Deep concerns about management of the Gilboa Dam are bringing Dam Concerned Citizens to Friday's Schoharie County Board of Supervisors meeting.
And DCC wants you there, too.
Formed years ago as a watchdog group to monitor the dam, DCC is worried about the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation's role before and during Irene.
To that end, DCC members plan to encourage county supervisors to take action.
"We need the public to show that we'll support them in dealing with DEP," said Howard Bartholomew. "If the public's behind them, the supervisors will be encouraged."
Friday's meeting is at 10am at the Carlisle Town Hall on Crommie Road; the supervisors are meeting there because county buildings were damaged by flooding.
Worried about the conditions of the 90-year-old, City-owned dam, DCC wants supervisors to press for:
•A full disclosure of the dam's conditions.
•A review by a third party of dam's monitoring instruments.
•The placement of additional monitoring instruments.
•The creation of a public inspector and observer of construction at the dam who would communicate with county officials.
•A permanent Gilboa Dam/Schoharie Reservoir engineer who would live in the area.
Those needs stem not only from the crisis during Irene, but before.
Just days before the hurricane struck, Mr. Bartholomew and his wife, Sherrie--DCC president--saw a new notch at the dam and a bulkhead in place to divert water for construction.
County officials hadn't been notified of the work, the Bartholomews claimed, adding that it was one more instance of DEP failing to communicate well with the county.
"The dam wasn't breached," Mr. Bartholomew said, "but it was a breach of trust with the City.
"The City is so high-handed because they can get away with it."
Specifically, DCC wants supervisors to push for state legislation mandating DEP's cooperation and communication with the county.
That demand and others point in one direction, Ms. Bartholomew said--safety at the dam and the Schoharie Valley below it.
"Some people think the dam caused the flooding," she said. "It didn't. But it's 90 years old, and we have to be sure it's safe."