The Rensselaer County Legislature adopted a new and strengthened version of a County Drinking Water Protection at a special meeting on November 23.
[private]Many areas of Rensselaer County rely on wells to provide water for drinking and household use. The new law adopted November 23 offers a new level of protection to property owners and the County to ensure water resources are maintained for current and future generations.
The adopted version of the Drinking Water Protection Law includes a mile-long blast radius, a two-mile blast radius around federal Superfund toxic waste sites, including the Loeffel toxic waste site. The adopted version includes a provision allowing municipalities in the County, particularly those with public drinking water systems, to opt-out of the law due to special circumstances.
“This law offers protection for residents and properties served by wells, while still maintaining flexibility to allow the County to pursue economic development opportunities in the future,” said Chair of the Legislature Stan Brownell.
“Many residents have come to us with concerns about the safety of their wells in the event of sustained industrial blasting. We believe this new law effectively answers those concerns and offers new measures of protection,” added Vice Chair of the Legislature Alex Shannon.
“This is an effective and flexible law that is at least as effective as any other drinking water protection law in upstate. The work that went into formulating this law can be seen by the support the law is receiving from residents,” said Legislator Judith Breselor, a member of the Legislature’s Environmental Committee.
A number of residents were in attendance at the November 23 meeting to witness adoption of the law. A petition with nearly 3,700 signatures supporting the legislation was presented at the November 10 legislative meeting.[/private]