August 11-17, 2016

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Your Award-Winning News Source for the Upper Delaware River Valley Region Since 1975

Vol. 42 No. 32

UDC siren call stings NYC Recent letter deemed ‘too aggressive’ By DAVID HULSE

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ARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council’s (UDC) July 7 resolution calling on New York City “and its safety partners” to explore supplemental dam failure early warning through the use of fire department sirens prompted an unusually prompt (two weeks) response from the city. UDC Executive Director Laurie Ramie said the NYC Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Adam Bosch called on July 22 reporting that the city is preparing a formal response. Ramie reported that Bosch said the city is open to the idea and is exploring the feasibility and logistics involved. UDC Chair Fred Peckham was pleased to add that Bosch had also characterized the UDC letter as “too aggressive.” “Good,” Peckham said. “We got their attention.” Ramie said July 7 memos also went to emergency management coordinators in the five New York and Pennsylvania counties and July 22 memos were sent to governing bodies in the five counties and their towns and townships, along with sample text for a letter of support or resolution. As of last week’s UDC meeting, emergency coordinators in Sullivan and Orange counties had replied. Sullivan’s Dick Martinkovic noted Continued on page 3

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AUGUST 11-17, 2016

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Damascus Citizens reviewing Pond Eddy Bridge permits, process By FRITZ MAYER

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OND EDDY, NY — The history of the proposal to replace the Pond Eddy Bridge is fraught with groups attempting to halt the project. The new bridge will come at an estimated cost of $17 million, and serve some 23 houses located in a secluded part of Pike County, which is located across the Upper Delaware River from Pond Eddy. Critics have long said the new bridge is not needed, is too expensive and the construction will play havoc with the environment. Now, as construction workers have piled huge quantities of rock into the river to build a causeway halfway across the river to facilitate construction, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) and its attorney Jeff Zimmerman are looking into the permitting process that allowed the bridge to go forward. The project involves multiple agencies and permits. One permit was granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with the concurrence of the Federal Highway Authority (FHA) to PennDot. Zimmerman said that permit, which was issued in February, came with no public input or public notice, because the bridge was listed under one of 34 “categorical exclusions.” The project requires no Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and therefore no public notice. He said one USACE criteria for whether a project should have an EIS with public notice is whether the project is controversial, and the Pond Eddy Bridge has been a poster child for controversy. There is also concern that when the causeway is moved from one side of the

Contributed photo from Damascus Citizens for Sustainability

A causeway has been constructed halfway across the Upper Delaware River to build the new Pond Eddy Bridge. river, the entire river may be blocked for a brief period of time. Officials involved with the project insist this is not the case. John A. Rautzahn of SAI Consulting Engineers, Inc., wrote, “The approved design requires a minimum open channel width of 165 feet to be maintained at all times during construction. This width is the combined opening between the NY and PA channels on either side of the existing pier. This will be accomplished by moving rock from the initial causeway

under the NY span to the channel under the PA span following erection of the NY truss.” Barbara Arrindell, director of DCS, noted that the public has not seen this plan, and that questions remain such as: “how will this be done, what about equipment that is left on the island, what about refueling the equipment, and what happens if there is flooding during the Continued on page 3

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SPANNING 2 STATES, 4 COUNTIES, AND A RIVER THAT UNITES US

Artistic stirrings in Hancock

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