Toronto swim-in again

Anya Tikka
Posted 8/21/12

BETHEL, NY — Members of the Smallwood community and other county residents, some of whom have been using the public access to the swimming beach for decades, gathered for a mass swim-in protest on …

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Toronto swim-in again

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BETHEL, NY — Members of the Smallwood community and other county residents, some of whom have been using the public access to the swimming beach for decades, gathered for a mass swim-in protest on August 30 again carrying posters protesting Eagle Creek Renewable Energy’s latest filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking for permission to change the terms of its license so public swimming would no longer be allowed there.

“Toronto Reservoir is not a private lake,” written on one of the posters, seemed to summarize the group’s view on what’s happening. “This is a public reservoir, not a private beach,” said Dr. Herman Goldfarb, co-chair of Friends of Toronto.

The people at the protest explained they thought the situation has come about because some wealthy Chapin Estates homeowners want to keep the lake to themselves. Many expressed the view that at least some of the homeowners had been misled to believe they were purchasing a private lake property, and discovered only after buying property it wasn’t so.

“Most property owners around the lake are fine with us swimming here,” said Bob Barrett, one of the leaders of the protest.

There are two homeowners associations in Chapin Estates, and even within them, most people are not bothered by the public swimming in the designated area, the group members said, adding they thought it was mainly the property owner located right next to the beach who is concerned.

Co-chair of Friends of Toronto Nino Nannarone said the rights of the public to access the spot have been slowly taken back. FERC issued a final order in April saying that Eagle Creek was to “neither deny, nor encourage” public swimming.

In recent instances, local police came and ordered people out of the water, and Eagle Creek guards surveyed the area. The road to the beach is marked with “No Trespassing” signs in several places, and during the time of the protest, a guard for Eagle Creek was standing at the entrance to the public trail, and another person and a road contractor stood at the road entrance to the beach. “To make sure the road is okay,” said the security guard when asked why he was there, smiling although declining to be photographed or to comment further.

Brennan commented, “They have enlisted the public health officials and local police to try to keep us out.”

The change of license request sent by Eagle Creek got a response from FERC. A letter dated August 20 states, “Your May 6 filing indicates Eagle Creek had spoken with state health authorities who expressed concerns over swimming at the Toronto reservoir, specifically at the Toronto East Access Area, and that Eagle Creek had reconsidered its policy and had chosen to prohibit swimming. In your cover letter, you provide no information detailing these concerns or how you are unable to mitigate these concerns to satisfy the requirements of state health authorities.”

The letter says Eagle Creek is now in violation of the permit, and FERC gives the company 30 days to remedy the situation, which includes taking down the “No Swimming” signs and providing other extensive documentation of the activities it wishes to change or prohibit. FERC also requests documentation of how Eagle Creek intends to enforce the new rules if granted, and how this policy would be made public and enforced on other Eagle Creek-owned projects, some of which are federally regulated, and some of which are not.

Florence Goldfarb said the Toronto Reservoir is one part of a series of reservoirs that eventually feed into the Delaware River. Two of these, Toronto and Cliff Lake are holding reservoirs. The other three are Swinging Bridge Reservoir, Mongaup, and Rio, which provide hydropower.

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Forever,” Nannarone summarized the possible withdrawal of the swimming permit the protesters are facing. He, Barrett and Goldfarb urged everyone present to file petitions with FERC within the 30-day period to keep the swimming access open to the public.

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