Concerns have been raised for other local lakes regarding DEC’s new wetlands regulations

Elected officials around Chautauqua Lake aren’t the only ones concerned about changes to freshwater wetlands proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Mina Town Supervisor Rebecca Brumagin recently told The Post-Journal there are questions about what the regulations will mean for Findley Lake as well.

In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed changes to the Freshwater Wetlands Act, which was originally enacted in 1975 to regulate activities near larger wetlands, those larger than 12.4 acres in size, and smaller wetlands deemed to have unusual local importance. The new law eliminates the use of old and inaccurate maps and states that all wetlands larger than 12.4 acres in size will be subject to s. 24 and will be monitored by the state DEC.

“The regulations will impact Lake Findley.” – Brumagin said. “We heard some concerns and had a brief discussion at our last town board meeting. There are some concerns about the impact these regulations may have on what people can do on the lake and on residents who own lakefront property.

Brumagin added that for now, any concerns are preliminary and it is not known what the direct impact will be on city residents. In early September, the DEC set a public comment deadline to express its concerns about the matter, but Brumagin said the city missed an opportunity to formulate a response expressing its concerns.

“We will see if DEC will make any changes to these regulations after the responses we receive,” he added. – Brumagin said.

Over the past few months, property owners and elected officials in several municipalities around Chautauqua Lake have expressed concerns. The Village of Cassadaga and the Town of Stockton reported they had no objections to the matter.

In a letter earlier this month to Sean Mahar, DEC’s interim state commissioner, state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and Assemblyman Andy Goodell, R-Jamestown, reiterated their call to exclude navigable waters from the scope of Art. . 24 issued by DEC. They say state environmental law defines freshwater wetlands as submerged lands and areas, commonly called swamps, swamps, swamps, bogs and flats” that support designated plant species. Another section of the Environmental Protection Act states that freshwater wetlands include land and water substantially surrounded by designated plant species. They called for the proposed regulations to include a sentence stating: “The navigable waters of an inland lake are not considered wetlands.” This language was also proposed by Andrew Molitor, a Republican candidate for State Assembly, in his remarks to DEC.

“However, navigable lakes would never be commonly called ‘marshes, swamps, swamps, fens and plains,’ and waters ‘substantially surrounded’ by aquatic vegetation would be unnavigable.” Goodell and Borrello wrote.

In addition to how the southern Chautauqua Lake basin is managed, Borrello and Goodell expressed concerns to Mahar about how the proposed regulations could expand DEC’s authority to cover the rest of the Chautauqua Lake basin and watersheds throughout the county.

Goodell and Borrello expressed concerns that the proposed regulations change the definition of Class 1 wetlands, which can be regulated regardless of size, to include any wetland adjacent to fresh surface water.

“Lake Chautauqua, Cassadaga Lake, Findley Lake, Lake Erie and Bear Lake are Class A lakes, which means the new regulations will expand DEC’s jurisdiction to areas affected by submerged vegetation, regardless of their size.” Goodell and Borrello wrote. “To avoid such a situation (and consistent with your letter and years of prior regulations), DEC should continue the current definition of a Class A wetland as land “adjacent to or contiguous to a reservoir or other body of water used primarily for public water purposes” that is supplied or is hydraulically connected with an aquifer used for public water supply.”

John Whittaker contributed to this report.