Author Topic: Governor ANDREW CUOMO'S INSTRUCTIONS TO NYPA & NYS CANAL CORP. (Read 142 times)

Michael Caswell · « **on:** June 18, 2020, 06:43:35 pm »

STCC leader Agte is at it again.

Her latest to the Governor

Dear Governor Cuomo,

First, I want to thank you for your continued leadership during the COVID crisis. I respect your calm and steady approach...stick to the facts and data, don’t act on whim or personal opinion.
I’m writing you because the Canal Corporation/NYPA has released its scoping document for their Earthen Embankment Integrity Program. Public comments are only being accepted until July 3, 2020. As one of the founders of STOP the CANAL CLEAR CUT I am in complete opposition to the plan they are presenting. The EEIP is exactly the plan they used on the west side of Monroe County and into Orleans county. We took them to court because they didn’t feel the need to conduct an Environmental study, and we won. Now they are trotting it out again with a different name.
The fact is that on January 20, 2018 they realized they faced stiff opposition from a well organized grassroots effort, and walked back their stance. They said they were willing to take a more “tailored approach” when ensuring safety on the embankments of the canal. This tailored approach was to leave trees on the embankments, cut only dead trees, and manage ground cover to assist in visual inspections. Except for a paltry “Ad Hoc” paragraph at the end, this scoping document doesn’t reflect that commitment at all.
There are so many things wrong with their plan for maintaining the canal. But first and foremost is the fact that they are fighting an enemy that is imagined. They are not using the factual past history of the canal. They are not looking at the breaches that have occurred and why they occurred. The fact is, breaches have occurred as a result of human mistake in construction or repair of embankments or culverts. On two occasions when they couldn’t define the cause, they blamed breaches on burrowing animals. Instead of using facts, they are speculating that trees and woodchucks are enemies number one... I can’t imagine why they haven’t also speculated that a falling meteor is more of a threat than an unmaintained culvert.
The Canal Corporation/NYPA are not acting as responsible stewards of our Erie Canal. Instead of addressing the known causes of breaches and embankment failures they are chasing an enemy of their own fabrication. The cost to the state and its citizens for these misguided undertakings is enormous.
We at STOP the CANAL CLEAR CUT demand that NYPA is reigned in, and that they work with the citizens of this state, to preserve all the aspects of the canal we find valuable.
We have 100 year old canal banks that are compacted by time and stabilized with tree roots. Tearing those embankments apart not only destabilizes them, but it upsets an environmental balance that is of vital importance in this age of climate change. Removing thousands of trees from the New York landscape is moving in the wrong direction from your own Green New Deal.
Yesterday, June 16th, we drove to the areas that were clear cut in 2017. It was a picture perfect June day, sunny, mid-seventies, a slight breeze. We had lunch in the park that was dedicated to you August 9, 2000, in Holley, NY. Across the canal from your park, the trail was so hot we had to turn back. We have been walking in Fairport on the canal trail on a regular basis, and it is busy and active. Yesterday, we stopped in four different locations, Medina, Knowlesville, Eagle Harbor and Holley. In the five hours we were there, we saw three bikers. No runners, no boaters, no dog walkers. When I posted what I saw on our Facebook page, other members agreed, and said they no longer walk on the canal trail. This does not serve the people.
In Eagle Harbor I wanted to see the culvert at Otter Creek that breached in 1927. The embankment was clear cut, but not down to the culvert, they did not provide access for inspection. Since theoretically the point of clear cutting is to aid in the ability to visually inspect, this is another example of how they failed.
You said to the protesters, it’s fine to protest, but then you have to say exactly what you want.
We at STOP the CANAL CLEAR CUT want NYPA to stop relying ONLY on dam engineers to determine the best course going forward for canal care and maintenance. We want them to have a vigorous and robust exchange with scientists, biologists, environmentalists, arborists, etc. We want them to stop using the guidelines for dams on the Erie Canal which is, in point of fact, not a dam. We want NYPA to stop saying there is only one way to take care of the canal, which demonstrates their arrogance and lack of imagination. NYPA has only been in charge of the Erie Canal for three years, they are not omnipotent. We want them to reimagine, not lay waste. They need to stop. In their scoping document they flippantly add an “Ad Hoc” possibility for canal maintenance. The tone and wording of this piece of the document is negative and condescending. You can almost see them rolling their eyes. They need to stop. Fix the things they actually know how to fix like guard gates, and locks, and concrete embankments, and leave the naturally beauty of this important part of our history and our future alone.
The fact is this canal belongs to us, the citizens of New York, it does not belong to NYPA. They need to stop.

Yours truly,
Elizabeth R. Agte

So now they are STILL trying to get the dams called something else, thankfully not LEVEES. I guess they realised name that won't stick. We disproved that one long ago with their expert witness Donald Gray explaining the difference between dams and levees. IT'S A DAM LIZZY - A DAM!

CORRECTION! Liz'beth is right, it's not a dam, it's a canal! But made up in places of earthen Embankment DAMS!

AND HERE IS OUR ARTICLE WITH PROF GRAY'S EXPLANATION.

https://eriecanalfacts.wordpress.com/2018/04/19/testimony-in-question-vegetation-on-dams/

News:

Author Topic: Governor ANDREW CUOMO'S INSTRUCTIONS TO NYPA & NYS CANAL CORP. (Read 142 times)

Michael Caswell

Poor Mr Cuomo!