More funds available for flood victims

ALBANY, NY — The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) and the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) will provide approximately $45 million in funding for capital projects and housing programs for the 12 counties hardest hit by the floods of 2006.

The governor also announced $5 million in state funding to help purchase properties that have experienced persistent flooding and are likely to face additional threats of floods in the future. This state funding, which could leverage up to $15 million in FEMA funds, will be available to homeowners who meet the program criteria and who want to move, or rebuild in a new, safer location. The acquired parcels will be used to preserve open space, manage wetlands and provide areas for recreational activities. The funding will be administered under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Program. Funds for this program are expected to be available this fall.

Liberty receives two grants

LIBERTY, NY — The Town and the Village of Liberty are both recipients of Business Development Grants in round four of New York State’s Build Now-NY matching grant program. The Town of Liberty received a grant for the development of a Liberty Business Park on Old Route 17 in Ferndale; the Village’s grant is for development of the Liberty Agriculture and Light Industry Park. Both municipalities had teamed up with the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, the Sullivan County Division of Planning and Community Development and the Liberty CDC to apply for the grants.

Hinchey requests Bush to lift block on probe of warrantless eavesdropping

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and three other Congressmen have written to President Bush asking that he unblock an internal U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the agency’s role in the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program. Hinchey had written a letter to the DOJ in January requesting the probe, and received an answer in February that such an investigation was underway. In May, Congressmen were told the probe was closed because investigators were denied the security clearances needed to do their job. Last week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress that it was President Bush himself who had blocked the needed clearances.

The letter reads in part, “We are perplexed and cannot make sense of your denial of these security clearances. Our request did not ask the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to give us the intricate details of the NSA program; we understand that such a request would not even be within OPR’s jurisdiction. There appear to be no reasonable grounds for blocking this investigation. Not only does your denial of their request for a security clearance not make sense, it is unprecedented.”

Private businessman to open Sunday trash collection site

KENOZA LAKE, NY — A local businessman, Peter Stagl, has opened a private garbage and recycling collection site to be open on Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The site, located across from the entrance to Stone Arch Bridge Park on Route 52 between Jeffersonville and Kenoza Lake, fills a void left by the recent cancellation of Sunday hours at Sullivan County’s official transfer stations. The fee per bag is $3.50, and there is currently no option to buy a book of coupons for a volume discount as there is at the county sites. However, Stegl says he is looking for more cost-effective options for his customers.

“I saw a need created by the cutback in services,” said Stagl, who also owns PJ Hauling refuse removal and trucking. “Bags of garbage were scattered along a number of county roads on Sundays, indicating a need for additional, not fewer, services.”

For more information call 845/807-1258.

Hinchey and Sherwood call for field hearings on flood risk

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Don Sherwood (R-PA) and nine of their colleagues today called on a House panel to hold special congressional field hearings in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to identify ways in which the federal government can assist with flood prevention in the Delaware and Susquehanna River Basins.

“We believe it is necessary to hold hearings in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York to address the current factors, including the state of our aging flood control infrastructure that have led to three straight years of flooding in and along the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers,” Hinchey and his bipartisan colleagues wrote to Young and Duncan.

“Having congressional field hearings would allow top lawmakers to get a much better understanding of the flood prevention needs we have along the Delaware and Susquehanna River Basin,” Hinchey said. “Getting a firsthand view of the damage always makes a big difference in one’s perspective of the situations.”

EPA sets up hazardous waste centers for flood debris

REGION — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) have established three centers in Sullivan County for the collection of hazardous waste left behind by the recent flooding. Hazardous waste, separated from general and construction waste, will be accepted at the Department of Transportation Facility at 5935 State Route 52 in Kenoza Lake, the Department of Transportation Facility at 178 Sullivan Avenue in Ferndale, and the Highland Transfer Station on County Route 11 in Eldred. Household hazardous waste includes batteries, paint and workshop supplies, cleaning and pool supplies, pesticides, thermometers and thermostats, automotive products, explosives, ammunition, gasoline, oil and solvents.

If you find large containers such as drums, barrels, tanks or cylinders on your property as a result of flood waters, call 800/457-7362.

For more information visit www.epa.gov/region2.