China. The delegation will be touring the Adirondack Park from May 13-15, 2009.
At 9:30 a.m., Town of Webb Supervisor Robert Moore will be the guest speaker for the Community Spotlight presentation. Supervisor Moore will give an overview of his community and highlight important community issues facing this Herkimer County town.
At 10:15, the Regulatory Programs Committee will consider a proposal from the Essex County Box and Pellet Company for a greater-than-25% expansion to their existing wood using facility. The expansion would result in the installation of a wood pellet manufacturing operation designed to ultimately produce up to eight tons of pellets per hour. The Essex County Box and Pellet Company is located in the previously Agency - approved Keeseville Industrial Park, a "light industrial park" on 60 acres in the Town of Chesterfield, Essex County. Key issues include compliance with prior Agency permits and potential visibility, stormwater management, waste management, noise and air emissions impacts.
Next the committee will determine approvability for a greater than 25% expansion to Carver Sand and Gravel LLC’s existing commercial sand and gravel pit and proposed new quarry. Carver Sand and Gravel LLC proposes to extract a maximum of 500,000 cubic yards and an average of 75,000 to 150,000 cubic yards of sand, gravel and consolidated mineral on an annual basis during a five year permit term. The project site is located on land adjacent to NYS Routes 29/10 in the Town of Ephratah, Fulton County. Key issues include water quality, off-site sedimentation, noise, air quality (dust), traffic, and blasting vibration impacts to structures, wells and nearby dams.
At 11:30, the Park Planning Committee will be briefed on a proposed revision to the Agency’s Policy on Policies, receive a status update on staff efforts to revise the development guidelines document “Development in the Adirondack Park” and hear a preliminary analysis concerning changes in State and private land classifications. At 1:30 p.m., the State Land Committee will address proposed public hearings on the classification and reclassification of State lands and waters in the vicinity of Lows Lake and the Five Ponds Wilderness Area in St. Lawrence and Hamilton Counties. The components of this action include:
• Reclassification of the Lows Lake and Hitchins Pond Primitive Areas to Wilderness for inclusion in the Five Ponds and Round Lake Wilderness Areas • Creation of a new “Eastern Five Ponds Access” Primitive Area • Classification of newly acquired lands south of Lows Lake from Pending Classification to Wilderness and adding these lands to the Five Ponds Wilderness Area • Classification of the lake bed and waters of the Bog River and Lows Lake to Wilderness classification and adding them to the Five Ponds Wilderness Area • Classification of the lake bed and waters of Bog Lake to Wilderness classification and adding them to the Five Ponds Wilderness Area.
The Full Agency will convene at 2:30 to conclude its meeting with committee reports, public comment and member comment. At 3:00, the Enforcement Committee will come to order for an administrative enforcement proceeding related to alleged shoreline setback and cutting violations. These violations are alleged to have occurred on Loon Lake in the Town of Franklin, Franklin County.
Meeting materials are available for download from the Agency’s website at: http://www.apa.state.ny.us/Mailing/0905/index.htm The next Agency meeting is June 11-12, 2009 at the Adirondack Park Agency Headquarters.
July Agency Meeting, July 9-10, 2009, Adirondack Park Agency Headquarters.
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971 by the State Legislature to develop long-range land use plans for both public and private lands within the boundary of the Adirondack Park. With its headquarters located in Ray Brook, the Agency also operates two Visitor Interpretive Centers, in Newcomb and Paul Smiths. For more information, call the APA at (518) 891-4050 or visit www.apa.state.ny.us.