Saturday, March 30, 2024

Chautauqua Lake Wetlands: Keep The Lake A Lake

WHAT CAN I DO LINKS BELOW FOR YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD
 
HERBICIDES
 
Over the past several years, the CLP (Chautauqua Lake Partnership) has worked to submit permits for herbicide applications along the shorelines of Lake Chautauqua. The DEC has been “spotty” at best in approving herbicide application along the shorelines. The DEC has noted that they are surprised at the lack of communication from the town and village officials. They note that they typically hear from the residents in the areas, but not from the officials. Your silence has obviously been noted. What has also been noted is the huge volume of anti-herbicide communications. We can’t say it is a competition, per se, but they are listening to what they hear.
We are asking you to send emails to the DEC in favor of the herbicides. The permits are in and being strongly debated. Your voice needs to be heard so that the DEC hears your concerns and needs. This link https://chqlake.org/call-to-action-herbicide-permits-2024/ provides a form for you on the CLP website to fill out and express your desire to have herbicides prudently applied in the lake. It’s simple. Once completed and sent, you will receive a copy of what you sent. Make sure to note IF you are a township or village official - include your title.
 
WETLANDS
 
The wetlands issue is huge in your area too. The presence of weeds will contribute to a wetlands designation. It’s all tied together. The designation of wetlands will have far reaching implications in your area and to our lake. The CLP website has a similar form for the wetlands issue. We need to overwhelm the DEC with our concerns about the Wetlands Regulations and the detrimental impact designating wetlands on the shorelines of the lake will have on us all! The form for wetland emails to DEC can be accessed at this link https://chqlake.org/wetlands-call-to-action/ It is set up the same way the herbicide form is set up; once completed and sent, you will receive a copy of what you sent. Again, make sure to note IF you are a township or village official - include your title.
 
PLEASE FILL OUT BOTH OF THE ABOVE FORMS AS THEY GO TO DIFFERENT RECIPIENTS AT THE DEC!
 
You can also send a copy of the emails you send to the DEC to NYS and county officials; you can find their email addresses at https://chqlake.us16.list-manage.com/track/click...
The more DEC and the government officials hear from local officials, property owners and lake users, the better!
 
Respectfully,
 
CLP Board of Directors
 
Rick and Julia McMahon (R )716- 665-8972 (J) 485-3202 Associate Brokers and Partners in Real Estate Advantage

Saturday, March 09, 2024

‘Keep The Lake A Lake’

 

 

 

 

 


CLP Sets Meeting To Discuss ‘Wetlands’ Issue

Looking out from the public boat launch at Lakewood Community Park to Burtis Bay on Chautauqua Lake. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Two area real estate agents have expressed concerns about the possible expansion of wetlands protections in the south basin of Chautauqua Lake.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said recently it is likely parts of the south basin of Chautauqua Lake will become a protected wetlands area under new regulations being considered by the DEC. While no one knows exactly how the new regulations will affect the lake, many have concerns.

“I would say it’s impacted our real estate,” Julia McMahon, of Associate Brokers and Partners in Real Estate Advantage said. “I hope it’s not going to be severe, but it could be.”

Recently, Richard McMahon of Associate Brokers and Partners in Real Estate Advantage said that a client of his was going to make a property purchase in Burtis Bay area, but backed out of the deal when the DEC made its announcement. Richard McMahon also is a director on the Chautauqua Lake Partnership board.

In 2022, according to the DEC, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law historic revisions to New York’s Freshwater Wetlands Act. New York’s original Freshwater Wetlands Act was enacted in 1975 to regulate activities near larger wetlands, greater than 12.4 acres, and smaller wetlands considered to be of unusual local importance. The new wetlands law eliminates the use of the old, inaccurate wetland maps and clarifies that all wetland areas greater than 12.4 acres are subject to Article 24 regulations. Freshwater wetlands are lands and submerged lands – commonly called marshes, swamps, sloughs, bogs, and flats – that support aquatic or semi-aquatic vegetation.

Looking out from near the Chautauqua Shoreline Apartments, 75 Marine Drive, Celoron, to Burtis Bay on Chautauqua Lake. The DEC is proposing new regulations that could result in the lower basin (Burtis Bay area) of Chautauqua Lake to be designated as a wetlands area. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Julia McMahon said the proposed designation will hurt Chautauqua County tourism. Julia McMahon said that tourism is not just isolated to the lake.

“It will hurt Chautauqua County. Period,” Julia McMahon said.

Not only do tourists gravitate to the lake, she said, but they venture out to other cities, villages and towns.

“It is likely that much of the South Basin will be considered regulated wetlands, particularly the shallow areas containing submerged vegetation ringing the shoreline. The process of delineating New York State regulated wetlands is guided by New York’s delineation manual and focuses primarily on an evaluation of the dominant plants growing in a particular area,” TJ Pignataro, DEC Assistant Public Information officer, recently said.

Richard McMahon said the CLP will become the lead agency on the wetlands issue, and will continue to discuss herbicide use in the lake.

“If everything gets designated wetlands, herbicide use is just a moot point,” Richard McMahon said.

The CLP has scheduled an informational meeting, Richard McMahon said, at 10 a.m. at the Lawson Center, 73 Lakeside Drive, Bemus Point on March 16. Some topics are herbicide treatments, and environmental and safety acts as well as the potential wetlands designation. The meeting also will be live-streamed for people who can’t attend in person. To obtain the address for the live stream, visit chqlake.org/2024/02/clp-meeting/

“Everybody is welcome,” Richard McMahon said. “It’s an open discourse meeting. We’re inviting all the county officials too.”

Richard McMahon said that the potential wetlands situation is the equivalent to a factory moving out of the area.

“If you, all of a sudden, had a factory that just decided to move out, you lose that tax base, you lose that payroll base, you lose everything. This is the same thing. You’re just coming in. You’re designating an area, wetlands. You’re going to lose all net real estate value, and it’s going to trickle down very, very quickly,” Richard McMahon said.

In January, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos urged state residents to review and comment on the development of proposed regulations that would further protect freshwater wetlands statewide.

Now that the comment period is closed, Pignataro said the DEC appreciates all of those who submitted comments on the updates during the recent public comment period and looks forward to integrating them into the draft regulatory proposal, which is scheduled to be complete and available for public review and additional opportunities for public comment later this year.

Lakewood Village Trustee Ellen Barnes noted that property owners who are directly affected will see their property values reduced by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Lakefront property owners who live closer to Burtis Bay will be impacted the most.

And James Wehrfritz, a former lake consultant with the town of Ellery said it’s estimated that 1,000,000 additional acres of new wetlands will be added state-wide with onerous restrictions on development and use.

Through a Freedom of Information Law request Wehrfritz said property values in the South Basin will decrease.

“Wetland-related regulation of properties not so regulated prior to the new Wetlands Law will surely lose value, assessments will be reduced, associated property and school tax revenue will decline, and tax rates will have to be increased,” Wehrfritz said.

The McMahons have been real estate agents for about 30 years and their predominant market is the lake.

“Keep the lake a lake,” Richard McMahon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For More Information On Chautauqua Lake & County Real Estate and Living Visit: chautauqualakehomes.com

Sunday, November 05, 2023

Dredging In Chautauqua Lake - Post Journal

 


If you have been to meetings about the management of Chautauqua Lake’s plants or algae in the last 30 years, then you’ve likely heard someone proclaim the need to “dredge the lake” or “dredge the outlet.”

The Chautauqua Lake Outlet was dredged over 100 years ago for steamboat navigation. Canals leading to the lake have also been dredged. Streams produce deltas – sand and gravel bars where the current slows and where the stream drops its coarse sediment loads. Dredging navigation channels for marinas and boat access at creek mouths has happened routinely through the years on this lake. Municipalities have dredged the bars at the mouth of various streams. In a natural stream system, those sediment “crescents” act as dams and slow water upstream, causing it to flood its floodplain and drop debris and sediments upstream, with less going into the lake.

Many owners of creekfront properties want creek mouths dredged to reduce the incidence of flooding and property damage. Some with boats in creeks upstream want the mouths of the creeks dredged so they can motor in and out of the lake. Some delta deposits, such as at Dutch Hollow Creek, can extend so far into the lake that they can be navigational hazards to unaware night boaters. The removal of sediment crescents at creek mouths can have negative impacts though, such as allowing the stream to push sediments faster and further into the lake and accelerating bottom erosion in the stream, resulting in even more sediment and nutrients flowing into the lake. Dredging deltas can also remove important fish spawning and nesting habitat.

Presently, some people are suggesting dredging organic sediments on a scale large enough to try to reduce internal phosphorus loading to the lake, while others suggest dredging shallow vegetated areas such as Burtis Bay from 3-5 feet down to 11 feet or more to make it difficult for plants to grow to the surface and interfere with boating. In 2012, Chautauqua County hired Ecologic to undertake a dredging feasibility study for several creek mouths and Burtis Bay. The resulting 2013 Dredging Feasibility Report projected that it would cost roughly $3.97 million to dredge 7.4 acres of Burtis Bay down a depth of 2.5 feet , which is not deep enough to make that area free of plant growth. Due to the presence of arsenic in Burtis Bay sediments, it was determined at that time that sediments dredged from this bay would not be able to be used as land cover and, instead, would have to go to a secure landfill such as the Chautauqua County Landfill, with significantly higher cost. Estimates were also made for dredging 4 acres at Bemus Creek, 1 acre at Dutch Hollow Creek, 6.5 acres at Goose Creek, and 7.5 acres at Mud Creek. These estimates, plus the Burtis Bay estimate, totaled $8,977,000, with additional costs for purchasing land for staging and dewatering sediments and for special treatment of arsenic contaminated sediments, etc. The rough total figure came to nearly $10 million to dredge just over 26 acres. The report concluded that, “the dredging of nearshore areas of this lake is feasible, but costly.” It went on to say, “Dredging can help mitigate past sediment deposits, but effective control measures must be in place to reduce the rate of future sediment deposition.” This report can be found at the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance website at chautauqualakealliance.org.

In reviewing this report, one may conclude that small-scale channel maintenance dredging for marina access and creek mooring is likely to be economically feasible to continue, but large-scale, high volume dredging to increase depth to below the zone where light powers plant growth would seem to be very expensive and cost prohibitive. For now, the best we can do is take effective regulatory and voluntary actions to capture and infiltrate stormwater and to control erosion from the watershed, shoreline, and lake bottom.

Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a non-profit organization working to preserve and enhance the water quality, scenic beauty and ecological health of the lakes, streams, wetlands and watersheds of the Chautauqua region. For more information, visit chautauquawatershed.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

For More Information On Chautauqua Lake & County Real Estate and Living Visit: chautauqualakehomes.com

Monday, August 14, 2023

Public Meeting on Chautauqua Lake Boat User Fees Set for August 15

 


Chautauqua Lake

Chautauqua County will be holding another public meeting to discuss Chautauqua Lake boat user fees.

The meeting will take place 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 15 in the Legislative Chambers of the Gerace Office Building in Mayville.

County Executive PJ Wendel said at a meeting held April 12 on boat user fees that the fee would be used to help fund lake maintenance efforts that are currently being done as well to help fund the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, who uses a metric system to distribute funds for lake efforts. Wendel said this would help reduce the amount local foundations have to support lake efforts.

For 2023, total funding requests for lakes and waterways is $2,953,296 with only $234,000 available funding from the 2% occupancy tax that goes toward protection of lakes and streams. The other 3% of the occupancy tax is designated toward promotion of tourism.

Wendel said in April that a committee to study the boat fee could include members from fishing associations, boat clubs, elected officials, and travel and tourism.

Should a recommendation to create a boat user fee be approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature, it would still require Home Rule approval from New York State in order to be implemented.

Tuesday’s meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed through the County’s YouTube page.

Those with questions about the meeting may contact Rebecca Wurster at the Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development at (716) 363-3620 or at wursterr@chqgov.com.

 

 

 

 

 

For More Information On Chautauqua Lake & County Real Estate and Living Visit: chautauqualakehomes.com