The Chautauqua Lake Partnership OpEd entitled “The Chautauqua Lake Three-Step” was published in the Jamestown Post-Journal Sunday, September 23. Click here to view the full article.
In the OpEd the Partnership identifies the 30-year cycle of lawsuits, environmental reviews and lawsuits which have impeded progress in rectifying the steadily worsening condition of Chautauqua Lake.
The Partnership also announced its intent to intervene and join the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Ellery defending against the Chautauqua Institution’s June 2018 lawsuit. In that suit the Institution seeks to invalidate the Town of Ellery’s $250,000 Chautauqua Lake-specific herbicide SEIS completed in April 2018 and prevent the issuance of permits for herbicide treatments of invasive nuisance weeds to all Towns and Villages throughout Chautauqua Lake.
The Post-Journal Editorial Board also published an opinion piece entitled “Village Board Sets Bad Financial Precedent” of special interest on September 16, 2018. In their editorial, the Post-Journal makes observations and raises questions about the relationship between the Village of Lakewood and the Chautauqua Lake Association (CLA). Click here to view the full article.
Recall the Lakewood Village Board passed resolutions to support Ellery’s SEIS and SEQRA in late 2017 and was included in the Town of Busti’s herbicide treatment permit. Under pressure from a small number of Lakewood opponents, the Village then changed course and opposed treatment off the Village shoreline.
We do not know why CLA offered to do water testing for Lakewood. But, in any case, herbicides were not found in the area tested by CLA for the Village.