This week, the week before spring kicks down winter’s door, has several important public meetings on the calendar.

Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence is making a big push for Ramapo, and other interested municipalities in Rockland County, to take over water management from United Water, with a Public Meeting on a proposed Rockland Water Authority slated for Ramapo Town Hall on Thursday, March 13, at 8 p.m.

“The control of Rockland’s water supply is now in the hands of a French based, multi-national corporation Suez, which has little or no regard for Rockland ratepayers or their families” said Supervisor St. Lawrence in a press release on the eve of the Water Authority meeting.

Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence

Supervisor St. Lawrence has been an outspoken about United Water’s proposed 28% rate increase related to the Haverstraw Desalination Plant, even vigorously testifying recently in Albany on the issue.

“Currently we are fighting to stop United Water Suez’s proposed 28% rate increase, 133 million dollar desalination plant and 56.8 million dollar charge to ratepayers for monies it has spent already on its proposed desal plant, which may never be built,” St. Lawrence said.

“It’s time to jettison United Water (New York) and do this on our own,” St. Lawrence said in a February interview with Our Town. “We can do this cheaper, we can do it better.” St. Lawrence chairs the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority, which was created in 1994 to manage the county’s solid waste and recycling processing and disposal.

Much of Rockland County receives its water supply from the aquifer along the Ramapo and Mahwah River valleys, with some ten key water wells located in Torne Valley adjacent to the Ramapo River and extending into Hillburn, NY. Additionally, Suffern has its four water wells located along the Ramapo River.

The Our Town article covers in detail various pros and cons of establishing a Water Authority, one of which would be the up front cost of the infrastructure. St. Lawrence said that Ramapo could start its own water company and take over the United Water infrastructure, through eminent domain, if need be — serious words, indeed.

Torne Valley Paint Sludge Redux

The task of cleaning up Torne Valley continues Wednesday, March 12, when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation holds a Public Meeting at the Suffern Free Library at 7 p.m. to discuss the Ramapo Paint Sludge in Hillburn, NY.

The topic of discussed will be the continued clean up of additional sludge site, which were created in the foul pre federal regulation days when industrial waste was often buried and, hopefully, forgotten — out of sight, out of mind style.

The Public Meeting will discuss a proposed Cleanup Remedy primarily related to the Ford Co. paint sludge buried throughout Torne Valley.

The NYSDEC will discuss the remedy proposed for Operable Unit 2 (OU-2).

Additional information can be found at the DEC Fact Sheet related to the Ramapo Paint Sludge Superfund Site.

The DEC announcement for the Public Meeting can be found here.