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NEW YORK STATE: Borrello proposal worth attention

We have long advocated for a balanced approach when it comes to Chautauqua Lake.

That has meant advocating for the use of targeted herbicides in addition to weed harvesting. That has meant advocating for the state DEC to be the arbiter of where herbicides are used even though some lake groups advocated for much more acreage than the DEC will approve each year. That advocacy has been for additional funding for lake maintenance.

Now, that advocacy is focused on a bill that provides what we feel is a bit of necessary balance for New York’s Freshwater Wetlands Act. The act, as we’ve covered often in recent months, regulates activities near larger wetlands and created some concerns that new permits and regulations could impact the way Chautauqua Lake is governed. State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, introduced legislation in late May that will exempt inland lakes that are navigable waterways and have an area of 150 acres or more from the freshwater wetlands designations.

Chad Stansiszewski, assistant regional director for the state DEC Region 9, told those who gathered at a recent Chautauqua Lake Symposium hosted by Chautauqua County that the DEC already has the tools it needs to protect Chautauqua Lake’s ecology and fishery. And while we trust current DEC officials when they say the new wetlands regulations won’t change much right now on Chautauqua Lake, we can easily see a path where different leadership at Region 9 use the new wetlands regulations to enact changes that could hurt the local economy.

It’s important state law reflects the balance needed between ecology and economy – something Borrello articulated quite clearly during the lake symposium and which bears repeating today.

“I want to make one thing clear,” Borrello said. “I don’t want the lake to be like a swamp, but it’s also not going to be a swimming pool folks, OK? We need that balance. It is a lake. It’s important. People are here to fish. There are important ecological benefits to all of those things that make the lake what it is, so a balance, a common sense balance is what we need. So I’ve had this discussion with PJ (Wendel, county executive) and discussed this idea of introducing this bill because he has spoken to other county executives around the state, they’re in similar situations with these new wetland rules. They are concerned about their freshwater lakes.”

That concern must be addressed. We hope state legislators on both sides of the aisle support Borrello’s bill the next time the state Legislature is in session.

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