The Dam Concerned Citizens group is off-course, said one of its primary founders Friday.
Lester Hendrix of Schoharie, a primary founder of the group after New York City officials detailed the potential dangers at the Gilboa Dam, blasted DCC officials and said further measures should be taken on inspections.
“Dam Concerned Citizens have missed the boat again,” said Mr. Hendrix, who attended Thursday’s meeting.
“They talked about inspection of the dam during its reconstruction and ignored the need for on-going independent inspection, which I have repeatedly discussed with them and they have repeatedly given mere lip service.”
DCC member Howard Bartholomew said the group is in favor of having independent inspectors and officials are pursuing grant funds that would help pay for the inspectors.
He said the county is not in the condition to pay a yearly cost of about $80,000 for that service.
Mr. Bartholomew said he wants the state legislature to establish strict guidelines and parameters on the inspections and not just have them determined by the state DEC.
“We want it mandated,” he said.
Mr. Bartholomew said he sees the same concerns as Mr. Hendrix.
“We’re singing off the same sheet of music as Les,” he said Friday. He said that Mr. Hendrix is still a DCC member.
Mr. Hendrix said that legislation is needed to require the owners of high-hazard dams to pay for annual inspections by qualified engineers that are hired by the downstream local government. The inspectors should also report publicly to those governments.
The legislation should also make the owner of the dams liable for the damage downstream in case of a dam failure “due to negligence or failure to comply with inspection requirements.” Mr. Hendrix said bonds should be required to protect the dam’s immediate (possibly 50 miles) victims.
Mr. Hendrix, though, had some harsh words for the efforts of the DCC in succeeding getting changes in inspections.
“DCC won't pursue this because it is controlled by people who enjoy playing cozy with political bigwigs and parading in front of television cameras every month in Schoharie,” Mr. Hendrix said Friday.
“Thursday night DCC bragged about how well they work with government. Government was the problem to begin with and is the problem now. Government does not want independent inspection because it wants to pad its own bureaucracy and thump its chest.
“The state's new inspection regulations and additional staff are just fatter, ineffective bureaucracy subject to change when dams fall out of the limelight and lose politically controlled funding.”
Mr. Bartholomew said it is important that DCC members go to the county board meeting.
“The reason we go is to have a presence there,” he said, noting that the DCC now has more than 200 members in three counties.
He said DCC members also attend all flood committee meetings and SPDES meetings in Kingston.
DCC has worked hard and members now have a working but not adversarial relationship with the DEP, Mr. Bartholomew said.
“We have real differences but there are things we are adamant about.”
Mr. Bartholomew said group members are very appreciative of what Mr. Hendrix has done for the group and for the county.
“We take his thoughts into consideration.”
DCC, City and other officials have worked well together, Mr. Bartholomew said.
“A meaningful discussion without anger accomplishes more,” he said.
“People will listen but you can’t listen when your mouth is open.”
That does not mean that the DCC will not fight what it deems important, he said.
“We will work for everything we can get,” he said. No one is going to pull the wool over our eyes.”
The City, which is mandated to provide quality water, and the areas surrounding the dams and reservoirs should have a working, symbiotic relationship, Mr. Bartholomew said.