This article was posted to the Adirondack Almanack yesterday: http://ift.tt/14T1vaf
As of December of 2014, NYCO has begun test-drilling for wollastonite within the Jay Mountain Wilderness.
According to the article, the land on which the drilling is occurring has not yet been transferred to NYCO- it is still owned by NY State, and is still classified as Wilderness. NYSDEC issued a test-drilling permit to NYCO that allows them to conduct the drilling on state land, within the Wilderness Area. The permit also allows for tree-cutting and road-construction.
This would imply that if NYCO does not find what they are looking for, they will not acquire the parcel from the state. The article doesn't state this explicitly, but I would assume that this would mean that the land swap that was approved as part of the deal would not actually occur (I've seen nothing to indicate otherwise).
The article also states that the DEC did not require NYCO to prepare an environmental impact assessment prior to the drilling, as the DEC found that "test drilling would result in no significant adverse environmental impact." It goes on to say that, according to state officials, drilling was planned so as to protect the environment.
I have to admit that, when the topic was originally being debated, I failed to comprehend some of the specifics of the proposal that this article has made more clear to me. I knew that NYCO had the option of choosing not to pursue the deal should they determine that there was not "sufficient wollastonite" on the property in question. I did not, however, understand that as part of the deal, active drilling, tree cutting, and road construction would be permitted on the parcel while it was still owned by the state and still classified as wilderness. Nor did I understand that these activities would be permitted on state land before the decision was made by NYCO whether or not to pursue the land swap. I suppose I should've realized it, though- how else would you determine whether there is sufficient wollastonite on the property?
As of December of 2014, NYCO has begun test-drilling for wollastonite within the Jay Mountain Wilderness.
Quote:
Ordinarily, mining is forbidden in the Forest Preserve, which is protected by the state constitution as “forever wild.” In 2013, however, the public voted to amend the state constitution to authorize the state to give NYCO a 200-acre parcel in the Jay Mountain Wilderness in exchange for other lands. The swap will not take place until NYCO confirms that the parcel, known as Lot 8, has sufficient wollastonite to make the deal worthwhile. |
According to the article, the land on which the drilling is occurring has not yet been transferred to NYCO- it is still owned by NY State, and is still classified as Wilderness. NYSDEC issued a test-drilling permit to NYCO that allows them to conduct the drilling on state land, within the Wilderness Area. The permit also allows for tree-cutting and road-construction.
This would imply that if NYCO does not find what they are looking for, they will not acquire the parcel from the state. The article doesn't state this explicitly, but I would assume that this would mean that the land swap that was approved as part of the deal would not actually occur (I've seen nothing to indicate otherwise).
The article also states that the DEC did not require NYCO to prepare an environmental impact assessment prior to the drilling, as the DEC found that "test drilling would result in no significant adverse environmental impact." It goes on to say that, according to state officials, drilling was planned so as to protect the environment.
I have to admit that, when the topic was originally being debated, I failed to comprehend some of the specifics of the proposal that this article has made more clear to me. I knew that NYCO had the option of choosing not to pursue the deal should they determine that there was not "sufficient wollastonite" on the property in question. I did not, however, understand that as part of the deal, active drilling, tree cutting, and road construction would be permitted on the parcel while it was still owned by the state and still classified as wilderness. Nor did I understand that these activities would be permitted on state land before the decision was made by NYCO whether or not to pursue the land swap. I suppose I should've realized it, though- how else would you determine whether there is sufficient wollastonite on the property?
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