The Adirondack Park Agency will hold its March meeting on Thursday and Friday, March 14 and 15 at its headquarters in Ray Brook.  Here are some of the items on the agenda and the Adirondack Council’s reaction to them:

 Presentation on Delegation Authority:

Overall the Council recognizes the authority of the APA Board to delegate approval authority in accordance with section 809 of the APA Act and as specified within the APA’s Rules and Regulations. To date the authority vested in the Deputy Director of Regulatory Programs has been appropriate to accommodate various items that are deemed routine, non-controversial, and meet pre-established criteria that have been approved by the Board. The Council believes that extending this approval authority beyond the level of the Deputy Director should only be made for unusual or extraordinary circumstances and should not be done simply to expedite administrative handling of more mundane tasks or to meet statutory time clocks. Rather than expanded delegated authority the Agency should make a public request for additional staffing, and more resources to better support agency staff.

Final Hammond Pond Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (UMP) -Board Authorization to Proceed to Public Comment on SLMP Conformance:

(Support going to comment period) As the Council noted in its December 7, 2018 letter to the DEC, we believe, “the draft UMP represents another positive step towards implementing a phased wildlands monitoring program.” We look forward reviewing the proposed Final UMP for compliance with the SLMP, particularly with regard to carrying capacity limits on waterbodies found within the Unit and other issues we raised in our previous comments.

Model for Protection-Lake George Road Salt Reduction Initiative Presentation: The Council strongly supports the work being done by the Lake George Waterkeeper and their partners in the Lake George Watershed to address road salt contamination. Road salt impacts are one of the signature environmental and health threats facing the Adirondacks, and we applaud the APA for providing a platform for this important work to be showcased. As efforts to curb road salt grow across the region, the Agency will be an important forum for engaging on this important issue. Additionally, we salute Mr. Navitsky as the recent recipient of the Linn H. Enslow Memorial Award from the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA), for his work on biomonitoring and documenting water quality impacts on Lake George.