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.

The two laws up for discussion set the number of county legislative districts at either 17 districts or 19 districts. There are also two resolutions setting referendums for both local laws, depending on which one is ultimately passed by the full County Legislature.

The committee also will review a local law to create a Chautauqua County Landfill Commission.

The commission would advise the County Executive and Legislature on matters relating to the construction, renovation, operation, or discontinuation of any solid waste disposal and solid waste related facility.

The proposed commission would have seven members appointed by the County Executive including two County Legislators as well as representatives of the government of the Town of Ellery, a large municipal customer, a large private customer, a waste hauler, and a representative of a community hosting a County transfer station.

The Administrative Services Committee meets at 5pm Monday, July 18 and will be livestreamed on the Chautauqua County Government’s Facebook page.

The DEC cited lack of Eurasian milfoil or requested areas being in critical fish habitats for why herbicide use was denied for portions of the permits for Busti, Ellery and Ellicott.

Under the permit guidelines, spraying for curly leaf pond weed is permitted to happen between May 10th and 21st. Eurasian milfoil treatment will be allowed to start June 7th through 18th.

The NYS DEC permit letters to municipalities can be reviewed here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iqewkyJZxpZRA6mYKYtqMATeyL9eR6Iv?usp=sharing

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.

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.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill poses on Thursday with Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, moments after Hill signed the memorandum of agreement for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy on the Institution’s behalf.

CHAUTAUQUA – Chautauqua Institution has signed on to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy.

The MOA is a document that was finalized and put forward by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello last week. 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.

Chautauqua Institution President Michael Hill said the MOA represents a comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation.

“I proudly signed this memorandum on behalf of Chautauqua Institution because it represents the comprehensive and scientifically sound approach for Chautauqua Lake conservation that we’ve been advocating for many years,” Hill said. “We are hopeful that all other agencies and municipalities will join us in signing the MOA and supporting this incredibly important strategy. We thank County Executive Borrello for his resolute leadership on this crucial issue. While Chautauqua Lake faces many challenges, we’re confident that with an independently sourced, science-based comprehensive approach and the support and leadership of a consensus of stakeholders, we will save and preserve Chautauqua Lake as the source of so much of our livelihood in Chautauqua County.”

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 and Watershed Management Alliance, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the consulting firm Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E&E). E&E, which is headquartered in Lancaster, New York, facilitated three meetings earlier this year, where it met with key lake stakeholders to discuss their most pressing issues and concerns surrounding the management of weeds and harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua Lake. These stakeholders included representatives from Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Fishing Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Town of Busti, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood. Other input, which was also considered in the development of the MOA, was communicated to the county executive during informal meetings and in written form.

As part of the information-gathering phase for the consensus strategy, Hill and Chautauqua Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations John Shedd accompanied Borrello and several other county officials and leaders on an October trip to Lake George, New York, to learn about a successful model for lake conservation. In just five years, Lake George stakeholders have united behind a consensus strategy that uses sound, validated science to spur decisions, greatly and demonstrably improving the health and water quality of a lake with challenges similar to Chautauqua Lake.

Last year Chautauqua Institution led an effort to sue the state, saying it didn’t follow proper procedure when approving an application to use herbicides in certain areas of the lake. That challenge took place in Erie County Supreme court and was dismissed near the end of December.
But the lawsuit was just one example of the infighting that has taken place in regards to lake Management and it lead to Borrello to call for a “cease fire” amongst the various stakeholders, via the consensus document.

The Institution is one of the first stakeholders to sign off on the MOA for the consensus. The deadline to sign on to the MOA is April 17.

Those that do not are in jeopardy of missing out on funding for projects they support to battle the weeds and algal blooms that have been occurring more frequently on the lake in recent years.

Pictured above from left to right: Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development; George Borrello, Chautauqua County Executive; Dave McCoy, County Watershed Coordinator; Pierre Chagnon, County Legislator and Chairman of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance; and Tom Heins, P.E., Principal of Ecology & Environment, Inc. (Image courtesy of the County Executive’s Office, Chautauqua County).

MAYVILLE – An effort to get all Chautauqua Lake stakeholders literally on the same page when it comes to managing invasive weeds and other nuisances has taken a major step forward.

On Wednesday morning Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello unveiled a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy.

According to Borrello, the MOA brings together lake agencies and organizations, as well as the municipalities located around Chautauqua Lake, so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms on the lake while being considerate of man’s uses and the environment.

“There are many agencies and stakeholders around Chautauqua Lake that are committed to improving the quality and usability of the lake,” said Borrello. “The differences of opinion regarding how this should be done have resulted in a contentious environment where little forward progress can be made. This consensus strategy will help bring everyone together as we work toward our common goals of addressing and controlling the weeds in Chautauqua Lake while protecting its ecology.”

Borrello says 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).

“Working closely with E&E, we were able to identify essential issues and concerns of the primary stakeholders associated with weed management in Chautauqua Lake,” said Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development. “With this input, we identified key topics, as well as consensus positions for each of these themes, which are important to these stakeholders. These essentially became the 24 tenets of the strategy’s MOA, which will help guide future weed management initiatives.”

Borrello said the plan will involve all of Chautauqua Lake but will immediately address concerns in the lower end of the lake near the Burtis Bay area between Lakewood and Celoron. He said it will call for a multifaceted approach to dealing with the weed problem that has plagued that area of the lake the past few years.

“This is going to be the first opportunity for us to combine the use of herbicides along with creating some strategic buffer zones, essentially. Using the natural weeds that are there to trap  a lot of the fragments while having channels through those weeds to help with navigation. I believe that over the long-run we’ll be able to do this and use this as a model for other areas as well,” Borrello said during a Wednesday morning press conference.

Key lake stakeholders also offered input. They included the Chautauqua Fishing Alliance, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Fishing Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Town of Busti, Town of Chautauqua, Town of Ellery, Town of Ellicott, Town of North Harmony, Village of Celoron, and Village of Lakewood.
The MOA was approved by the county legislature in an emergency resolution last night and other stakeholders are expected to sign off on it in the coming days.

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

A map from the SEIS scoping document being used to pursue state permission to treat areas of Chautauqua Lake with herbicide.

BUFFALO – The Post-Journal is reporting that Chautauqua Institution’s lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Town of Ellery and Chautauqua Lake Partnership will remain in Buffalo.

Judge Donna Siwek of state Supreme Court in Erie County made the decision, agreeing with the argument made by Chautauqua Institution’s lawyers that the institution’s filing is not a continuation of a case brought in February and dismissed in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County.

Judge Siwek also denied the Institution’s motion to dismiss the Chautauqua Lake Partnership’s attorney from representing it in the proceeding. The sides are now arguing motions to dismiss the petition and the next court date is set for Nov. 14.

The case involves the Institution suing the town of Ellery and the DEC for not following the proper procedure in applying for and allowing the use of herbicides to treat weeds on designated areas of the lake this past June.  The institution feels that more information was needed before the state could grant the herbicide permits and feels that any future herbicide use should be contingent on a new application with a more thorough environmental impact study.

The town of Ellery was the lead municipality in filing for the herbicide permit and did so on behalf of the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, a group that was pushing for herbicide treatment to combat the ever-growing problem of weeds in the lake.

In August the Institution filed a lawsuit against the Town of Ellery and the State Department of Environmental Conservation challenging the process by which the town received state permission to treat areas of Chautauqua Lake with herbicides.  Ellery made the request on behalf of the CLP, which was the organization pushing for herbicide treatment in the lake to fight invasive weeds.

Earlier this month the CLP announced it was making a motion to intervene in the lawsuit. However, the institution says it would be unethical to for the CLP to join the lawsuit since it also was the principal author of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement used to allow the herbicide treatment. Because representatives from CLP will be serving as material witnesses, the institution argues they are not permitted to sign on to intervene in the lawsuit as well.

The state supreme court will likely act on the motion by the CLP to join the lawsuit, as well as the institution’s opposition to the matter, during a hearing scheduled for Nov. 14. Meanwhile, the court is hearing arguments Thursday on moving the lawsuit from state supreme court in Erie County to the supreme court in Chautauqua County.

Over the summer Chautauqua Institution announced it had filed a lawsuit against the Town of Ellery and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, questioning the legalities of the Town’s effort to seek state permission to use herbicides to treat Chautauqua Lake. That permission was ultimately granted and the application took place in a restricted area in June of this year.

Ellery says Chautauqua County Supreme Court is the most appropriate venue because it is within the judicial district where the complaint was filed and because it is related to a case decided in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County earlier this year.

In that case, a group of residents argued that the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement the town of Ellery used to seek permission for herbicide use didn’t consider effects to the entire lake and as a result, the state DEC and Chautauqua County should be the lead agency for the request, not the town of Ellery.

In April, an opinion for that case was issued granting the DEC’s motion to dismiss the petition in its entirety and the proceeding was dismissed without prejudice.

The town of Ellery says that because that case was taken up Chautauqua county supreme court, it’s only appropriate that the Institution’s lawsuit also be taken up there as well.

The motion to change venue, as well as a motion by the Chautauqua Lake Partnership to intervene in the Chautauqua Institution lawsuit, will be taken up in court on Nov. 14.