Mid-Hudson Watershed Breakfast Series: Is it time for a New York State Water Authority?

When:

September 14, 2017: 8:00AM to 9:30AM

Where:

27 New Paltz Plaza, New Paltz, NY 12561 map

To Attend:

RSVP

Many municipal water supplies in NYS are located outside their jurisdictional boundaries.  NYSDOH has not advanced new Watershed Rules & Regulations through legislative adoption in several decades.  Newburgh’s recent experience with PFOS, and the broader risks caused by over development have suggested to Peter Smith that instead, it may be time to establish a New York State Public Authority to preserve and restore the safety of public drinking water sources across the State of NY.

This breakfast meeting will be more of an open discussion than a presentation. Particularly if you have experience with Water or Wastewater Authorities, or Watershed Rules and Regulations, please come!  Questions Peter would like to discuss include:

• How can we assure the safety of drinking water when conditions outside the immediate jurisdiction of the public water supply threaten water quality?
• Would the creation of a Public Authority, charged with preserving and restoring the safety of such municipal waters state wide, be helpful?
• May a portion of the Authority’s funding be derived from fees charged on projects built within vulnerable drinking water supply watersheds?
• May an Authority issue public bonds for work related to remediation and restoration of negatively impacted lands within the watersheds?

This will be our first HRWA breakfast of the 2017-18 season. Please RSVP (attendance only) to Russell Urban-Mead, [email protected].  There is a $4 minimum food/beverage purchase. Location:  Plaza Diner (near Tops grocery store), New Paltz.