6/19/2002
Chamber Urges Caution in Town Review of
Wellhead Protection Plan
On June 19, the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce offered testimony to the
Cortlandville Town Board regarding its consideration of a Wellhead
Protection Plan for the Route 281 corridor and vicinity.
The complete text is provided
here:
On behalf of the 430 members of the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce, I urge the town board to consider carefully the potentially damaging impact of the Wellhead Protection Plan as proposed.
The town’s effort to ensure the safety of our water supply is commendable, but the plan as submitted is far too restrictive. Not only will it prohibit new business development in more than 30 broadly defined categories, it would also make it very difficult for existing firms, some of them major employers like BorgWarner, Pall Trinity Micro, and Gutchess Lumber, to develop or expand operations in the 281 corridor.
Town leaders are doing exactly as they must in carefully examining how to manage business growth in the vicinity of the Otter-Dry Creek Aquifer, and no right-thinking person could argue that clean water isn’t vital to the quality of life we enjoy here. But it is also our belief that in moving to enact such restrictive new development guidelines, we put at risk another key component to our quality of life—jobs.
The Town Board seeks to enact the Wellhead Protection Plan by June 25, when its 90-day moratorium on development will expire. This is a fast-track turnaround on a final draft made available to the public just days ago, and given the weight of the situation we urge the board to provide time sufficient for a proper review of the plan and its long-term ramifications. There is no question that we must move effectively and purposefully to protect our water supply, but we must do so in a way that not only protects the water, but also our ability to grow and develop as a community.