ENB Region 3 Completed Applications 05/24/2006

The Department has made a tentative determination to approve this application for a new SPDES permit # NY-0271420 to authorize a discharge of up to 25,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day to Water Index # H-158-4-2, a Class C(t) unnamed tributary to Sawkill Creek, from the proposed Red Hook Commons development.  A draft SPDES permit with DEC proposed effluent limits and monitoring requirements is available for review at the DEC Region 3 headquarters in New Paltz.  The permittee will be required to maintain records and report data to verify compliance with the SPDES permit conditions and discharge limits.   

Red Hook Commons is an approximately 20.98 acre proposed mixed residential and commercial development located on the former Perx site in the Village of Red Hook and the location of a recent DEC environmental remediation effort.  The proposed development consists of 96 one-bedroom senior housing units, 24 two-bedroom apartments, 6 commercial buildings comprising16,000 square feet. Approximately 15 acres will remain forest, meadow, and wetland.  

As part of the development, a 12 foot wide road with a 2 foot by 4 foot box culvert is proposed across a 25 foot wide branch of NYS Freshwater Wetland KE-3 to provide access to the sewage treatment plant. The access road will also disturb a total of approximately 320 linear feet of the associated 100-foot regulated Adjacent Area.  

The applicant also proposes to disturb approximately 3 acres of the Adjacent Area in conjunction with the construction of stormwater management features for the development and in conjunction with the construction of the sewage treatment outfall.

The sewage treatment outfall is proposed to impact approximately 15 linear feet of the bed and bank of the above mentioned protected stream.

    The Department has prepared a Draft Permit pursuant to Article 19 (Air Pollution Control) of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) and Title V of the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments and made a tentative determination to approve this Title V Permit Renewal for the facility.  The facility is subject to new requirements of Parts 237 and 238.

    This facility consists of two multiple fuel-fired boilers both rated at 600 MW, and an auxiliary boiler used to supply steam heat to the facility when units 1 and 2 are offline.

    By acceptance of this permit, the permittee agrees that the permit is contingent upon strict compliance with the ECL, all applicable regulations, the General Conditions specified and any Special Conditions included as part of this permit.

    In accordance with 6NYCRR Parts 621.5(d)(9) and 201-6.4(c), the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)  has the authority to bar issuance of any Title V Facility Permit if it is determined not to be in compliance with applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act or  6NYCRR Part 201.

    The Draft Permit and Permit Review Report may be viewed and printed from the Department web site at: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dar/boss/afs/index.html.   Persons wishing to inspect the subject Title V files, including the application with all relevant supporting materials, the draft permit, and all other materials available to the DEC (the "permitting authority") that are relevant to this permitting decision should contact the DEC representative listed below.  It is recommended that an appointment be made to confirm the availability of the subject files.  The DEC will endeavor to make the files available within two (2) business days of contact, during normal business hours (8:30 am through 4:45 pm), unless the requestor wishes to inspect the files at a later date.

    DEC will evaluate the application and the comments received on it to determine whether to hold a public hearing.  A public hearing may be legislative or adjudicatory.  A legislative public hearing is a proceeding which provides an additional opportunity for public comment.  DEC’s determination to hold a legislative public hearing will be based on whether a significant degree of public interest exists.   If a legislative public hearing is to be held, a Notice of Hearing will be published which will include the time and place of the hearing and submitting comments.   The applicant and all persons who  have filed comments on the permit will be notified by mail of the public hearing.  Comments and requests for a legislative public hearing should be in writing and addressed to the Department representative listed below.

    An adjudicatory public hearing is a trial type proceeding which provides the opportunity for adjudication on the basis of evidence, including direct testimony and cross examination.  An adjudicatory hearing is held only if substantive and significant issues relating to any findings or determinations the Department is required to make pursuant to the Environmental Conservation Law exist.  A copy of the Department’s permit hearing procedures is available upon request or on the Department web site at: http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ohms/gudph1.htm.

The applicant proposes to modify a portion of Freshwater Wetland D-11 (Class I) and the 100 foot adjacent area in order to construct various improvements to an existing single family residence on an 8.8-acre parcel.  Activities proposed within the Freshwater Wetland are limited to construction of a wooden footbridge and unpaved foot path; activities proposed within the adjacent area include realignment of an existing paved parking area, construction of a new pool house and deck area, relocation of existing walkways, fence and retaining walls, removal and reconstruction of a catch basin, propane tank and utilities, and construction of new drainage improvements. The total area of disturbance to the wetland is less than 0.01 acre; the total area of disturbance to the adjacent area is 0.58 acre.  The project is located on the west side of Siscowit Road, approximately 2000 feet northeast of East Woods Road  in the Town of Pound Ridge, Westchester County.

     The applicant proposes to drill Test Well #4 within the 100-foot wide adjacent area of DEC regulated Freshwater Wetland #F-76 (Class 2).   They also propose to construct a well access road and a buried water line to connect the well to their water supply distribution system

       Test Well #4 is located along Plum Brook approximately halfway between the applicant's existing pump house and existing Well #3, off Hallock's Run, of the Somers Chase Subdivision, in the Town of Somers, Westchester county, NY.