PRESS RELEASE
February 7, 2008

Lack of State Progress on Nassau Lake Dam A Concern

Nassau Supervisor David Fleming, Schodack Supervisor Beth Secor and Rensselaer County Legislators Martin Reid and Alex Shannon say they are concerned with the lack of progress by New York State on improvements to a dam that helps protect Nassau Lake and southern Rensselaer County from further toxic contamination.

The state originally announced the project to improve the dam in 2005. Now, in 2008, there has been little to no progress on the dam improvements. The construction of a new dam will prevent sediment laden with highly volatile PCBs, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals in Nassau Lake to leach to the Valatie Kill or Kinderhook Lake.

Even more of a concern is the fact that state officials in charge of dam projects seem unaware of the Nassau Lake project and are unable to provide updates on the progress of the project. A state permit needed for the project, which is being undertaken by General Electric, has also expired.

Nassau Supervisor Fleming has alerted state officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation of the lack of progress on the project and the need to begin the project.

“The reconstruction and improvement of the dam is absolutely vital to Nassau Lake and the health, safety and quality of life of residents in that area. We have waited too long for this project and do not want to see any further delays,” said Fleming.

“The dam project has been a long time coming, and will help improve the lake area and allow residents to more fully enjoy the lake. We are eager to see work get underway on the dam and to see this project get completed,” said Secor.

Legislators Reid and Shannon said they want to continue to work with Supervisors Fleming and Secor and other local officials to help bring about progress on the improvement of the dam. The legislators and local officials also said they believe further work is needed to remediate the Loeffel site and surrounding areas from decades of toxic contamination. The Loeffel site includes more toxic waste than Love Canal and harmful pollutants have migrated from the site since fissures occurred following the capping of the site by the state in the early 1980s.

“Nassau Lake is one of the most picturesque lakes in the area. We are committed to the continued revitalization of the lake, and recognize how important the dam improvement project is to Nassau Lake,” said Legislator Alex Shannon.

“More needs to be done to clean-up the area around the toxic dump and more monitoring may be needed to ensure there is not further air and water contamination. We intend to work closely with local officials and residents to make an improvement in the conditions of Nassau Lake and the lake area,” said Legislator Martin Reid.

 Support Freedom - Support Our Troops

Back