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Ava, New York – According to Town of Lewis Councilman Ian Klingbail’s September 6, 2005 correspondence to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Region 6 Director Sandra LeBarron, design changes to the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority (OHSWA) stormwater and sediment control basins were substantially completed. At an August 23 meeting, DEC Solid Waste Engineer Gary McCullouch stated he was anxious to see how the system would handle the next heavy rain event.

Hurricane Katrina made her way through the area on August 30 and 31, dropping about 4 inches of rain between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night, according to OHSWA Executive Director Hans Arnold.

In a September 2, 2005 Daily Sentinel, Rome, NY article, Hans Arnold indicated the stormwater management system functioned properly stating, “We were able to hold all of the water.” The article claims, as of Wednesday night, four retention basins were at capacity and five others had space for more water.

According to the OHSWA August 2005 Solid Waste Management System News, “Our professional engineers, Barton & Loguidice, have reassured us that the overall system will fully function to meet all standards and protect the environment once it is completed.”

In contradiction to Arnold’s statements in the Daily Sentinel and OHSWA claims from their newsletter, the landfill stormwater management system failed for the fifth time sometime during the early morning hours of August 31. Lewis Councilman Ian Klingbail filmed video footage of Moose Creek along Gleasman Road in Ava, NY around 5:00P.M. on August 31, clearly showing the stream had been contaminated by siltation flowing off the landfill site and into Moose Creek for the fifth time since April 2005.

Klingbail also took live video footage of Moose Creek at several other Lewis County locations downstream on September 5 including Lewis and Miller Roads, State Route 12D, and East Road – all contaminated with siltation from the Ava landfill site. Local Boonville resident David Regetz filmed further contamination of Moose Creek that flowed approximately 7 miles into the Sugar River in Lewis County.

Extremely upset with the condition of Moose Creek, Mr. Klingbail sent an email to DEC Region 6 Director Sandra LeBarron this morning, honoring her request to be notified of any further violations of the OHSWA permits issued by the NYSDEC and Army Corp of Engineers.

The federally protected Class C trout stream of Moose Creek is presently milky gray in color. Native brook trout have not been observable downstream from the landfill site all season. A local resident walking along Gleasman Road this evening viewed a beaver swimming in the contaminated pond located between the landfill site and Moose Creek but did not submerge into the water as beaver normally do.

An August 18, 2000 Daily Sentinel article quoted OHSWA Executive Director Hans Arnold as stating, “It’s [the landfill] not in the Mohawk basin (watershed), it’s in the Black River basin.”

OHSWA’s apparent disregard for the waters that flow into the Black River has been evident during the landfill construction process that began in July 2004. In August 2004, a beaver dam located on the landfill site unexpectedly gave way and sent millions of gallons of water, silt and debris into the Moose Creek, killing native brook trout. [See www.ACALnews.org to view photos of all contamination events over the past year.]

The September 5 violation was the sixth event of siltation flowing into Moose Creek during the past 4 months. ACAL and concerned local residents are outraged with the poor engineering and planning that has required design modifications that have repeatedly failed. NYSDEC Engineer, Mr. Blackmer, was contacted 9/7/05 for comments on the September 5 severe siltation event. He indicated that OHSWA was being put on Notice, that an investigation is underway, and the DEC was beginning an enforcement action against OHSWA.

Adirondack Communities Advisory League (ACAL), a local citizens’ environmental group organized in 1993 to protect the water, land, air, and wildlife in the Northern Oneida, Southern Lewis County areas located within the Tug Hill Region, has been fighting to stop the Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority from building a 700-acre landfill in the small rural Town of Ava (population 725) for 12 years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Crofoot, ACAL Communications
Adirondack Communities Advisory League
P.O. Box 202, Boonville, NY 13309
Website: www.ACALnews.org
Email: info@ACALnews.org
Phone: 315-942-6074