VILLAGE TRUSTEES OPPOSE MINING PROPOSAL
Daily Freeman Wed., Sept. 5, 2001 (pA2) by William J. Kemble, Correspondent
SAUGERTIES -
Village trustees voted Tuesday to oppose the application by mining company Shott
Rock for a town special use permit that if granted would mean up to 90 truck
trips per day over a section of road under which village water lines are buried.
The decision was made following a report by village water
system Superintendent Wayne Debrosky, who said the operation would damage the
cast iron pipes crossing under Morse Road along state Route 212.
"At the Veteran Pork Store, you have a 16-and a 12-inch water main,"
he said. "At the point that they cross...the 12-inch main is probably at most
3-foot deep," Debrosky said. "It's right alongside of the road, right at the
end of the driveway. I can tell you that heavy truck traffic can definitely
have an impact on those and I can almost predict that you will experience breaks
if this does happen because even the 16-inch main at that point is less than
4-feet deep."
Officials said there are rock ledges on sections of state
Route 212 that prevent the lines from being placed deeper along the five-length
distance from the village line to the water treatment plant.
Shott Rock, Inc., is seeking a special use permit to resume
mining operations on about 45 acres, with up to 45 trucks anticipated to make
round trips through the residentially zoned area daily. Debrosky said the mining
operation could be as close as a 1/4-mile from the recently installed 3-million-gallon
water storage tank near the Blue Mountain Reservoir.
"It will have no affect on the tank itself, provided they
use the safe methods of storing and handling the explosives and have proper
training for the operators," he said. "That's based on the distance and the
techniques used. Of course, something can always happen and accidents or negligence
by operators on site...could present a problem." The village objection came
in a 5-0 vote, with Mayor Robert Yerick and Trustee Richard Moore absent.
Members of Citizens Action for Residential Environments in
Saugerties asked for the opposition last month. The group has a hearing scheduled
for 7p.m. Monday with the town Zoning Board of Appeals regarding the proposed
mining operation.