Basherkill Subdivision

Huge Shawangunk Ridge Development Needs Proper Impact Report

October 16, 2008

The proposed Basherkill Subdivision in the Orange County Town of Deerpark-- 354 single-family units, two retail developments, and recreational facilities on 634 undeveloped acres--promises to impose significant environmental impacts beyond its immediate boundaries. The Shawangunk Ridge and Basha Kill Wildlife Area—two areas identified as critical ecological zones by New York State and visited by tens of thousands of people annually—stand to be negatively affected by the development.

It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that this project be given the most thorough and complete review possible.

Unfortunately, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) submitted by the developers does not meet this standard.

Instead, they have submitted a seriously flawed report that, according to several professional reviews of the document, not only fails to include required and crucial environmental studies, but is filled with incorrect and incomplete information.   

You can ask the Town of Deerpark Planning Board to require the applicant to do the DEIS right.

An addendum that provides correct and needed information, and is subject to public review, should be required before this project proceeds to the final review stage.

Voice your concerns.

The next public hearing on this DEIS is set for Wednesday, Oct. 22, 7pm at Town of Deerpark Town Hall, 420 Route 209, PO Box 621, Huguenot, NY 12746. Public comments will be accepted until Oct. 31.

Email: townofdeerpark@hvc.rr.com

Planning board chair is Willard Wilson.

Read consultants' reports on the DEIS:

• Full Engineering Report by David Clouser Associates
• Executive Summary by David Clouser Associates

• Full Ecological Report by J. G. Barbour
• Executive Summary by J. G. Barbour
  
• Full Hydrological Report by Katherine Beinkafner, PhD, CPG, of Mid-Hudson Geosciences
• Executive Summary by Katherine Beinkafner

You can access the DEIS here.

Background

Orange County Holding Company, LLC, proposes to construct 300 single-family houses, a retail center, and associated recreational amenities on a 689-acre Shawangunk Ridge parcel that is bordered by Route 211, County Route 61, and Port Orange Road in the Town of Deerpark. The project is known as the Basher Kill Subdivision.

This targeted development site contains two natural resources with the highest priority for protection and designated in New York State’s Open Space Plan: the Shawangunk Ridge and the Basha Kill Wildlife Management Area (BKWMA). Both are important water sources for surrounding towns, are home to rare and endangered species, and have high values for recreational uses. A small portion of the BKWMA abuts the tract targeted for development, while an unnamed tributary of the Basha Kill traverses the entire western section. Much of the land comprises very steep slopes: 9% having slopes with grades of 10-15%, and 33% having slopes with grades exceeding 15%.

Cultural resources that would be impacted by the project include the Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal, which parallels the tributary along Route 209, and the Shawangunk Ridge Trail, which coincides with County Route 61.

The undertaking’s location and expansive scale, which increases the likelihood of widespread negative impacts, caused Deerpark’s Planning Board, overseer of the project’s environmental process, to designate the Basher Kill Subdivision as an action under SEQR, necessitating the highest degree of scrutiny. A Scoping Hearing was held on June 29, 2005 to collect public input regarding the topics to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Statement; written comments from the public were accepted until July 20, 2005. The town planning board approved the final scope on August 10, 2005, and an EIS is now being prepared by the applicant.

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)

• water quality impacts from soil erosion including sedimentation to the Basha Kill stream and Neversink River due to runoff from construction and roads on steep slopes;
• need for thorough biological inventories showing impacts to wildlife, plant and aquatic habitats;
• traffic issues;
• viewshed impacts from Route 209 and from the Basha Kill and from the Shawangunk Ridge;
• sewage treatment issues;
• aquifer depletion issues;
• inventory of archeological resources;
• lack of recreational facilities in the plan. (For example, the plan should include a recreational trail corridor through the property connecting the Orange County owned railbed in Deerpark to the continuation of this railbed in the Basha Kill WMA, which currently has the Shawangunk Ridge Trail on it. A corridor about a half mile in length along the Basha Kill stream would accomplish this.)

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