Ellery Town Supervisor Larry Anderson addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (February 22, 2023)

The Town of Ellery has asked the Chautauqua County Legislature to support and help implement a six-point plan for improvement of Chautauqua Lake.

Legislator Lisa Vanstrom requested that Legislative Clerk Olivia Lee read the letter outlining the proposal from Ellery Town Supervisor Larry Anderson out loud for all members present to hear.

The plan for future lake improvement includes lakeside municipalities, the county, and state leaders reaching an agreement on the goal for Chautauqua Lake management. It also calls for contracting with a university-led group of scientists, engineers, and project managers to develop a multi-year management plan. The third point requests that $7 million in the County’s American Rescue Plan funds be designated toward the development and implementation of the plan. The fourth point seeks to revisit a county-wide funding mechanism for Chautauqua Lake protection and rehabilitation including use of existing property, sales, and occupancy tax revenue with the potential for increases in those tax rates.

The proposal would use an organization of lakeside municipality mayors and supervisors with support from county government to oversee the development and implementation of the plan and manage lake and watershed activities consistent with the goal set. This organization would be unaffiliated with lake organizations.

The last point in the proposal asks State Senator George Borrello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell to work to obtain state funding for the lake and to work with the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Larry Anderson, speaking at the second privilege of the floor, thanked the legislature for reading the letter and said it took 50 to 60 years for Chautauqua Lake to “get this bad,” “And it’s not going to get fixed overnight. It’s going to take some time. But I really feel that our six-point plan is the way to start and if we can get enough support and everybody comes together with the townships, the villages along the lake, that I think we can finally go in the right direction.”

The Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency, which was formed in 2018 to study the creation of a lake protection and rehabilitation district, voted in January to not move forward with a tax district.

Bemus Point Mayor Jeff Molnar also addressed the Legislature and said after attending various CLPRA and lake organization meetings, it was clear that “not everyone was rowing in the right direction,” “I’ve learned about the proposal that the town of Ellery has put forward. And unless I get any negative feedback from my Board of Trustees in the village, then I intend to support, at least, the portion about the mayors and supervisors organization.”

Mayville Mayor Rick Syper also made a short statement saying he supports Ellery’s plan.

County Executive PJ Wendel said the lakeside municipality leaders group proposed by Ellery to oversee the effort would be a new group.

He said while 3 of the 9 leaders are in agreement, it’s been tough to get consensus, “I don’t think they’re too far off but everybody has their different opinions and philosophies. And we’ve said this, we’re not going to get a unanimous consensus, but we do have to look at what’s happening. My push for this year is a collaborative effort. We have yet to do that in Chautauqua Lake. We harvest and we use herbicides. But I have a big push with our working group, if you will, between the Watershed (Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy) , CLA (Chautauqua Lake Association), and CLP (Chautauqua Lake Partnership) to have a collaborative plan this year to start.”

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon gave credit to Ellery for developing the plan. He said there’s significant overlap between what the town and County Executive Wendel are working on, “I know that the County Executive has met with the town of Ellery representatives to discuss his directions and their plan. Personally, I think that it’s exciting, the concept of getting all of the towns and villages around the lake agreeing on what should be done and working together to help the lake.”

Chagnon said he’s looking forward to learning more about Wendel’s plan in the near future.

WATCH

Funding for the Community Conversation is made available by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Rescue Plan Act stabilization grant fund.

Left to Right: John Jablonski from the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Dr. James Cirbus from the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Dr. Rudy Mueller from the Chautauqua Lake Association, and WRFA Public Affairs Director Julia Ciesla-Hanley.

The Chautauqua Lake Partnership and Rehabilitation Agency gave the County Planning Department the okay at its May meeting to look into the scope of work involved to do a feasibility study of such a district.

Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency CEO Mark Geise said a consultant would then make a recommendation, “Yes, or no, does it makes sense to try to create one district? Or if not, then does it make sense to create two districts or does it not make sense to do either one of those things? What about user fees? And then looking at how this thing would be managed.”

Advisory Group member and Ellicott Town Supervisor Pat McLaughlin said he thinks it’s good to move forward but there are many unanswered questions, “Are the people who live on the lake going to pay the higher percentage and then as you move away from the lake you’re going to pay a little bit less? Those really, at this point, are some unanswered questions. There have been suggestions on what those might be, but I think we have to reach a point where we know what the budget, what the total is we have to charge for this and we just don’t have those answers yet.”

Geise said the goal is to report back to the group in a month in what would be in the feasibility study, “Just what would the scope of work of that look like? And what do we think ballpark something like that would cost? And then have this group say yes and, by the way, where the money would come from.”

Any recommendation by the Chautauqua Lake Partnership and Rehabilitation Agency on creating a Lake District would still have to be approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature.

The Town of Ellery and the Chautauqua Lake Partnership organization are suing the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). They claim the DEC wrongfully placed limits on the areas of the lake where the herbicide ProcellaCOR can be applied this past summer – specifically in the Town of Ellery.

• READ THE FULL PETITION

The two plaintiffs also claim the current herbicide that is being used is safe and effective, and also say that the areas of the lake recently treated appear much better than other spots that were not allowed to be treated by the DEC. As a result, they are request the court provide the following judgement in their favor:

1. Annulling the June 17, 2020 and June 29, 2020 determinations on the grounds that they are arbitrary and capricious, irrational, and lacking in substantial evidence;
2. Declaring that the absence of adverse public health and environmental effects of ProcellaCOR found in the NYSDEC’s registration preempts or precludes the NYSDEC from denying the Town’s permit application in whole or in part based on such alleged effects; and,
3. 3. Remanding to the NYSDEC with instructions to issue to the Town of Ellery any and all permits and approvals necessary to implement the goals of the 2018 FSEIS to the fullest extent practicable, with due and adequate consideration of the agency’s mission, purpose, and the public interest.

On Wednesday the firm SOLitude Lake Management began treating DEC-designated areas of the lake with the chemicals Aquathol K and Navigate, which are intended to kill lake vegetation.

The firm is hired by Chautauqua Lake Partnership along with the participating municipalities, including the villages of Celoron and Lakewood and the towns of Ellicott, North Harmony and Ellery.

About 400 acres is being treated. The application of the chemicals began Wednesday morning and will continue through the day Friday, weather permitting.

The CLP has said that herbicide treatments are meant as a last resort to manage invasive weed species Eurasian milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed.

Despite concerns from some county residents and other lake groups regarding the negative health and environmental impact the herbicides may have on people, wildlife and the environment, the state DEC moved forward at the start of this month to grant permission for the herbicides to be used.

Residents are advised not to swim during the treatments and 24 hours after they finish. In addition, Lake water should not be used for irrigation until 21 days after treatment is completed.

A map highlighting the areas of Chautauqua Lake authorized for herbicide treatment beginning May 15, 2019 and continuing until no later than May 22, 2019.

STOW – Nearly 400 acres of Chautauqua Lake will now be treated with herbicide beginning next week.

That was the news delivered yesterday during the annual meeting of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance.
According to the Post-Journal, officials with the Chautauqua Lake Partnership made the announcement after learning that funding would be in place to treat nearly 100 percent of the area that was permitted by the state DEC earlier this month.

Areas that will be treated are off the shores of the villages of Celeron and Lakewood, as well as town of Ellicott, North Harmony and Ellery.
A combination of funding from local tax dollars as well as grants from local foundations is being used to cover the cost of treatment.

Details of the specific treatment area were provided earlier this week and a map and other details can be found at the CLP website, as well as our own website at WRFALP.com.

Herbicide treatment will begin next Wednesday, May 15 and must be completed by no later than May 22.

A map highlighting the areas of Chautauqua Lake authorized for herbicide treatment beginning May 15, 2019 and continuing until no later than May 22, 2019.

LAKEWOOD – The organization involved with overseeing the herbicide applications on Chautauqua Lake has offered more details on when the process will take place and what residents and visitors should know when it comes to safety measures.

The Chautauqua Lake Partnership says that SOLitude Lake Management will begin applying herbicides Aquathol K (endothall) and Navigate (2,4-D) in lake waters starting next Wednesday, May 15 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Applications may take three to six days to complete and must be finished by May 22 according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Areas expected to be treated include those in the Town of Ellicott including the village of Celoron, in the village of Lakewood, the Town of North Harmony, and the Town of Ellery.

The time frames for restrictions on water use start as soon as the treatment has been completed. Information on water use restrictions, including when those restrictions are lifted, will be posted on the website of each Town that undertakes the application of herbicides. In addition, signs will be posted around the Lake and along downstream waters notifying users of the water use restrictions. When the swimming/bathing, irrigation, and potable use water restrictions are lifted, posted signs will be removed. After the treatment is completed, information on the status of the restrictions may be obtained on each applicable Town or Village’s website or by contacting the Town or Village Clerks.

Warning signs containing the following restrictions will be posted around the Lake and at public access points along downstream waters on or before the affected areas on the day(s) of treatment and shall remain posted as long as the restrictions are in place:

• Swimming: During Treatment and 24 hours after
• Irrigation: 21 days or < 100 ppb of 2,4-D
• Domestic Water use: < 50 ppb
• Potable Water Use: < 50 ppb
• Other Use Restrictions: None

The permits and a map of the application sites and affected areas are available at the respective Town and Village Halls and may be viewed during each’s normal business hours. Office staff will assist you in answering your questions regarding the treatments.

For all technical questions regarding the herbicides and treatment plan, please contact Glenn Sullivan, 1-908-310-8775 at SOLitude Lake Management during business hours.

The Herbicide product labels are available at https://www.solitudelakemanagement.com/product-labels-new-york-2018

The herbicide treatment comes after the state DEC announced its approval of herbicide use last week.

In a statement, the DEC said it has issued permits to five municipalities authorizing herbicide treatment in 245.3 acres of the lake. There will be no applications north of Long Point, along undeveloped shoreline, or in areas containing critical fish spawning and nursery areas. In addition, areas treated in 2018 will not be treated this year because DEC typically does not authorize herbicide treatment in the same location two years in a row.  DEC issued a letter on May 6, 2019 clarifying several items, including noting that chemical amounts listed in the permit are approximate and explaining that Burtis Bay will be treated in thirds with the first treatment planned for this year. The remaining two thirds will be treated in subsequent years, one third at a time.  Additionally, DEC is in the process of issuing revised permits today which change allowable treatment zones within Lakewood and Ellicott and widens the navigation channel in Ellicott to 60 feet.

The actual amount of lake area that will be treated in the authorized areas will depend on each individual municipality and large based on available funding to cover the cost of treatment.

That’s according to the Jamestown Post-Journal, which says town officials made their decision Monday night.

The decision was made after it was learned the state DEC would not allow the town to treat any of its own lake waters with herbicide because they were treated last year and state law doesn’t allow herbicide use in the same area for two consecutive years.

The town will give $10,000 from its budget toward the village of Lakewood. Another $10,000 would be allocated to the Chautauqua Lake Association, the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, and to help cover membership fees for the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance.

The board also discussed a $10,000 grant the town was tentatively awarded from the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation through the alliance. Because the town won’t be able to use herbicides – which that money was initially earmarked for – officials instead said they wanted to give it to Celoron.

Officials added that the alliance also has the option to simply pull some of the grant money from the town and give it directly to the villages instead.

The villages of Celoron and Lakewood will each hold a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the matter while the alliance will have its monthly meeting on Thursday.

The Jamestown Post-Journal is reporting that that the Town of Ellery won’t sign be signing the MOA presented by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello last month. The unwillingness to sign the document is primarily due to it restricting herbicide treatment to only the southern basin of the lake during the next two years. A portion of the Town borders the northern basin of the lake and Ellery officials say residents may want to treat that area with herbicide if weeds get bad during the summer months.

Of the 16 agencies and municipalities that were requested to sign the MOA, Ellery is the only one that will not. Even the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, which voiced reservations earlier this month, eventually signed off on the document.

Borrello has already said that the MOA will not be altered or changed for at least the first two years it is in place. But he did say it could be changed in 2021 following a review by stakeholders and the county.

Ellery’s unwillingness to sign the MOA also jeopardizes their chances of receiving outside funding for lake management efforts they endorse. That’s because Borrello had said that organizations should sign off on the MOA if they wish to qualify for funding.

“Any funding from the county, and from many of the local foundations, for efforts dealing with in-lake projects will flow through the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance. The executive board of the Alliance has preliminary agreed to only fund those organizations who participate in the Consensus Strategy by the signing the Memorandum of Understanding,” Borrello said during his State of the County Address in February.

The consensus strategy was developed through a collaboration of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, representatives from the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm, Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E).

A copy of the MOA, along with the 24 tenets, is available on the County Executive’s website.

BEMUS POINT – The organization that’s been the driving force behind herbicide use on Chautauqua Lake says it has concerns regarding the recent Chautauqua Lake Management Consensus Strategy Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that was put forward last month by County Executive George Borrello.

The MOA is a document that was finalized and put forward by Borrello on March 27. It was unanimously approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature on the same day it was made public.  The document seeks to bring together lake stakeholders so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms in the lake.

Among the stakeholders that are being asked to sign off on the MOA is the Chautauqua Lake Partnership (CLP), which is the organization that has pushed for the use of herbicides to combat the growing nuisance of invasive weeds in Chautauqua Lake.

On Sunday the CLP posted five concerns it has with the MOA on its website.

At the top of the list, the CLP says the legally-binding MOA, with its numerous ambiguous tenets, could result in more, not fewer, lawsuits against those signatories taking lake improvement action, primarily Towns and Villages, the CLP and the Chautauqua Lake Association (CLA).

The organization also said that with no scientific or regulatory basis, the MOA would prohibit herbicide treatments “north of Long Point”.

“Although this might be reconsidered for 2020, this would eliminate previously-permitted areas offshore Midway Park, Sunset Bay and Warner Bay as well as the remainder of the North Basin: offshore Maple Springs, Dewittville Bay, Hartfield Bay, offshore Mayville, Irvins Bay, offshore Magnolia, Woodlawn and Victoria and Whitney Bay,” The CLP points out.

And the CLP says, “There is no mention of the 2018 Town of Ellery $250,000 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement which, by law, guides herbicide permitting in Chautauqua Lake.”

The Partnership is encouraging its members and the general public to review all their concerns and then contact their representatives in local and county government to see if some changes can be made to the MOA. 

In order to qualify for funding, Borrello had said that organizations should sign off on the MOA to show that they support the consensus. Chautauqua Institution, which last year filed a lawsuit against the use of herbicides in the lake, has already signed off on the document.

In addition, Borrello has already said that the MOA will not be altered or changed for at least the first two years it is in place. But he did say it could be changed in 2021 following a review by stakeholders and the county.

Borrello is urging all stakeholders to sign off on the MOA by April 17.