HORTONVILLE, NY — The Delaware Town Board is currently in the process of taking over the town’s water system. The current system, which serves the hamlet of Callicoon, is privately owned. The town wants to take ownership and make improvements to the water system. The project is being overseen by Delaware Engineering, an engineering firm based in Albany that serves parts of New York State.

William Brown from Delaware Engineering was there to give the board an update at this month’s town board meeting. First, he explained what they have accomplished so far. “We worked with the town this past fall to put together an engineering report to look at what the needs of the system are,” he said. “Based on that report, the town was awarded a grant to go toward financing the upgrades for the water system.”

The next step is to move forward with the water-district formation, “so that that financing can ultimately be locked in and the town can move forward with operating the system and doing the improvements that we need to meet the health department rules and regulations,” Brown said.

The main reason he was at the town board meeting this month was to present the findings of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process. This is required by the Department of Environmental Conservation in New York State to consider environmental impacts equally with social and economic factors during discretionary decision-making. Brown said, “After last month we prepared a SEQRA review package and submitted it to a slew of state, federal and local agencies from the county up, and we’re seeing some input.”

Brown went over the review, which takes many factors into consideration, such as the effect on local wildlife, and whether there will be new energy uses. He stated multiple times that the project will not break new ground; it will only make upgrades to existing structures. He explained that based on their findings, the project will have a minimal environmental impact.

The board then presented a few resolutions. They accepted the environmental assessment form, and made a “negative declaration,” meaning the project was determined not to have significant adverse environmental impacts.