Riverkeeper pushes for thorough review of proposed Niagara Bottling plant
November 24, 2014
Riverkeeper Team
Riverkeeper is working alongside local organizations to ensure a thorough environmental review of the proposed Niagara Water Bottling Facility in the Town of Ulster – a plan in which Kingston would sell water from its municipal system.
In a few short weeks, Riverkeeper, The Woodstock Land Conservancy, Kingston Citizens, the Esopus Creek Conservancy, Save Cooper Lake, the Kingston Common Council, Town of Woodstock and hundreds of residents of the affected communities have succeeded in placing this proposal under a great deal of public scrutiny.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Town of Ulster issued a "positive declaration" identifying the potential for significant environmental impacts from the proposed plant, and agreed to require a public "scoping" process to guide the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). We encourage all concerned citizens to participate in this scoping process.
Woodstock Land Conservancy and Riverkeeper commissioned an engineering firm to identify and document some of the many potential impacts that must be considered.
The bottling plant would purchase water from the City of Kingston – drawn from the city's Cooper Lake Reservoir in Woodstock – and discharge wastewater from the plant into Lower Esopus Creek, near the site of the plant. It would also send wastewater to the Town of Ulster treatment plant.
To ensure a full review, we urge that the review consider the whole action being proposed, so that all of its related impacts will be evaluated – including the construction and operation of the plant, the sale of the water, the implications for Kingston's overall water supply, the infrastructure required for withdrawals, and the potential impacts to the waterbodies from which Kingston draws its water supplies.
Read more:
Daily Freeman article: Riverkeeper worries about Niagara Bottling plant's impact on Lower Esopus Creek
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