PUBLIC NOTICE
3/4/2024 The reconvening of the 2nd Public Town Board meeting set for Tuesday March 5th, 2024 has been postponed to Thursday March 7th, 2024 due to illness.
5/11/2023
5/11/2023
Final Notice and Public Review of a Proposed
Activity in a Floodplain – Schroon Lake, New York
To: All interested Agencies, Groups, and Individuals
The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) intends to fund the following Proposed Action under the State Economic & Infrastructure Development Investment (SEID) Program. NBRC has prepared an 8-Step Decision-Making Process review in compliance with Executive Order (EO) 11988 (Floodplain Management) as amended by Executive Order 13690 (Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input), which established a more protective standard for evaluating flood risk to ensure projects funded by the Federal government are more resilient to the impacts of flooding.
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to upgrade an antiquated wastewater system that is currently failing to meet current development needs, state and federal water quality, and treatment standards. This is aligned with the SEID Program’s Basic Public Infrastructure project priority. The Proposed Action includes the improvement of the current failing wastewater conveyance system to local businesses and residences on Main Street in Schroon Lake, NY. This proposed action is located on Route 9 with coordinates: 43.835120, -73.762273. To complete the project, a temporary bypass pumping system would be installed to divert water around the section of Rogers Brook where the replacement would occur. Excavation would need to occur to find the existing pipe, and following the replacement, the trench would be backfilled. The replacement would be installed along the same route with minor deviations allowing for improved access and decreased in-stream channel impacts. The anticipated horizontal limits of disturbance are approximately 0.1 acres (about 6 feet wide by 300 feet long for the pipe replacement); the anticipated vertical limits of disturbance are up to 4 feet within areas of previous disturbance within the brook. Manholes associated with the 320 LF of the sewer main would also be rehabilitated.
The applicant considered the following alternatives in selecting the proposed action:
No Action Alternative: The No Action Alternative would result in no federal funds supporting the newly conceptualized wastewater conveyance system, thus not resulting in approximately 320 LF of existing vitrified clay pipe sewer line being replaced with a 10” HDPE pipe. Additionally, a no action alternative has the potential for a total failure of the existing sewage infrastructure, which would not fulfill the purpose of the Proposed Action. A no action alternative has the potential for greater adverse effects on local businesses, residences, and the environment due to effluent discharge into Rodgers Brook and ultimately into Schroon Lake.
Alternative Option #1 – Updating the existing wastewater conveyance system: Alternative Option #1 would constitute a full replacement of the sewer main in the Town of Schroon, NY. The replacement would be installed along the same route with minor deviations allowing for improved access and decreased in-stream channel impacts. Specifically, the proposed project would replace approximately 320 linear feet (LF) of the failing existing vitrified clay pipe sewer line with updated 10” High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe to achieve the Proposed Actions purpose and need.
Nature-based alternative: EO 13690 requires federal agencies to consider nature-based approaches when developing project alternatives. “Nature-based approach” is an umbrella term for project features
designed to mimic, restore, manage, and conserve natural processes to increase resilience. Nature-based approaches were considered as alternatives to the Proposed Action. However, no viable nature-based alternatives were identified that would still meet the need of the Proposed Action. The Proposed Action needs a Sewer Main to carry waste from the businesses and residences to another portion of the working Sewer Main. There are no nature-based alternatives that could carry waste from these facilities to another section of Sewer Main and satisfy the requirements. Therefore, a nature-based alternative is not viable for this project.
Through the 8-Step Decision-Making Process, NBRC identified the potential for the Proposed Action to impact property, lives, and natural values. The applicant has identified the following to minimize potential impacts:
Impacts to lives: The Proposed Action would have positive impacts on lives in the region. Replacing the outdated system would prevent direct or indirect impacts due to a flooding event. An updated system would prevent excess effluent discharge into Rodgers Brook and ultimately into Schroon Lake. This Proposed Action would positively impact businesses, residences, and the environment because the town’s economy is directly tied to the water quality of Schroon Lake. If the current sewage infrastructure was to fail, there is potential for human health impacts from effluent discharge and impacts to the water quality of Schroon Lake. Updating the current sewage system infrastructure would therefore help prevent the potential impacts to residents, businesses, and the environment.
Natural values impacts: Although it is anticipated that water quality in the floodplain would ultimately be enhanced due to the Proposed Action, construction activities in Rodgers Brook would have short-term adverse impacts. Short-term sedimentation would occur in Rodgers Brook and Schroon Lake due to project ground disturbance and potential soil erosion in Rodgers Brook following the initial pipe installation.
It is NBRC’s determination that the importance of the Proposed Action to update a failing sewage conveyance system in the floodplain outweighs the requirements of EO 11988 and EO 13690 to avoid direct or indirect support of floodplain development and reduce the risk of flood loss. Specifically, 1) there are no practicable alternatives to the Proposed Action and 2) the critical importance of the Proposed Action addresses the community’s needs as well as the environmental assets relating to the water quality of Rodgers Brook and Schroon Lake.
Files that document compliance with steps 1 through 6 of EO 11988 (as amended by EO 13690) are available for public inspection upon request. Please send an email request to info@clarkgroupllc.com. The 8-Step Decision-Making Process materials will be provided in electronic format unless a hard copy is specifically requested.
This notice provides people who may be affected by activities in the floodplain and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment with an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information. NBRC is accepting comments on this notice for seven (7) days from May 20, 2023, through the end of the day of May 27, 2023.
Date of Publication: May 20, 2023
For further information click on the link below:
Early Notice and Public Review of a Proposed
Activity in a Floodplain – Schroon Lake, New York
