Scenic Byway gravel pit

Local family calls it ‘illegal’

By FRITZ MAYER

COCHECTON, NY — A sand and gravel mining operation may soon be coming to State Route 97, and at least one family is not very pleased at the prospect.

The mining operation would be located on Route 97, diagonally across from the restored Cocheton Train Station, the future site of the proposed Upper Delaware Scenic Byway Visitors Center, and directly across from a house owned by Gary Winglovitz.

The lead agency in the permitting process for the mine is the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and according to DEC documents, the applicant proposes to mine 300,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel from a nine-acre plot over five years. The applicant, Little Joseph Realty of Farmingdale, NY on Long Island, will be required to create “a vegetated berm at least 10 feet in height … along the western perimeter of the proposed mine site to screen the facility from NYS Route 97 and nearby residences.”

The Cochecton Planning Board has already granted preliminary approval for the project and expects to address the issue again at the board’s next meeting on January 29. There is a local zoning ordinance that requires that mines be set back at least 500 feet from the road, but according to Sharron Cardone, chair of the planning board, the mine is being permitted under the Mined Land Reclamation Law, which supercedes local zoning ordinances, and, therefore, the setback requirements do not apply. A spokesoerson for the DEC agreed that mining law trumps local code and the setback for the mine will be 200 feet.

Ross Winglovitz, an engineer who has been researching the matter, and Gary’s brother, disagrees with that interpretation of the law. He said the law does pre-empt towns from dictating where buildings and other structures related to mining can be located, but the law allows towns to dictate, in general, where mining is permitted and the 500-foot setback is doing just that.

Ross further said that the 500-foot setback zoning requirement was put into place at the request of his mother in 1998 when the town updated its zoning laws. He said his mother specifically asked for the ordinance because the owner of the property indicated at the time that he intended to open a mining operation. However, the application to the DEC was not made until March 2006.

Little Joseph Realty could not be reached for comment and the DEC did not return phone calls in time for publication. But according to DEC documents, the agency has declared that the project will result in no significant environmental impacts.

There is also a question of whether the project will violate rules regarding construction projects on hills with more than a 25 percent slope. Ross said the project will not be in compliance with that rule, but Cardone said that it will be.

The project will be located within the boundaries of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. Bill Douglass, executive director of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC), said the organization has reviewed the project and it does not go beyond what is called for in the River Management Plan. He said that as long as the applicant follows the procedures it has agreed to, such as actively mining only two acres at a time and adhering to limits as to when it can operate, the mine will fall within plan guidelines.

Douglass and members of the townboard, however, are concerned that noise might become an issue if a large number of trucks begin to use the mine on the very peaceful stretch of road. But, he said, “With the town keeping an eye on the operation, as well as the UDC and the neighbors … maybe it will be all right.”