Why is IBM Tech City Being Ignored by CH2MHill?

Tech City site favorable, says HVEDC consultant Jim Gordon | Aug-14-09, 12:19 PM

The quest for industries that would turn a dot on the map into a hive of 21st-century business activity has riveted the Hudson Valley with its visions of spiffy Seattle-like office parks filled with high-paid breadwinners. Where would that dot be?

The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. (HVEDC) is pushing the Winston Farm in Saugerties as the premier site to develop shovel-ready capacity in the Hudson Valley. There’s acreage and easy Thruway access. But the HVEDC’s own consultant is on record saying Tech City in Kingston – a former IBM campus – has a “favorable” rating while Winston Farm attains only a “neutral” rating.

The results do not necessarily pit the two Ulster County sites as antagonists, according to the HVEDC, which sees room for both to thrive. The two-is-better-than-one philosophy is echoed by the Ulster County development chief. Tech City sees it differently, saying it is clearly the right choice.

As the town of Saugerties prepares to host an Aug. 20 public meeting regarding development of the Winston Farm as a shovel-ready site that was selected by HVEDC after a closed review of potential sites in a nine-county area, a report prepared by consultants for the HVEDC shows that Tech City in Kingston scores higher in all the key metrics used by the consultant for creating a shovel-ready site in the region.

HVEDC officials say the report does not contain all the information they used in deciding which site to highlight as the best prospect. They say they will make more information available soon.
HVEDC refused requests to make the report public, but the 55-page document was obtained by HV Biz from state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill.

Saugerties Violates Clean Water Act 26 Times Since 2004

The New York Times reports that since 2004 Saugerties has violates the Clean Water Act 26 times:

http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/polluters/new-york/12477

	Facility Name	City	Last Inspected	Violations	Fines
	Saugerties (V) Dock Street STP	Saugerties	Feb. 13, 2006	18	$0
	Glasco WWTP	Saugerties	Feb. 8, 2006	4	$0
	Malden On Hudson WWTP	Saugerties	Feb. 11, 2004	4	$0
	Hits On The Hudson	Saugerties	No Information	0	$0
	Horse Show Facility	Saugerties	June 1, 2004	0	$0
	Philips Components	Saugerties	March 17, 2003	0	$0
	Saugerties MS4 Storm Sewers	Saugerties	No Information	0	$0
	Saugerties MS4 Storm Sewers	Saugerties	No Information	0	$0

This zip contains 8 facilities of 4,606 in the state.

In parts of New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, California and other states where sewer systems cannot accommodate heavy rains, untreated human waste has flowed into rivers and washed onto beaches. Drinking water in parts of New Jersey, New York, Arizona and Massachusetts shows some of the highest concentrations of tetrachloroethylene, a dry cleaning solvent that has been linked to kidney damage and cancer. (Specific types of water pollution across the United States will be examined in future Times articles.)

Records analyzed by The Times indicate that the Clean Water Act has been violated more than 506,000 times since 2004, by more than 23,000 companies and other facilities, according to reports submitted by polluters themselves. Companies sometimes test what they are dumping only once a quarter, so the actual number of days when they broke the law is often far higher. And some companies illegally avoid reporting their emissions, say officials, so infractions go unrecorded.

Some violations are relatively minor. But about 60 percent of the polluters were deemed in “significant noncompliance” — meaning their violations were the most serious kind, like dumping cancer-causing chemicals or failing to measure or report when they pollute.

Finally, the Times’s research shows that fewer than 3 percent of Clean Water Act violations resulted in fines or other significant punishments by state officials. And the E.P.A. has often declined to prosecute polluters or force states to strengthen their enforcement by threatening to withhold federal money or take away powers the agency has delegated to state officials.

Here are some commercial labs certified by NYS:

http://www.wadsworth.org/labcert/elap/comm.html

LABID: 10709: ADIRONDACK ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC

314 NORTH PEARL STREET
ALBANY NY 12207
MR. PAUL BATISTA (518) 434 -4546

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions
• Non Potable Water
• Potable Water
• Solid and Hazardous Waste

LABID: 11740: ALPINE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC.

1146 CENTRAL AVENUE
ALBANY NY 12205
MR. CRAIG PETREIKIS (518) 453 -0146

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions

LABID: 11129: FIBERS ID INC

1670 WESTERN AVE BLDG. B
ALBANY NY 12203-4218
MR. MICHAEL H. HAY (518) 456 -4501

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions
• Solid and Hazardous Waste

LABID: 11799: JH CONSULTING GROUP, INC

15 LYNWOOD DRIVE
LOUDONVILLE NY 12211-1347
MR. JACK HALSTUCH (518) 785 -9839

Approved for the following categories:
• Non Potable Water
• Potable Water

LABID: 11917: RESPONSE LABS LLC

12 COLVIN AVENUE
ALBANY NY 12206
MR. JUSTIN ADAMS (518) 482 -5630

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions

LABID: 10350: ST. PETER'S BENDER LABORATORY

19 WAREHOUSE ROW
ALBANY NY 12205
DR. JEFFREY D. HUBBARD (518) 525 -5480

Approved for the following categories:
• Non Potable Water
• Potable Water

LABID: 11859: THE HOME INSPECTOR, LLC

14 TAMARACK LANE
NISKAYUNA NY 12309
MR. DOUG VIERATH (518) 496 -7240

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions

LABID: 11779: WKP LABORATORIES INC

565 WASHINGTON AVENUE
ALBANY NY 12206
MS. NOELLE BRUNO (518) 431 -0007

Approved for the following categories:
• Air and Emissions

DA Carnright and Sheriff VanBlarcum question County Supervisor Hein's authority to investigate

DA: lewd e-mail probe could raise legal issues

By Paul Brooks

Times Herald-Record

Posted: September 04, 2009 - 2:00 AM

KINGSTON — Ulster County Executive Mike Hein's call for a special investigation of pornographic e-mails sent via county computers raises warning flags with District Attorney Holley Carnright.

"I am not sure the county executive has the authority to investigate my office," Carnright said Thursday, pointing to ongoing investigations, undercover work and more.

"People need to slow down and think about what is going on here. I cannot allow anyone to do a broad investigation of the DA's e-mail," he said.

Hein has directed the county's special labor counsel to investigate the lewd e-mails sent by two employees in the district attorney's office and two in the sheriff's office.

Hein said Wednesday the e-mails were sent on the county computer system and violated county policy and procedures.

He urged Carnright and Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum to immediately discipline the employees involved. Both Carnright and VanBlarcum said Thursday that their employees had been suspended.

Carnright said no laws were violated in any instance. His employees suggested the suspensions as the proper step, Carnright said.

The sheriff's employees realized what they did was wrong, VanBlarcum said.

The incidents are still "extremely serious" in the eyes of Hein. He wants further investigation to determine, among other things, whether this was a single incident of improper e-mails.

Hein said he has the authority for an outside investigation and plans to discuss the scope of the outside investigation with Carnright and VanBlarcum.

"We have no desire in any shape or form to compromise any of the incredibly important work done in the DA's office," Hein said. "That being said, this cannot and will not be taken lightly by my administration."

VanBlarcum said he sides with the DA on the legal issues. "We don't know where it is going yet," he said, "or even whether it is going anywhere."

pbrooks@th-record.com

The density of local government in New York is astounding.

Amazingly, New York has more than 10,521 overlapping governments, including counties, towns, villages, school districts, special districts and public authorities. These entities impose layer upon layer of taxing structures--with citizens receiving multiply tax bills annually--resulting in the highest local property tax burden in the nation.

On December 11, 2008 Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced a plan to empower communities across the state with the ability to fundamentally reorganize and consolidate local governments. In May, the Attorney General, after working with various groups, citizens and the Legislature, announced legislation, entitled The New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act ("Empowerment Act").

The Empowerment Act received overwhelming bi-partisan support and was passed by both house of the Legislature in June. The Governor recently signed the bill into law. You can find out more about how the Empowerment Act works on this site.

New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act

IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEARING - Tuesday

2nd PUBLIC MEETING: Referredum to Consolidate Police Services.
Sept.8 @7:00PM | Senior Citizen's Center THE VILLAGE BOARD TO HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT It may be the LAST OPPORTUNITY for the public to speak!
This is the second of two (2) meetings that the Village of Saugerties Board of Trustees will hold to discuss the results of a two (2) year study to combine the police departments of both the Village and Town of Saugerties. This meeting is an opportunity for the public to voice their opinions, ask questions and express their support for a referendum (possibly in October) which will allow Village voters to vote on the merger of the two police departments. The Village is currently $7,000,000.00 in debt and tax revenues have falled far short of Village projections. The Study (which is available online HERE). It clarifies the savings and benefits of combining police departments.