MAMAKATING – The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which late last year announced its intention to act as lead agency on the development project known as Seven Peaks, has decided against doing so. Wendy Rosenbach, spokesperson for the DEC Region 3 office, stated that the decision was made in the interest of timeliness, as well as the fact that local control has definite advantages.

"There were some time constraints there," she said in reference to the possibility that this process could have ended up dragging out for some time to come.

Rosenbach also said that Willie Janeway, director for Region 3, had met with officials from the Town of Mamakating and had made a trip out to the site. It was this meeting that convinced Janeway that the Town of Mamakating Planning Board was the agency best positioned to coordinate the process.

"They made a persuasive case," Rosenbach said.

Rosenbach was quick to point out that the DEC will remain involved with each step of the project, and that it will continue to be closely scrutinized by the Region 3 office.

"We do realize that [this project] will impact the local community," she said.

Rosenbach was also quick to point out that the DEC is fully aware of the environmental sensitivity of the area in question, but that the program staff for Region 3 feels comfortable with the decision to let the Town of Mamakating Planning Board act as lead agency.

Planning board chairman John Piazza is pleased by the decision.

"We promised the DEC we will work closely with them over the whole SEQR process," Piazza said, referring to the process known as a state environmental quality review (SEQR), a mandate from Albany which requires that projects of certain scope undergo a number of environmental reviews before they are built.

"[The DEC] will have as much say as they want to," Piazza said.

Piazza pointed out that the DEC is not in a position to attend planning board meetings, and, as such, would be out of the loop for much of the decision-making process. "They usually don't work nights," he said.

Given the fact that there are over 900 towns in New York State it would be unrealistic for the DEC to attend all such meetings — unless there were something specific on the agenda which would warrant its attendance.

Another reason the local control is desirable is that town officials are more familiar with the area around the ridge.

"We have more [local] knowledge of the peak itself," Piazza said. "[Many] of our members live on or near the peak."

Piazza offered praise for the professionalism of Janeway, whom he feels gave the situation careful consideration and arrived at the correct conclusion.

"Willie Janeway was very fair about the decision," Piazza said.

He also felt that the two agencies have developed a good working relationship, which will ensure a positive outcome on the project.

"There's a lot of trust," Piazza said.

The Seven Peaks project is still in the initial stages and a public hearing will be scheduled at some point in the future.

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