SARANAC LAKE - The village of Saranac Lake must pay a $1,500 fine - $1,000 less than it anticipated - and take steps to prevent further environmental impacts from its salt/sand pile, state Department of Environmental Conservation Region 5 Director Betsy Lowe announced Friday.
The order of consent went into effect Thursday and requires that the village pay a $1,500 fine with another $3,500 suspended, provided the village meets the scheduled requirements.
Village board members complained at their meeting Monday about the fine, which they expected to be $2,500, and the DEC's switch from apparent complicity to crackdown after the Adirondack Council, an environmental advocacy group, made widespread headlines by threatening to sue the village if it didn't stop the pile's seepage. The Council also criticized the DEC, saying it had done nothing about the situation and thereby failed to enforce Environmental Conservation Law.
The DEC order also requires the village to obtain a SPDES general permit for stormwater discharges by Aug. 1, which requires incorporation of "best management practices" for all operational and maintenance activities. The village must advise the DEC by Oct. 30 which of the following courses of action it plans to follow: Construct a salt/sand shed, construct an appropriate containment facility for storing the salt and sand, or permanently remove all salt and sand from the Van Buren Street facility. Construction of a shed or containment device must begin by May 1, 2010 and be completed by Aug. 1, 2010.
Failure to meet any of the deadlines can result in payment of part or all of the suspended fine and a requirement to remove all sand and salt from the Van Buren Street facility within 90 days of written notice from DEC.
"The Village is satisfied with the terms and conditions set forth in the Order and looks forward to working closely with DEC to achieve the best possible outcome" village Manager Marty Murphy said in a prepared statement issued by the DEC.
DEC said it took legal action against the village because earlier this year, a mixture of sand and salt had leaked from the salt/sand pile on Van Buren Street into a nearby creek, violating the Environmental Conservation Law and state regulations for water quality. The DEC also said it has been working with the village for three years, encouraging it to properly store its sand and salt, and providing technical assistance that helped the village land a $175,000 grant for the sand-salt shed - an effort stymied a year ago by a disagreement between village board members over where to build the shed. The DEC said it took enforcement action only after the shed effort became stalled and after a potential lawsuit against the village was announced.
The DEC noted that it has worked with the state Department of Transportation to cover and contain all 25 of DOT's salt/sand storage areas within the Adirondack Park.
According to the DEC, sand and salt can impact the environment, aquatic habitat and human health. Sand and salt are easily carried in runoff from unprotected stockpiles during rain storms and winter snowmelt and can be deposited in nearby water bodies.
Salt dissolves easily and can enter groundwater. High salt levels in water supplies can increase health risks, especially for people on restricted salt diets and/or those with high blood pressure and/or heart problems, the DEC said. Additionally, elevated salt levels can be corrosive on household plumbing and heating systems.
Sand can alter habitats at the bottom of water bodies, smother aquatic organisms that live in the sediments, damage fish spawning areas and provide a substrate that may promote excess plant growth.