Supervisors are hoping a dispute between contractors and DEC over 57,000 cubic yards of dirt doesn’t spillover onto the jail.
“I’m not sure whether this is bad news or not,” Flood Coordinator Bill Cherry told supervisors Friday--though it could end up costing Lancaster Development $37,500 a day in fines.
Mr. Cherry said at issue is excavated soil Lancaster Development—site work contractor for the new jail—has been piling on land adjacent to the jail site owned by Tony Spenello.
Thursday, DEC sent a notice of violation to Mr. Spenello—who Mr. Cherry and County Attorney Mike West both defended as “someone who thought he was doing a good thing” by allowing Lancaster Development to use his land.
“As part of the notice, the work on Mr. Spenello’s property will need to stop and the site will need to be stabilized until a proper [permit] is presented to the DEC,” Mr. Cherry said.
A bigger concern is what impact the mountain of dirt could have on the jail site; slope failure, mudslides, and rainwater runoff top the list of possibilities.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” Mr. Cherry said; if Lancaster works with DEC on the required paperwork, it could well turn out to be a non-issue.
“But if DEC takes punitive action” it could levy fines of $37,500 a day against Lancaster Development “and we, the owner, could end up in a dispute with the contractor.”
Right now, the county isn’t included in the DEC notice of violation.
“It’s completely separate from the county project, but it could impact us,” Mr. Cherry said.
It’s already impacting Mr. Spenello, Mr. West said.
His was a gentleman’s agreement with Lancaster Development; he’s not getting paid for the use of his land and he thought he was just helping move the project forward.
“He’s just heartsick,” he said.
Mr. West also said that when the county expressed its concerns at a meeting with Lancaster representatives “they told us to mind our own business, that this had nothing to do with our property.”
Schoharie Supervisor Alan Tavenner, an engineer with Delaware Engineering said he didn’t think DEC fines against Lancaster were likely.
“But 57,000 cubic yards of dirt at the top of a hill? I am worried about this,” he said.
“The impact is unknown,” agreed Mr. Cherry, “but it rises to the level of serious enough.”

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Saturday, both Mr. Cherry and Mr. West received copies of DEC’s notice of violation.
Specifically, the notice warns Mr. Spenello and Lancaster Development “You are hearby notified that you must immediately cease all construction activity on the site including any clearing, grading and excavating and immediately stabilize all areas of disturbance.”
Mr. Cherry said the directive allows Mr. Spenello and Lancaster Development to stabilize the site and install sediment controls to prevent impacts to water quality, but nothing more until DEC approves a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for the site.
In light of the notice, he said, the county’s construction managers have notified Lancaster Development that no more dirt is to be removed from the jail site to Mr. Spenello’s—and must provide written proof that they’re handling it properly at an alternative site.
The county has also directed LaBella Associates, its construction manager, to perform the necessary tests to determine whether the dirt already piled on Mr. Spenello’s land presents any risk to the jail site.