THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

20 November 2022

Matthew MacDonald
Chief of Staff
Office of 114th District Representative Matthew Simpson
New York State Assembly
140 Glen St.
Glens Falls, NY 12801

RE: The pathetic and pitiful Poestenkill PFAS Whitewash

Dear Mr. MacDonald:

Would you please inform Assemblymember Simpson that to aid him in his due diligence in connection with this above matter, I am sending to him by mail a document compiled by myself titled "COMPREHENSIVE CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD IN SUPPORT," which record supports the "Executive Summary" the Assemblymember is presently in possession of, as well the "REPORT IN DETAIL," relevant sections of which were are e-mailed to your office on 17 November 2022.

Relevant paragraphs of the Chronology are as follows:

1. The factual record in this matter can fairly be said to begin on October 14, 1993 with an affirmation of Assistant New York State Attorney General Kathleen Liston Morrison in the Matter of Paul Plante v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany County Index No. 4840-93, submitted to Judge Robert Williams of Albany County Supreme Court wherein she stated under oath to Judge Williams of Albany County Supreme Court as follows with respect to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulatory insufficiency in connection with the issuance of a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit for a solid waste management facility, in this case a garbage transfer station permit located at the intersection of Rtes. 66 & 351 in the Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, which transfer station is hydraulically up-gradient from this professional engineer’s water supply well for domestic purposes as follows:

"I have read the Verified Petition, the Department permit file, and the relevant statutes and regulations."

"The state respondents admit that the Department (NYSDEC) erred in issuing the permit when it had an incomplete application under Environmental Conservation Law ("ECL") Article 70, the Uniform Procedures Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder in 6 NYCRR Part 621, the Solid Waste Management Act, ECL Article 27, and the regulations promulgated thereunder in 6 NYCRR Part 360, and failed to comply with the requirements of Article 8, the State Environmental Quality Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder in 6 NYCRR Part 617."


* * * * *

3. With respect to the failure of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to consider the impacts of the drainage from the transfer station on this professional engineer’s water supply, which is hydraulically down-gradient from the transfer station at the time the transfer station was first permitted, in that same October 22, 1993 memo from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Regional Attorney Richard Ostrov to Bill Clark and Art Henningson of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region IV Office titled RE: BENSON BROS. ARTICLE 78 update, that failure was stated as follows with respect to this professional engineer’s well:

Kathleen (assistant attorney general) indicated that because of this judge’s personal slant toward DEC, our record should be air-tight when the new permit application is processed.

She pointed out that Plante’s basis for standing is his well’s proximity to site of one transfer station.

It appears from her review of the record that the wastewater impact of the transfer station was not adequately addressed in the record.


* * * * *

17. On February 18, 1998, this professional engineer sent a letter to Hon. John Cahill, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, New York 12233, RE: USA Waste/United Waste Facility at intersection of Rtes. 66 and 351, Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County wherein was stated in relevant part as follows:

When I asked Mr. Nero about any leachate collection system to handle this water, his reply was that there is none, which confirmed my recollections of the inspections I had done as a New York State licensed professional engineer when this facility was being constructed circa 1993-1994.

To be complete about my investigation, I asked Mr. Nero about any leachate collection system in place to handle the grey, viscous pus which covered the unpaved, untreated ground outside the transfer station and his answer was that there is no such system, despite assertions of the New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner and his engineer Forgea to the contrary.

So, Mr. Commissioner, based on my inspection earlier today, it would seem that in the fourth paragraph on page one of your letter to me of February 6, 1998, you are willfully making false statements and misrepresenting facts when you tell me, a New York State licensed professional engineer who is quite knowledgeable of leachate collection systems and the Part 360 regulations, that there is a leachate collection system in place and operating at the facility, and it would further seem that your engineer Forgea is openly and willfully lying to the residents of the Town of Poestenkill when he tells them and me that "based on the design of the facility which includes leachate collection," the possibility of contamination of residential wells is "very remote."

Based upon the manner in which this transfer station is now being operated by United Waste/USA Waste under permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the possibility of contamination of residential wells, most probably mine, is almost a guaranteed certainty, and I do not appreciate being lied to about this matter by your office as though I were some kind of simpleton.

Never have I seen such gross dereliction of duty and willful negligence on the part of New York State officials as I have seen in this case from yourself and your engineer Forgea, and I do not intend to stand for it.


* * * * *

53. According to that official timeline, in January of 2021, the Averill Park School District collected samples for PFOA, PFOS, 1,4-Dioxane as required by New York State for Public Water Supply NY4117257 serving the Algonquin Middle School on Rte. 66 in Poestenkill, Rensselaer County.

54. According to the NYSDEC official timeline, in January of 2021, those sample results were received by the Rensselaer County Department of Health and the Averill Park School District.

55. According to the NYSDEC official timeline, in January of 2021, there was a call with the New York State Department of Health and the Averill Park School District to discuss response to prevent exposure.

* * * * *

69. In August of 2021, the Town of Poestenkill published on its website an "Update on Algonquin Middle School Water Tests" from Bob Brunet – Poestenkill Water Manager, wherein was stated "(I)n our last update we quoted numerous NYSDOH statements which reassured us that the school’s water 'does not pose a significant health risk' and 'Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses.'”

70. In that August 2021 update, the Town of Poestenkill further stated "(T)his is a follow-up to our February 27, 2021 report on the situation involving the Algonquin Middle School water tests," and "(T)here has been aggressive action involving various organizations, the Algonquin School personnel, the Rensselaer County Health Department (RCDOH), The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the Capital Region Environmental Laboratory (CREL), and the Town of Poestenkill organization, including the Town Supervisor, the Town Board, and the Poestenkill Water Manager."

71. That August 2021 update from the Town of Poestenkill continued by stating, "(A)s this team continues, we will post the latest status on this website," and "(B)ut now we want to hopefully alleviate some anxiety by presenting PFOA facts regarding our situation from the NYSDOH."

* * * * *

83. On September 22, 2021, the Times Union published an article titled "Rensselaer County expands PFOA testing in Poestenkill" by Kenneth C. Crowe II wherein was stated "Rensselaer County is expanding the area for testing wells for PFOA contamination to the south and east of Algonquin Middle School."

84. That article continued by stating "(T)he second round of testing that’s being done is data driven, said Richard Elder, the county Health Department’s director of environmental services," and "Elder said the tests are to determine the potential exposure in drinking water rather than identifying a source of the PFOA contamination," and "(O)fficials have not identified a single location such as occurred in the northeastern corner of the county when specific industrial operations were identified as the sources of contamination in Hoosick, Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh."

* * * * *

183. On January 8, 2022, ninety-four (94) days after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was put on notice of PFOS and PFOA in the shallow well of the transfer station by Waste Management of New York, LLC, NEWS 10 published an article titled "Officials no closer to finding source of PFOA contamination in Poestenkill, says councilmember" by Richard Roman wherein was stated "PFOA and PFAS have been detected in several wells in Poestenkill, including Algonquin Middle School," and "PFOA was originally found in the middle school in January 2021."

184. The 8 January 2022 NEWS 10 article stated "(H)owever, officials have yet to find a source for the contamination."

185. The NEWS 10 article continued by stating "Poestenkill Town Councilmember Eric Wohlleber said the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is no closer to finding the source of the contamination than they were a year ago," and "Wohlleber is calling on the DEC and New York State Department of Health (DOH) to provide a list of potential sources of the contamination that will include a plan of suggestions provided by the residents of Poestenkill, to dig monitoring wells along with testing results," and “'We must find the source of the contamination, identify the area which is impacted and begin the remediation process, as soon as possible,' said Wohlleber."

186. The NEWS 10 article further stated “(A)t the current pace, NYSDEC and NYSDOH show no eagerness to seriously identify the source, and have not shared a plan which will set residents’ concerns at ease that the necessary steps are being taken,” and “(I)n one-year, our residents have witnessed a lackadaisical effort by the NYSDEC and NYSDOH to ensure we have safe drinking water."

187. The NEWS 10 article then continued as follows:

The DEC said they have taken immediate action to address PFAS in Poestenkill and are thoroughly investigating any potential sources for the contamination.

“Responding to drinking water contamination in Poestenkill, or any community in New York, is always a top priority for the State."

"We have been on the ground in this community since the contamination was first detected at Algonquin Middle School to immediately address any potential exposure to PFAS contamination and protect public health."

"In the year since, our experts are working directly with the county and the town in a coordinated, science-based approach to investigate this issue and take action."

"We have extensive investigative work underway in this community to evaluate any potential sources of groundwater contamination in the vicinity of the Middle School, and have already preliminarily ruled out several potential sources including the transfer station and Poestenkill landfill."

"We look forward to continuing to keep residents and officials informed throughout the process.”

- DEC EXECUTIVE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SEAN MAHAR


* * * * *

195. On Monday, January 31, 2022, one hundred fifteen (115) days after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was put on notice of PFOS and PFOA in the shallow well of the transfer station by Waste Management of New York, LLC, this professional engineer received an e-mail from Ms. Susan Edwards, NYSPE, a senior environmental engineer serving as Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Remediation, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7011, Subject: RE: Poestenkill PFOA Investigation, Second Request, wherein was stated as follows with the PFOS in this Petitioner's drinking water:

Mr. Plante,

The data obtained from samples of the water supply well at the Waste Management Transfer Station suggests that the transfer station is not a likely source of PFAS contamination in the area.

A sample from the water supply well located at the transfer station was collected and analyzed for PFAS compounds in September 2021 by the operator of the transfer station.

According to the report, no exceedances of drinking water standards were found.

While there were detections of PFAS in the water sample, that fact alone does not mean there is a contaminant source on the property.


196. One hundred-forty (140) days later, on 20 June 2022, the NYSDEC “rubber stamped” a conclusion reached by BDD, P.G., Senior Managing Hydrogeologist, Barton and Loguidice, D.P.C., 10 Airline Drive, Suite 200, Albany, New York 12205 in a document titled “Poestenkill Transfer Station - – Response to NYSDEC Request for Information” that was addressed to Mr. Warren Harris, Waste Management – Poestenkill Transfer Station, 9002 NY-66, Poestenkill, New York 12018, and then posted that report on its official NYSDEC website as an official NYSDEC record, the conclusion of which was as follows, to wit:

Based on the bedrock groundwater elevations measured by B&L at the WMNY Poestenkill Transfer Station on March 10 and May 26, 2022, the estimated groundwater flow direction appears to be generally towards the north and east.

This flow direction is from the intersection of NY 66 (Averill Park Rd) and NY 351 (White Church Rd) and away from Algonquin Middle School
.

197, However, the data included with the report, when subjected to the examination and scrutiny it should have received from the NYSDEC, did not support that conclusion.

198, Furthermore, it was admitted in that report posted as an official NYSDEC document on the NYSDEC website on 20 June 2022 that PFAS has indeed been being imported into Poestenkill through the NYSDEC-permitted and regulated Poestenkill transfer station.

199. Beyond that, the report confirmed the fact of PFAS exceedances on the property of Waste Management in Poestenkill that have increased in value between March 23, 2022 and April 20, 2022.

200. On July 28, 2022, however, that being thirty-eight (38) days after NYSDEC posted the 20 June 2022 Barton & Loguidice Report wherein was verified that PFAS had been being imported into Poestenkill for several years through the Poestenkill transfer station, with a conservative estimate being that between 2018 and June of 2022, 206,379 gallons of leachate containing PFAS generated at the Poestenkill transfer station are estimated to have been discharged to the environment in Poestenkill, WRGB NEWS 6 posted a story titled "Poestenkill working to create new water district, says state isn't offering enough help" by Lara Bryn, wherein NYSDEC Executive Deputy Commissioner Sean Mahar, who in January of 2022 had already ruled out the Poestenkill transfer station as the source, was quoted as follows:

"There isn’t a definitive source that we’ve found just yet but that’s why we’re leaving no stone unturned,” said Sean Mahar with the DEC.

A lumberyard, tire disposal and car wash are just some of the potential sources the DEC is looking into.


201. Thereafter, on November 8, 2022, that being one hundred forty-one (141) days after NYSDEC posted the 20 June 2022 Barton & Loguidice Report wherein was verified that PFAS had been being imported into Poestenkill for several years through the Poestenkill transfer station, with a conservative estimate being that between 2018 and June of 2022, 206,379 gallons of leachate containing PFAS generated at the Poestenkill transfer station are estimated to have been discharged to the environment in Poestenkill, the Albany Times Union posted a story titled "Poestenkill receives $3.3 million state water grant but still doesn't know PFOA source" by Kenneth C. Crowe II, wherein was stated as follows:

The source of the contamination has yet to be discovered and testing is still taking place.

Judith Enck, a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator and adviser to the Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water in the town, said Tuesday that the investigation must be pressed with more scrutiny given to the former Benson Brothers transfer station site.

It’s now operated by Waste Management.

Enck cited DEC test reports that show results of 41 parts per trillion for PFOS and 100 parts per trillion of PFOA in wastewater storage tanks.

The state standard for contamination is 10 parts per trillion for the chemicals.

DEC said in the report that the PFOA/PFOS is found in the wastewater tanks.

DEC said it is evaluating and finalizing its findings.

"The Poestenkill investigations are aimed at determining if a discrete source of PFAS is present in the area, or if the PFAS are derived from potentially multiple non-discrete sources, such as residential and private septic systems," a DEC spokeswoman said
.

202. Thus the elaborate whitewash intended to protect Waste Management of New York, LLC, at the Poestenkill transfer station in Poestenkill, New York continues unabated.

Paul R. Plante, NYSPE
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

The Sanctuary for Independent Media

"Poestenkill Gets $3 Million State Grant for Water System due to PFOA"


November 09, 2022

PODCAST

Listen on Internet

Listen on SoundCloud

The Town of Poestenkill has been awarded $3.32 million in state funding to provide safe water to residents after the local water was contaminated with PFOA.

The grant will cover 60% of the estimated cost associated with creating a second water district covering Algonquin Middle School and the surrounding area.

State and county officials however are still not investigating the source of the water contamination.

Poestenkill Town Board member Eric Wohlleber gives an update with Mark Dunlea for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

https://www.mediasanctuary.org/stories/ ... testing-2/
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

HUDSON MOHAWK MAGAZINE

9 NOVEMBER 2022

MARK DUNLEA: We're joined by Eric Wohlleber who is a member of the town board in the town of Poestenkill which happens to be the town that I live in as a former town board member and over the last year, two years, there have been concerns about some PFOA forever chemical contamination has been found in some of the water sources, drinking wells close to the Algonquin Middle School and recently it has been announced that state has awarded a grant to the town to help construct an extended water system for some of the residents.

Eric, can you bring us up to date, what is going on with this water situation in Poestenkill?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (0.42) Sure, thanks Mark, yeah, we were informed late last week that um, New York state has provided a grant to the town of $3.3 million dollars can be used for a District #2 water district in Poestenkill.

We currently have a water district in Poestenkill, but this would be a new district that would encompass the area around the middle school which is where we discovered the forever chemicals back in January of 2021.

MARK DUNLEA: (1.17) Now I understand about a hundred houses would be included within this water district.

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (1.25) It's a little over a hundred different houses including, honestly, the middle school, the big one, but it's a little over one hundred potential houses or properties that have houses on them that would be impacted and the overall preliminary project that was provided to us was in the range of $5.5 million dollars.

Now, that's high.

That definitely is not what the final price tag will be.

Right now, the state has paid for, has agreed to put in $3.3, which represents sixty percent of the budget, we are working at the federal level to find federal dollars as well to help install a decent chunk you know for a hundred households, and also one of the things I am going to be asking the town board is to set aside a hundred thousand dollars of the COVID relief money for this project, not that a hundred thousand dollars is going to do a heck of a lot but I think it is important and I think it is a show of support and a show of unity between the federal, state and local officials.

MARK DUNLEA: (2.42) Now the first water district in the town, and actually, the water tank I can see looking out my window right across the street from me, I know that was initially funded through a grant from the Obama economic stimulus program but I believe half of that was a grant but half of that you know local residents had to pay.

Is there been any discussion about you know any kind of contribution would be required by local residents and have local residents reacted to the idea they are going to be put on to a water system?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (3.17) Right, so we had a public meeting back in July of this year and you know, if today you know we have $3.3 of the $5.5, obviously that leaves a shortfall of $2.2 million which would not be paid for and that would be something, how does the town go ahead and do that.

Do we obviously go out and get a bond and then just start talking about how do we pay that back, and what the benefit unit charge would be and the town has a procedural issue.

You know the town board can establish district No. 2, or the town board can put a district No. 2 up for a vote of the folks who would be within that district which is what they did a little bit over a decade ago when they proposed district 1 and they let the voters decide whether or not they wanted that service, the voters wanted it, and now we are in a similar situation, the idea being here even let's say the two million dollars we're still actively looking for federal dollars we're hoping we can get some money we have the support of Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand we have the support of then, Congressman now lt. governor-elect, or lt. governor and governor-elect Delgado so we're hoping to get some more funding to bring that number down and then we can go to those residents and say hey this is what it would cost you if we were to put a district 2 in and move forward.

MARK DUNLEA: (4.51) Now, I know in other situations where you have a contaminated water supply just as we saw out in Hoosick Falls a couple of years ago with PFOA you know one tries to find out well who contaminated the water supply and then try to hold them financially responsible for that.

Has there been much progress in that area to be honest state officials seem not that gung-ho about it expending a lot of resources trying to figure out where this contamination is actually coming from?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (5.24) Yeah, you know, Mark, I've been very critical of the state's response to this and I continue to be.

That being said, certainly we appreciate this grant, we appreciate the opportunity it affords our residents the opportunity that it afford the town to try to address this issue, but putting a water district 2 in without finding a source is not helpful because we could be in the same spot five years down the road, where um, we find this contamination a quarter mile down the road or a half mile down the road.

We have to find the source so that we know who is affected.

The state has done very little testing, we've asked them to look at certain locations, certain business area that would be, it would make sense where this might come from, and the state has not wanted to do that and has proved not wanting to do that and we're now coming on two years, and so, appreciative of the money but the reality is we could go spend 5 million dollars tomarrow and then find out a year or two down the road that it's literally a quarter mile down the road or a half mile down the road and the state is still, you know, looking, says they're looking for something while they have a blindfold on and that's the frustration I have.

We have to find the source.

We have to know what the plume is.

And we have to begin remediation and the water district is only one part of that.

MARK DUNLEA: (6.47) Now as personally as a former town board member and as a town resident I am aware that there are two or three sites literally across the street from the school I guess actually there has been some detection of PFOA at the waste transfer station used to be Benson Brothers sort of kitty corner, some others have said possibly at the Valente Lumber but I don't know if anything has been detected there and there's some other old industrial site in the area.

What is going on with that waste transfer station if they have in fact had elevated levels of PFOA?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (7.22) The reality is now we know they have at the transfer station and when we had this discussion almost two years ago the state DEC asked the residents can you guys give us some possible sources and we gave them several possible sources and they've ignored all but one of them and one which is about a mile and a half away.

They have not done testing at the transfer station.

They said no, no, the business is going to take care of that on their own and we trust their testing.

We've had a resident of Poestenkill who's done FOIL information and has found that there's elevated levels over there and yet we still have the DEC sitting there saying well we're investigating.

They've dug some wells at the Middle School, we all know the Middle School is not the source and then they keep saying, oh, we're looking into it, we're looking into it.

They're looking into it without doing any work or digging any wells and now through you know residents' own efforts we're finding that the transfer station has elevated levels the DEC knows about this and the DEC to this day still refuses to go in there and do their own testing.

MARK DUNLEA: (8.33) So what's the timeline if the town does plan to move forward with the water district?

We talking about a vote in a year, you know how quickly can this occur?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (8.45) I think, you know, now that we have this grant I think we need to move pretty quickly.

We're going to know soon whether or not the federal, we get some federal dollars and hopefully we will, um, I think number one we need to put together a plan and start moving this forward either for the town board to make a decision or to allow the voters to make the decision and that can be called and done in ninety days, um, so I would like to see this done within the first few months of 2023.

One of the things I think also to be quick is that the proposed water district while it provides a service it should be expanded and if we're going to get into the ground and start putting in a water district there's opportunities for us to expand it to include significant more houses and make that hundred properties more like a hundred forty, hundred fifty because it is not something we're not going to go back and do in 20 years down the road to pick up a few more homes, so ...

MARK DUNLEA: (9.45) I'm talking with ah, Eric Wohlleber, Poestenkill town board, and this has been Mark Dunlea for the Hudson Mohawk Magazine.
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

From: paul plante

Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2018 1:23 PM

To: djacangelo@poestenkillny.com; dhass@poestenkillny.com; ewohlleber@poestenkillny.com; hvanslyke@poestenkillny.com; jbutler@poestenkillny.com

Cc: jcasey@poestenkillny.com; shorton@poestenkillny.com; victoria.schmitt@dec.ny.gov; Kate.Kornak@dec.ny.gov

Subject: Transfer station complaint

21 FEBRUARY 2018

Poestenkill Town Supervisor
Town of Poestenkill
Poestenkill Town Hall
38 Davis Drive
Poestenkill, NY 12140

RE: Poestenkill Transfer Station

Dear Mr. Supervisor:

Pursuant to your Directive of January 26, 2018 posted on the Town's website concerning the Waste Management Transfer Station where you stated "(W)hile the actions of a prior board have limited the Town's options with this facility, residents are encouraged to report any problem with the facility and its operations to the Supervisor, any Town Board member or the Code Enforcement Officer," I am using this opportunity to present you with a major problem I personally have with this facility, which is the industrial noise I am being barraged with at my place of domicile in a residential zone of the Town of Poestenkill where industrial operations are not allowed.

I am speaking of the incessant back-up alarm noise, coupled with loud heavy metal banging sounds caused by the huge front-end loader operating on the site.

I am 72 years old, and this on-going noise is depriving me of the quiet enjoyment of my home, which reduces the property value to exactly nothing.

When that transfer station was approved, it was on the condition that I would not be adversely affected by industrial noise from the operations of the facility.

Thus, I want those conditions enforced by the construction of a sound barrier along Rte. 351 in front of the transfer station similar to those along Alternate Route 7 heading from Troy to Latham.

Until such time as that noise barrier is constructed, the facility is simply going to have to curtail its operations.

As to your statement, "(W)hile the actions of a prior board have limited the Town's options with this facility," that is patently false, and you know it, so why are you using the Town website to lie to us and try to mislead us?

That is a blatant lie on your part because on May 19, 1994, Judge Edward O. Spain of Rensselaer County Supreme Court so ordered "The record of the Town Board regarding the establishment of the Planned Development District is hereby supplement by these presence [sic] and the establishment of the Planned Development District by the Town Board Resolution is hereby ratified."

According to that stipulation, "the Planned Development District provides for the most flexible land use control vehicle available to the Town of Poestenkill to allow for the evolving needs of Benson Brothers Disposal, Inc. in the field of solid waste management WHILE AT THE SAME TIME BEING PROTECTIVE of the health, safety and welfare and property of the residents of the town in accordance with the provisions of the Land-Use Code of the Town of Poestenkill."

end quote

Your position is in complete opposition to that stipulation, which itself is based on §2(c)(10) (ii) of ARTICLE IX of our NYS Constitution, which states in clear and easily comprehensible language that every local government shall have power to adopt and amend local laws not inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution or any general law relating to the government, protection, order, conduct, safety, health and well-being of persons or property therein.

end quote

What you are trying to sell us is the proposition that a prior town board could with impunity turn its back on that section of our Constitution, and thus, by acting contrary to law, which is exactly what did happen, they could deprive us of protection, order, safety, health and well-being of persons or property in the Town of Poestenkill, and now we are stuck with that, which means that you are continuing on with that unlawful deprivation of our Constitutional rights to have our health protected before the profits of Waste Management, whose water you very much seem to be carrying, which is not surprising given that you openly campaigned on a promise to be "business friendly," which means "anti-regulation" and "anti-law and order."

However, pursuant to Town Law § 60(1), which states "(I)n every town the supervisor and the town councilmen shall constitute the town board and shall be vested with all the powers of such a town and shall possess and exercise all the powers and be subject to all the duties now or hereafter imposed by law upon town boards and town boards of health within such towns," you have no right or authority whatsoever you can use to deprive us of protections of law so you can reward Waste Management.

Similarly, Town Law § 64, "General powers of town boards," grants you no authority, jurisdiction or discretion to deprive us of protection of law based on the flimsy and feeble excuse that your hands are tied today because a prior town board elected to act in a lawless manner when originally approving the PDD.

And Town Law § 29, "Powers and duties of supervisor," which governs your office as Town supervisor, does not in any way grant you any right or authority or discretion whatsoever you can use to deprive us of protections of law so you can reward Waste Management.

Nor does it authorize you to use Town resources such as the Town website to openly lie to us in an attempt to trick and deceive us into thinking and believing that we have no rights to protection of law in this town based on your assertion that a prior Town Board sold us down the river, and now, despite the criminal nature of that, you are stuck with it.

So please take that false notice down off the Town website.

Sincerely,

Paul R. Plante

***********************

Dominic Jacangelo <djacangelo@poestenkillny.com>

To: 'paul plante'

dhass@poestenkillny.com,ewohlleber@poestenkillny.com,hvanslyke@poestenkillny.com,jbutler@poestenkillny.com

Cc: jcasey@poestenkillny.com,shorton@poestenkillny.com,victoria.schmitt@dec.ny.gov,kate.kornak@dec.ny.gov

Date: Thursday, February 22, 2018, 3:54 PM

Thank you for your letter.

I will discuss your suggestions with DEC and the company.

***********************

Feb 23, 2018 at 4:43 AM

paul plante

To: dhass@poestenkillny.com,ewohlleber@poestenkillny.com,hvanslyke@poestenkillny.com,jbutler@poestenkillny.com,Dominic Jacangelo <djacangelo@poestenkillny.com>

Cc: jcasey@poestenkillny.com,shorton@poestenkillny.com,victoria.schmitt@dec.ny.gov,kate.kornak@dec.ny.gov

Those are not "suggestions," Dominic, and Waste Management, who does not give a damn about any of the residents of Poestenkill, has no authority, jurisdiction or discretion to tell you what conditions they will allow the residents of the town residing in residential zones to have to endure as a result of their industrial scale operations in the PDD.

This is not some corrupt "company town" where Waste Management determines the living conditions of people in residential zones in the town.
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

TALK RADIO 1300 on April 14, 2016 at 4:24 pm:

And staying with this theme, for the moment, of state-sponsored discrimination in NYS based on creed and the politics of division and exclusion existing in this state as a matter of policy, notwithstanding Andy Cuomo's empty blather to the contrary, all leading in an unbroken line to the recent Hoosick Falls groundwater contamination fiasco, with discrimination being defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, how many people out there remember back to October of 1988, when then-Rensselaer County Executive John L. "Jack" Buono was heard talking about "EIGHTY-THOUSAND BIG ONE$, Chris" on the "Chris Kapostacy Show" on TV Channel 13 out of Albany by several millions of souls from Boston to Buffalo and New York City to Montreal tuned into Channel 13 that evening to follow to its apparent climax a long running saga in Rensselaer County that began in January of 1988 when the Times Union ran a story entitled "DEVELOPERS SEE A ZEALOT IN NEW COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER" by Laurie Anderson wherein was stated that the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer was involved in several fierce feuds with developers, the most public of which involved Stephen Anderson, who was attempting to rally the county legislature, Buono, and the state Health Department to make the Associate Public Health Engineer "more compliant?"

Did anyone wonder back then how Chris Kapostacey-Jansing, now a major-league, national media attraction on NBC television, got Rensselaer County Executive John L. Buono to openly discuss on TV what was in reality a BRIBE offered to him by a group of land developers in Rensselaer County in early-1988?

The answer to that pertinent question brings us to one of the more interesting documents in a lengthy FBI file concerning public corruption in Rensselaer County being investigated by the FBI back in 1989, an investigation that, incidentally, was turned off like a lightbulb on May 1, 1989 by then-Assistant United States Attorney BARBARA COTTRELL in the Office of the U.S Attorney for the Northern District of New York, with the FBI being ordered out of Rensselaer County after evidence surfaced of a powerful politician from Rensselaer County being found to have been involved in fraudulent land sales in Rensselaer County.

For those who are interested, like me, in the details, that document was a transcript of the MINUTES of a CONFERENCE between the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL and the NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, held at the offices of the Department, 2 University Place, Albany, New York, on Tuesday, March 1, 1988, commencing at 1 PM that was stenographically reported by Mary Lomonoco, Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of New York.

In attendance at this meeting, according to this document in the FBI files, were as follows:

* Dr. Leo Hetling, Director, and James "Mr. Jimmy D." Decker of the Division of Environmental Protection of the New York State Department of Health;

* Steven Anderson and Fred Nero of Mountain Meadow Properties;

* the Eastern New York Society of Land Surveyors;

* Kevin Brady of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce;

* Douglas Clark of Clark Engineering;

* George Duggan of Best Building;

* Richard Melius of the Rensselaer County Development Council, and

* Victor Gush and Jack Leonard, land developers.

How this transcript came to be in the possession of the FBI is as follows:

This transcript was "made public" in a matter of speaking by this RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL at a "closed door meeting" with John Buono on the fifth floor of the Rensselaer County Office Building shortly after that NYSDOH conference was held, and an agreement was reached with the New York State Department of Health concerning oversight of the Rensselaer County Department of Health.

And that agreement was that the New York State Department of Health would turn its back if the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL could get Buono to get rid of the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer, who was refusing to be compliant for Buono, the Rensselaer County legislature and the NYSDOH.

According to the MINUTES of a CONFERENCE between the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL and the NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, held at the offices of the Department, 2 University Place, Albany, New York, on Tuesday, March 1, 1988, commencing at 1 PM and stenographically reported by Mary Lomonoco, Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of New York, Stephen Anderson, who two months earlier, according to Times Union, was attempting to rally the county legislature, Buono, and the state Health Department to make the Associate Public Health Engineer "more compliant," opened the meeting and thus set in motion the unbroken chain of events which would lead to the Hoosick Falls groundwater contamination fiasco twenty-eight (28) years later, by stating to Dr. Leo Hetling, Director, and James "Mr. Jimmy D." Decker of the Division of Environmental Protection of the New York State Department of Health, as follows:

MR. ANDERSON: We feel we've got a situation in Rensselaer County.

We're not operating totally in the dark, but we really don't know where things are headed and which direction we should go in.

So we decided to start at the logical place, with the State and County people, and then meet with local Town officials, because we think that the development process is in a state of chaos in Rensselaer County right now.

end quotes

For those just joining in, this statement to Dr. Leo Hetling, Director, and James "Mr. Jimmy D." Decker of the Division of Environmental Protection of the New York State Department of Health on March 1, 1988 by Steven Anderson as to a "state of chaos in Rensselaer County right now" refers back to a January 13, 1988 letter entitled "Proposed Realty Subdivision, Spruce Run Section III, East Greenbush (T), Rensselaer County" from the same NYS Dept. of Health engineer James Decker to Rensselaer County Public Health Director Kenneth Van Praag on New York State Department of Health - Office of Public Health stationary wherein was stated as follows with respect to that "state of chaos," to wit:

A PREVIOUS PRACTICE OF REVIEWING AND APPROVING REALTY SUBDIVISIONS UTILIZING SUB-SURFACE SEWAGE DISPOSAL WHEN THE LAND DOES NOT CONFORM TO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BY MR. PLANTE.

SAID ACTION IS IN ACCORD WITH THE REGULATIONS AND WITH ENSURING PROTECTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

THE PRESENT PROCESS IS IN ACCORD WITH THAT IN ABUTTING LOCAL HEALTH UNITS.

MR. PLANTE IS COMMENDED FOR THE PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT.

YOUR ANTICIPATED COOPERATION IN CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS REMAINS APPRECIATED.

Very truly yours,

James D. Decker, P.E., Regional Director of Environmental Health

CC: Ian T. Loudon, M.D., Regional Health Director-ARD, NYSDOH

William F. Leavy, Executive Deputy Director-Office of Public health, NYSDOH

Paul R. Plante, P.E., Rensselaer County Health Department

Richard Svenson, P.E. - Bureau of Community Sanitation and Food Protection, NYSDOH

Donald Davidoff, Director-Field Operations Management Group, NYSDOH

Since it was obvious to all concerned by March of 1988 that all efforts by the NYSDOH and John Buono and the Rensselaer County legislature had failed miserably to make the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer "more compliant," which means make him into a political whore, the State Health Department under Andy Cuomo's dad, Mario, agreed to turn its back so that Buono could get rid of the engineer, but always cautious, Bob Smith, the then-Rensselaer County attorney wanted proof from the NYSDOH, in his words as I recall them, that if Rensselaer County was going to be putting itself out on a limb with respect to violating the law, it wanted proof positive that the NYSDOH was not going to come back around afterwards and chop it off, which the NYSDOH under Andy's dad, Mario Cuomo, thought was a reasonable request.

So the transcript, signed by a Notary Public and certified as accurate, a copy of which subsequently ended in the official files of the FBI in Albany, was placed in Bob Smith's hands by the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL as proof that the conference with the State Health Department had in fact taken place, and so, the State Health Department under Andy Cuomo's dad, Mario, was "in their pocket."

As proof of that besides the transcript, the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL also had at that 1988 meeting with Buono and Smith, "Mr. Jimmy D." himself of the NYSDOH representing the "interests" of the New York State Department of Health at that meeting between the developers and Buono and Smith where the $80,000 BRIBE was openly offered to Buono if he would "get rid of" the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer, and it was just a matter of logistics, after that.

As to how the transcript became public, on October 11, 1988, when Kapostacey-Jansing was preparing her "splice job" in her assigned role of "political assassin" on behalf of Buono, the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer presented her with a copy of the transcript, along with the full story of how and why the transcript had come into being, along with the $80,000 bribe offer to Buono.

Upon hearing that news, and becoming possessed of a copy of the transcript herself, Kapostacy-Jansing confronted Buono about the bribe offer.

And nothing more was ever heard of the matter after that.

Subsequently, when the FBI brought the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer into their already on-going HOBBS ACT investigation of Public Corruption in Rensselaer County, the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer gave them a copy of the transcript along with the full story of how and why the transcript had come into being, along with the $80,000 BRIBE offer to Buono.

And again, nothing more was ever heard of the matter after that.

Funny how it goes, isn't it.

What was set in motion when Andy Cuomo''s dad Mario was in office as governor has come back around to bite his son Andy right in the ***, that being the Hoosick Falls groundwater contamination fiasco.

And how do I know about the "EIGHTY-THOUSAND BIG ONE$?"

Good question.

I was there in the room that day, listening to John Buono negotiating my fate as Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer when the RENSSELAER COUNTY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL made John Buono the offer, is how.

Paul Plante, NYSPE
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

4 November 2022

John McDonald
Member, New York State
Assembly Health Committee
LOB 417
Albany, NY 12248

RE: The pitiful and pathetic Poestenkill PFAS whitewash

Dear Mr. Assemblyman:

I first wish to thank you for being so generous of your time on 1 December 2022 with respect to this matter of the Poestenkill PFAS whitewash.

During that discussion, which covered a wide swath of history going back to the formation of the NYSDEC in 1970, several points were raised as a result of questions you had, being not as familiar with the background and genesis of this issue as I am.

So what I would like to do herein, and in subsequent communications, is to boil this all down for you by addressing those questions.

As to the situation as I brought it to your attention during that discussion, quite simply, the "police power" of the state of New York has not only failed totally and miserably to protect and safeguard the lives, health and property of the people of Poestenkill in Rensselaer County as well as failing to protect and safeguard the lives of the children who attend and have attended the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill by failing to protect the NYSDOH-regulated public water supply that serves the school, which is the property of the taxpayers of the Averill Park School District, but further, is now being used against those citizens who have been harmed in order to protect a known polluter, which raises the question of why.

Why has Rule of Law broken down in the Rensselaer County Health District.

Why is the Commissioner of Health of the New York State Department of Health, a medical doctor abdicating responsibility for the protection and promotion of the health of the residents of Rensselaer County to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, who is not a medical doctor?

Why, when the explicit statutory language of New York State Public Health Law § 602(1) (e) states that for the Rensselaer County Department of Health to be eligible for state aid, the Rensselaer County Department of Health must provide environmental health as a core public health service, which core public health service shall include activities that promote health and prevent illness and injury by assuring that safe and sanitary conditions are maintained at public drinking water supplies, food service establishments, and other regulated facilities; investigating public health nuisances to assure abatement by responsible parties; protecting the public from unnecessary exposure to radiation, chemicals, and other harmful contaminants; and conducting investigations of incidents that result in illness, injury or death in order to identify and mitigate the environmental causes to prevent additional morbidity and mortality, is a public water supply in Poestenkill, New York regulated by the NYSDOH and supervised by the RCHD contaminated with PFAS?

And here, let me cite from New York State Environmental Conservation Law § 1-0303(19) as follows on the subject of "harm," to wit: “Pollution” shall mean the presence in the environment of conditions and or contaminants in quantities of characteristics which are or may be injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property or which unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property throughout such areas of the state as shall be affected thereby.

Note that there are no MCL's in there.

MCL's have become perverted into a license to pollute, so long as the polluter stays below an MCL, which is absurd, given that the addition of contaminants on a daily or weekly or periodic basis is cumulative.

The public health standard, as expressed in ECL § 1-0303(19), if laws mean anything any more in this state, itself a doubtful proposition, states clearly that “Pollution” shall mean the presence in the environment of contaminants which are or may be injurious to human, plant or animal life or to property or which unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property throughout such areas of the state as shall be affected thereby.

Any chemicals in the drinking water, no matter how much below an artificial MCL, unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property throughout such areas of the state as shall be affected thereby.

That is made clear in a NYSDEC Press Release from Tuesday, October 5, 2021, titled "DEC Releases New Guidance to Regulate PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane in State Waters - Guidance Builds on State's Nation-Leading Actions to Protect Public Health and the Environment and Regulate Emerging Contaminants - Draft Technical and Operational Guidance Series Available for Public Review and Comment through Nov. 5, 2021" wherein was stated as follows:

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today released new water quality guidance values that will advance the State's regulation of the emerging contaminants Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and 1,4-Dioxane.

DEC established the new guidance values in three draft Technical and Operational Guidance Series (TOGS) documents, which are now available for a 30-day public review and comment period.

The new guidance values support the State's ongoing efforts to safeguard public health, prevent exposure to emerging contaminants, and ensure New Yorkers have access to clean drinking water.

Commissioner Seggos said, "New York has been at the forefront of taking actions to reduce human and environmental exposure to emerging contaminants like PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane."

"Today, DEC is bolstering the strict levels adopted by the Department of Health to protect our drinking water by issuing guidance values for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane for ground and surface waters."

"These guidance values will protect the health of our communities and the environment by helping to prevent these emerging contaminants from entering our drinking water supplies."


end quotes

I draw your attention to the words "prevent these emerging contaminants from entering our drinking water supplies."

That press release continues as follows:

Set lower than the State's maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane, these ambient guidance values protect source waters and provide an extra margin of safety to complement the drinking water MCLs by ensuring they are not exceeded, which could result in costly treatment for the regulated community.

end quote

In this case, the regulated community was some 780 or so individuals, mostly children, served by the NYSDOH-regulated public water supply for the school now contaminated with PFAS above the MCL's.

Going back to the press release, it continues, thusly:

State Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "New York State has adopted among the most protective drinking water quality standards and requirements for testing, notification and remediation for emerging contaminants found nationwide."

"Our research and efforts to safeguard drinking water will be further enhanced by the Department of Environmental Conservation's move to regulate these compounds at their source, providing even more confidence in the water quality that reaches your tap."

While the MCLs adopted by the DOH provide protection for finished drinking water, DEC's proposed guidance values will provide complementary protection of ambient waters used as drinking water sources.


end quotes

Bottom line, if the NYSDOH and RCHD had not been asleep at the switch or looking off in some different direction while ignoring the NYSDEC-regulated Poestenkill transfer station right across NY 66 and upgrade from the school, there would not be a contaminated water supply at the school today, which takes us back to WHY?

Why were they sleeping?

Why weren't they doing their duty?

Because we have become so corrupt that that there no longer is such a thing as duty in New York state?

As to your question regarding myself and the why of my personal involvement in this matter, here is how I explained my presence in an e-mail to Brittany OBrien-Drake of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 @ 2:23 PM, Subject: Re: Poestenkill PFOA Investigation, Second Request, to wit:

As you may recall, on Monday, January 10, 2022, at 03:59:58 PM EST, I sent you an e-mail wherein I informed you that I have some questions concerning this PFOA investigation in Poestenkill that I was hoping you can help me with as the person named as project manager of this alleged investigation of PFAS in Poestenkill that has affected my groundwater.

I am writing to you today to inform you that to this date, I have not heard a single word from you on this subject.

In that 10 January 2022 e-mail, I took pains to inform you that my role here is as a NYS licensed professional engineer pursuant to New York § 7201, Definition of practice of engineering, in that as a New York State licensed professional engineer in this particular matter in Poestenkill, I am performing a professional service for concerned residents in the affected area of Poestenkill in that I am conducting for them an investigation wherein the safeguarding of life, health and property is concerned.

By way of review, and for your edification, pursuant to § 29.1(b)(1) of the Rules of the New York Board of Regents regarding professional practice in New York state, unprofessional conduct in the practice of engineering includes willful or grossly negligent failure to comply with substantial provisions of Federal, State or local laws, rules or regulations governing the practice of the profession.

Pursuant to § 29.1(b)(6) of the Rules of the New York Board of Regents regarding professional practice in New York state, unprofessional conduct in the practice of engineering also includes willfully making or filing a false report.

And pursuant to § 29.3(a)(1), unprofessional conduct shall also include, in the professions of architecture and landscape architecture, engineering, land surveying and geology, being associated in a professional capacity with any project or practice known to the licensee to be fraudulent or dishonest in character, or not reporting knowledge of such fraudulence or dishonesty to the Education Department.

With all of that stated, I made it quite clear to you that as a licensed engineer, I do not take sides nor do I join pressure groups; to the contrary, I go with the law and facts, however inconvenient for anyone they might be, and that of course would have to include you and your agency who are servants to the public, of which I happen to be a member.


end quotes

In a 4 December 2021 writing to Ms. Susan Edwards, NYSPE, Assistant Division Director, Division of Environmental Remediation, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7011 RE: COMMUNITY UPDATE, NOVEMBER 2021, PROTECTING POESTENKILL’S DRINKING WATER AND INVESTIGATING PFAS CONTAMINATION, Two Public Availability Sessions Scheduled for Dec. 8, 2021; Addendum to initial question submittal for DEC expert on 8 Dec. 2021; My response to your reply on 1 December 2021, I introduced myself thusly:

Dear Ms. Edwards, NYSPE:

First of all, on behalf of the children in Poestenkill who have no voice of their own in this matter of PFOA in their drinking water, let me take this moment as a responsible, law-abiding citizen who is a grandfather and Poestenkill resident for over seventy (70) years and who further is a New York state licensed professional engineer qualified by exam to practice in New York state as an associate level public health engineer who sincerely believes that the sole purpose of licensing engineers in New York state and the sole duty of such licensed engineers is to protect and safeguard the life, health and property of the people of the state, to thank you for taking the time you did to respond to my communication to you in this above matter dated 24 November 2021 in the supercilious, arrogant, haughty, condescending, disrespectful and insulting manner you did, where you simply blew off as irrelevant all of my comments and concerns about PFOS in my drinking water, and instead chose to treat me with undisguised contempt as if I were retarded, moronic and stupid, which is the best evidence I can now provide to my fellow townspeople in Poestenkill similarly situated as I am with PFOS in my well to demonstrate to them exactly how they too are going to be treated by the DEC on 8 December 2021 at this so-called "community meeting" on PFOA the DEC is holding at the Algonquin school, given that you responded to my questions as a New York state licensed professional engineer further qualified as a senior environmental engineer, which according to 6 NYCRR 637.6(d) is a position responsible for planning, directing and administering all environmental programs, or has responsible charge of all engineering functions in an agency having regulatory responsibility for a political subdivision of less than 100,000 population or, under administrative supervision, has responsibility for the same or similar functions for segments of an environmental conservation program in an agency having regulatory responsibility for a political subdivision of 100,000 or greater population, who now holds the position of Assistant Division Director of the Division of Environmental Remediation of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation since October of 2021, which means you are speaking for the Department and with the voice of Commissioner Seggos and Governor Hochul when you insult me and dismiss me as a mental defective.


end quote

Similarly, in a December 25, 2021 writing to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State, NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224 RE: PFOA in Poestenkill, I introduced myself as follows:

Dear Governor Hochul:

I am writing to you on behalf of children at the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill who have no voice of their own, as well as myself and other residents of Poestenkill affected by PFOA or PFOS in their drinking water pursuant to §9.1 of Article I, the Bill of Rights of the New York State Constitution, "No law shall be passed abridging the rights of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government," as a respected elder in my community of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, where I have resided for over seventy (70) years, and who am a New York State licensed professional engineer further qualified by examination as a public health engineer, a person who applies engineering principles for the detection, evaluation, control and management of those factors in the environment which influence the public's health, at the associate level who was twice commended in writing by then-state Health Commissioner Dr. David Axelrod for my integrity in enforcing the New York State Public Health Law and Sanitary Code in the Rensselaer County Health District, which health district includes not only the town of Poestenkill, but Public Water Supply NY4117257, a Non-transient non-community water system serving 1000 persons at the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill, founded 1967, which is a Public Water Supply pursuant to Part 5 of the State Sanitary Code regulated by the state Department of Health and the Rensselaer County Department of Health, in your capacity as Governor of the State of New York pursuant to §3 of Article IV of the New York State Constitution, "the governor shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed," to inquire of you, and to have you explain to us why an investigation into how the wellfield of regulated Public Water Supply NY4117257, a Non-transient non-community water system serving 1000 persons at the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill, became contaminated by PFOA, despite the provisions of the State Sanitary Code, is being directed not by any public health personnel qualified to conduct such Sanitary Code investigations, but by a lobbyist and outside political agitator named Judith Enck, who does not reside in the affected zone, is not herself impacted by PFOA or PFOS, who holds no public health credentials, who is not an elected public official in Poestenkill with accountability to the public, nor is she anything in the Rensselaer County Health District with accountability to the public, nor is she anything in the state Department of Health with accountability to the public.


end quotes

And here I am reminded of a press release put out by yourself on March 11, 2021 whyere you stated as follows, to wit:

"The public trust is fundamental when elected to public office."

"While there can be differences of opinion as to approach in accomplishing the will of those we represent, the people who elect us rightfully expect integrity and for us to be held to a higher standard."

"Even one allegation of wrongdoing is enough to warrant a thorough investigation."

"There is no magic number of allegations that changes what is wrong and what is right."


end quotes

Almost as if you had prescient vision and saw this coming, because right now, the public trust in Governor Hochul and her NYSDEC and her NYSDOH is at zero, which takes us to a writing of mine on December 12, 2021 to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State, NYS State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12224, RE: The Poestenkill PFOA investigation is a comical, farcical and insulting clown show, as follows:

Dear Governor Hochul:

As a follow-up to my communication to you on 10 December 2021 where I informed you that I was writing to you as a life-long resident of New York who was born in this state over seventy (70) years ago, and who has resided on my present property in Poestenkill for over seventy (70) years where I grew up healthy drinking good well water, for the purpose of informing you as the Governor that because my well is now contaminated with PFOS through no fault of my own, and despite all of my efforts working within the law to have it be otherwise, with no relief forthcoming, despite empty political propaganda to the contrary from the State of New York, my life as an elderly disabled veteran going into another winter has been turned upside down, and everything I have worked for to improve and provide for my security as a disabled veteran in old age has been turned to crap through negligence on the part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Poestenkill, and because of this chemical contamination of my drinking water, which makes it unfit to drink or even water pigs with, and which I am told by the Rensselaer County Department of Health is my problem, not theirs, so that as a fully disabled veteran living in a rural area, I am now deprived of potable water to drink, which if done to an animal like a dog would be the cause of an uproar but not so to an elderly disabled veteran in Poestenkill, so that my quality of life has been totally stripped from me, making me feel dirty in my own home because of this, as well feeling betrayed and violated, with my property values reduced to nothing, and my Thanksgiving ruined and Christmas as well.


end quotes

And on 17 June 2022, I introduced myself to Dareth Glance, Deputy Commissioner, Environmental Remediation and Materials Management, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, 14th Floor, Albany, New York, 12233-1500, RE: The DEC “Fast Shuffle”; or the scam you are running; “good moral character” defined; fraud and dishonesty involving licensed engineers at NYSDEC further detailed, as follows:

Dear Deputy Commissioner Glance:

THE DEC “FAST SHUFFLE” DEFINED: a swindle; deprive of honest services of PE’s by deceit

To keep this as brief as possible while keeping the record straight in the case of the need for judicial intervention at a future point in time, and as simple and to the point as possible, so you can understand and comprehend exactly what I am saying to you as one who is a respected elder in my community of Poestenkill who also possesses a license from the State of New York to practice as an engineer to safeguard life, health and property in accordance with the provisions of New York State Education Law § 7201, in a word, what you and Basil Seggos and the NYSDEC, and by extension the Office of the Governor, are doing here in the guise of conducting a farcical, comic opera “investigation” of groundwater contamination in Poestenkill involving a politically-powerful corporation that is a known polluter in Poestenkill with DEC cover, is running a scam on the people of Poestenkill, and by extension, the people of New York, because you are creating a state-wide “template” here, which scam involves two New York state licensed professional engineers in your chain of command using their PE licenses to “legitimize” the scam in the minds of the unsuspecting public, which I consider, as a licensed professional engineer, to be a textbook case of unprofessional conduct by New York State licensed engineers in your chain of command in violation of § 29.3(a)(1) of the Rules of the New York State Board of Regents wherein is stated "unprofessional conduct shall also include, in the profession of engineering being associated in a professional capacity with any project or practice known to the licensee to be fraudulent or dishonest in character, or not reporting knowledge of such fraudulence or dishonesty to the Education Department."


end quotes

With respect to your office, I will stand fast with those descriptions of who I am and why I am involved in this matter as a citizen, and no, I am not working for anyone nor am I a member of a "group."

And while there may indeed be "good" people working for NYSDEC, and we both hope there are, this matter does not include or involve the "good" people.

This matter involves Governor Hochul's office, Basil Seggos, Sean Mahar, Dareth Glance, Susan Edwards, NYSPE, and Eric Hausamann, NYSPE of the NYSDEC.

If the "good" people at NYSDEC had been involved, it stands to reason that there would be no PFAS in our drinking water today!

Respectfully submitted,

Paul R. Plante, NYSPE
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

THE ANATOMY OF THE POESTENKILL/CCCDW PFAS WHITEWASH

The saying “Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive” is a quote from Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem, Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field, and it means that when you lie or act dishonestly you are initiating problems and a domino structure of complications which eventually run out of control, and such it was to be in Poestenkill, New York on 20 June 2022 for Poestenkill supervisor Keith Hammond, Poestenkill councilman Eric Wohlleber, and former Eliot Spitzer Chief Policy Advisor Judith Enck, which group, operating outside of the established law in this state, from January of 2021 to 20 June 2022 wasted a year and a half of valuable time not to mention governmental resources paid for by the taxpayers, a theft of honest services, on a wild goose chase all over Poestenkill, New York in a vain attempt to give political protection to Waste Management of New York, LLC, the permittee of the Poestenkill transfer station at the intersection of NY 66 and NY 351 after exceedances of PFAS were found in the water supply of the Algonquin School in Poestenkill.

This vain attempt included perhaps the most elaborate cover-up/whitewash ever attempted by the NYSDEC and its “partners,” Hammond, Wohlleber and Enck, which whitewash was an “all hands on deck, full court press” effort that included the active involvement of the Governor’s Office, the Office of the DEC Commissioner, the Office of Counsel for NYSDEC, the Poestenkill town board and its “Public Health Coordinator,” the Rensselaer County Health Commissioner and the Rensselaer County Associate Public Health Engineer, two licensed professional engineers by name from the NYSDEC, the New York State Department of Education, the Averill Park Board of Education and District Superintendent, and featured intensive use of technology to peddle slick NYSDEC propaganda, as well as masterful and extensive use of the local news media to disseminate DEC propaganda, including copious use of that tired and meaningless phrase, “following the science,” suppression of dissent, exclusion of dissent from the record, the creation of a faux “citizen’s group” in Poestenkill called the Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water (CCCDW) to control communications and to act as a filter/censor of information, private “community meetings” on ZOOM with restricted entry where no transcripts were made, private meetings on Facebook, “rubber stamping” (approve automatically without proper consideration), a cowardly CYBER-attack (an attempt to damage or destroy a computer system) by NYSDEC on my computer through my FOIL portal, and witness intimidation and harassment in Poestenkill.

According to the public record, the faux "citizen's group" in the town of Poestenkill in the county of Rensselaer that calls itself Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water or CCCDW is in reality Judith Enck, Poestenkill councilman Eric Wohlleber and Phillip LaRoque of the Town of Poestenkill Board of Assessment Review, which effectively makes the CCCDW an extension of Poestenkill town government crated for the specific purpose of controlling communications in Poestenkill on the subject of PFAS in Poestenkill's drinking water, and to act as a filter/censor of information through private “community meetings” on ZOOM with restricted entry where no transcripts were made, so there is no public record of what, if anything, was discussed.

As to the association of Enck and Wohlleber, a Poestenkill public official with a serious conflict of interest when it comes to the Poestenkill transfer station and the faux citizen's group CCCDW, in a WGXC-90.7 FM article titled “More PFOA found in Poestenkill wells” on November 19, 2021, we were unformed as follows:

Judith Enck, a former Region 2 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Poestenkill Councilman Eric Wohlleber, who are both on the steering committee of Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water, met with Gov. Kathy Hochul Nov. 18 about the issue.

end quote

No record exists as to what was discussed in that meeting, and that article makes it clear that the hands on the tiller of CCCDW are those of Wohlleber and Enck.

With respect to this on-going PFAS whitewash, which is a whitewash of environmental crimes, according to an entry on the Poestenkill propaganda site in 2021, we now know conclusively that Poestenkill supervisor Keith Hammond and Poestenkill councilman Eric Wohlleber have been intimately involved in the whitewash as "partners" since January of 2021 as follows:

Update on Algonquin Middle School Water Tests:

From Bob Brunet – Poestenkill Water Manager

During the timeframe since our last update, Supervisor Keith Hammond, Deputy Town Supervisor Eric Wohlleber, and I have been actively working with the RCDOH and the NYSDOH to further insure that the wells nearby the school are providing safe water for our residents.


end quote

So there we have the involvement of Hammond and Wohlleber in the whitewash made a matter of record that cannot be refuted or controverted.

EVERYTHING regarding the whitewash that has come after involves them directly and intimately, which takes us to July 28, 2022, thirty-eight (38) days AFTER Hammond and Wohlleber knew conclusively about the PFAS being imported into Poestenkill through the transfer station, and a WRGB NEWS 6 by Lara Bryn titled "Poestenkill working to create new water district, says state isn't offering enough help", where we have as follows:

“I just want to know where the contamination is so we can remediate it."

"We have to know where the source is,” said Poestenkill councilmember Eric Wohlleber.


end quotes

On 28 July 2022, when he made that statement, Eric Wohlleber was very well aware of where the source was, and he willfully chose to lie about it instead to the people of Poestenkill in order to protect WMNY.

Going back to the story, it continues as follows:

Town officials and neighbors say the state is taking too long to find the source of the chemicals.

“I'm extremely frustrated with the DEC."

"I feel like they're going so slow, they're almost going backwards,” said Wohlleber.


end quotes

IF the DEC is doing anything, including going backwards, it is at the direction of Wohlleber himself, as we clearly see in an October 6, 2021 letter from Daphne Jordan, State Senator, 43rd District to The Honorable Basil Seggos, Commissioner, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Dr. Howard Zucker, Commissioner, NYS Department of Health, as follows:

Dear Commissioner Seggos and Commissioner Zucker:

I write advocating for the DEC and DOH to undertake immediate, proactive, comprehensive steps to safeguard the drinking water for, and health and safety of, Poestenkill families in the wake of discovered PFOAs.

Specifically, I officially request that the DEC dig monitoring wells around the Algonquin Middle School to find the source of the PFOA/PFOS contamination.

I also request that DEC and DOH coordinate the immediate testing of private wells at no cost to area homeowners.

In making these requests as State Senator for the 43rd District, I add my voice to the requests already made by Poestenkill Town Board Member Eric Wohlleber, and former EPA Regional Administrator, and Poestenkill resident Judith Enck, respectively.

This important process needs to move forward in an expedited and expanded fashion.

It also was shared with me that there is an unlined municipal landfill not far from the Algonquin School and groundwater near the landfill has not been tested concerning this problem.

Accordingly, the DEC should drill test wells at or near the landfill.

Additionally, Dynamic Systems, Inc., in Poestenkill should be tested and evaluated as a potential source of PFOA.

The company in question does materials testing, process simulations, and a range of other activities and may have worked with PFAS chemicals specifically coated with PFOA.

The operation is located on a flood plain, near wetlands, and close to Newfoundland Creek.

The DEC should know if the company was formally asked to respond to its 2017 survey asking companies to voluntarily disclose if they have used, or are using, PFAS chemicals.


end quotes

There we have the beginnings of what now is known as the "Wohlleber Wild Goose Chase" portion of this whitewash effort that failed on 20 June 2022, although Hammond and Wohlleber are still attempting to keep everything under the rug, which takes us to November 8, 2022, one hundred forty-one (141) days AFTER Hammond and Wohlleber knew conclusively that the transfer station was the source, and a Times Union article titled "Poestenkill receives $3.3 million state water grant but still doesn't know PFOA source" by Kenneth C. Crowe II, where we have as follows:

“They’ve done five deep wells near the school,” said Supervisor Keith Hammond, who added that the town is awaiting the test results.

end quotes

The town had all the test results it needed one hundred forty-one (141) days BEFORE Hammond made that statement in the Times Union, which takes us back to the Times Union, and Hammond's now-futile efforts to keep the whitewash going, to wit:

Hammond said he has been in contact with the state and the agencies are continuing to work on the contamination issues.

He said he doesn’t anticipate there will be an industrial source for the contamination.


end quotes

He doesn't "anticipate" there will be an industrial source for the contamination precisely because he is very actively involved in keeping that source covered up along with Eric Wohlleber.

He knew conclusively where the source was on 20 June 2022, and in November of 2022, he willfully chose to lie to the people of Poestenkill about it, which takes us to 9 November 2022 and an interview of Eric Wohlleber by Judy Enck's husband Mark Dunlea, as follows:

HUDSON MOHAWK MAGAZINE

9 NOVEMBER 2022

MARK DUNLEA: We're joined by Eric Wohlleber who is a member of the town board in the town of Poestenkill which happens to be the town that I live in as a former town board member and over the last year, two years, there have been concerns about some PFOA forever chemical contamination has been found in some of the water sources, drinking wells close to the Algonquin Middle School and recently it has been announced that state has awarded a grant to the town to help construct an extended water system for some of the residents.

Eric, can you bring us up to date, what is going on with this water situation in Poestenkill?

*************

MARK DUNLEA: (4.51) Now, I know in other situations where you have a contaminated water supply just as we saw out in Hoosick Falls a couple of years ago with PFOA you know one tries to find out well who contaminated the water supply and then try to hold them financially responsible for that.

Has there been much progress in that area to be honest state officials seem not that gung-ho about it expending a lot of resources trying to figure out where this contamination is actually coming from?

ERIC WOHLLEBER: (5.24) Yeah, you know, Mark, I've been very critical of the state's response to this and I continue to be.

end quotes

More dissimulation, which itself is a form of lying, because all along, Wohlleber and Hammond and Judy Enck have been directing the state's response, which takes us back to that interview, as follows:

ERIC WOHLLEBER: We have to find the source so that we know who is affected.

The state has done very little testing, we've asked them to look at certain locations, certain business area that would be, it would make sense where this might come from, and the state has not wanted to do that and has proved not wanting to do that and we're now coming on two years, and so, appreciative of the money but the reality is we could go spend 5 million dollars tomarrow and then find out a year or two down the road that it's literally a quarter mile down the road or a half mile down the road and the state is still, you know, looking, says they're looking for something while they have a blindfold on and that's the frustration I have.

We have to find the source.

We have to know what the plume is.

And we have to begin remediation and the water district is only one part of that.


end quotes

The endless lies flow forth quite freely from Wohlleber because he knew where the source was in January of 2021, and on 20 June 2022, he had conclusive evidence of where the source was, and yet, on 9 November 2022, he willfully chose to conceal that knowledge, which is a form of lying to the people of Poestenkill in order to purposefully mislead them

Paul R. Plante, NYSPE
8 December 2022
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

THE ADVERTISER Letters To The Editor

PFAS Report submitted to Legislature


December 1, 2022

A Report titled “A Forensic Analysis of the Spectacular Collapse of the Poestenkill PFAS Whitewash – The Aftermath; A Whitewash Admitted, Collusion Confirmed – Executive Summary” prepared by Paul R. Plante, NYSPE, Assoc. P.H. Eng. has been submitted to each member of the state Assembly and Senate Health and Env. Conservation Committees where it has generated interest and a request for further information and documentation.

The Report begins with the quote “Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive,” meaning that when you lie or act dishonestly you are initiating problems and a domino structure of complications which eventually run out of control, and such it was to be in Poestenkill, New York for the group known as the “Partners,” they being the NYSDEC, the NYSDOH, the RCHD, the town of Poestenkill and former Eliot Spitzer Chief Policy Advisor Judith Enck, which group, from January of 2021 to 20 June 2022 wasted a year and a half of valuable time not to mention governmental resources paid for by the taxpayers, a theft of honest services, on a wild goose chase all over Poestenkill, New York in a vain attempt by the “Partners” to give political protection to Waste Management of New York, LLC, the permittee of the Poestenkill transfer station at the intersection of NY 66 and NY 351 after exceedances of PFAS were found in the water supply of the Algonquin School in Poestenkill.

The whitewash came to a spectacular end on 20 June 2022 when NYSDEC admitted the importation of PFAS through the transfer station since 2018 as well as the fact of active PFAS contamination in the groundwater beneath the transfer station.

The Report concluded by stating that the “partners” conducting a whitewash to protect the financial “health and well-being” of the operator of the Poestenkill transfer station ahead of the health and well-being of a school full of children was especially egregious as well as an act of moral insanity sociopathic in nature.

Paul Plante, NYSPE, Poestenkill
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

On Saturday December 10 from 11 to 12pm EST, Concerned Citizens for Clean Drinking Water (CCCDW), an ad hoc group of Poestenkill residents, will be participants in a webinar hosted by Water Insecurity Correction Coalition (WICC) and the Upstate Water Contamination Project (UWCP).

The latest updates on finding the source near Algonquin Middle School and information on the health risks posed by PFAS will be presented.

All are welcomed to join.

The Water Insecurity Correction Coalition, Inc. (WICC) is a youth-led 501c3 nonprofit organization based out of Upstate New York.

The Upstate Water Contamination Project (UWCP) has been working through community surveys and education with residents, local leaders, and organizations of Poestenkill to increase awareness of the threat of PFAS to local water supplies and improve community connectivity to solve this threat to human health.

Learn more about UWCP and WICC at yeswicc.com/uwcp.

You can register for the webinar at this link: https://yeswicc.com/poestenkill

https://yeswicc.com/uwcp

Updates

Water Insecurity Correction Coalition

This Saturday, join WICC's Upstate Water Contamination Project for a free webinar on the Poestenkill PFAS Problem.

Whether you're a Poestenkill resident looking to learn more about what's going on in your town, or a friend of WICC interested in this "case study" on the nationwide threat of PFAS in our water, register online at yeswicc.com/poestenkill for the Zoom info!

TO: Water Insecurity Correction Coalition

DATE: 9 DECEMBER 2022

Good morning,

My name is Paul Plante and I am a professional engineer further qualified by examination as an associate level public health engineer, and I live in Poestenkill and have PFAS in my water supply due to gross negligence by the town of Poestenkill, the NYSDEC, the NYSDOH and the corrupt Rensselaer County Department of Health.

Yesterday, I received a phone call from WICC concerning e-mails that I have been sending, the message of which is that the town, the NYSDEC, the NYSDOH and the RCHD are all lying through their teeth when they say they don't know the source.

And you people are repeating those lies on your website for fundraising purposes, which I find obscene, fundraising based on a pack of lies.

Now, it is likely that you people would not know there were outrageous lies being fed to you by this faux citizen's group CCCDW (Citizens Conducting Cover-ups and Dumb Whitewashes) so that you would not know that you were repeating the lies and further misleading people in order to raise funds.

Hence my series of e-mails.

I will try to contact the person who called yesterday for further clarification, but felt it important in case I should not make contact to put this all in writing before the webinar on Saturday.

Thank you!

Paul R. Plante, NYSPE
thelivyjr
Site Admin
Posts: 73386
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:40 p

Re: THE PAUL PLANTE STORY

Post by thelivyjr »

Dec 9 at 1:36 PM

Water Insecurity Correction Coalition <yeswicc@gmail.com>

To: paul plante

Hi Mr. Plante,

Nice to e-meet you.

My name is Annabel; I’m the founder of the Water Insecurity Correction Coalition.

We’re a small, youth-led nonprofit based here in NY working to eradicate water insecurity.

Our current project is focused on the PFAS issue facing Poestenkill.

We appreciate your concern regarding the status of the PFAS investigation in your town.

We just want to clarify that our role is one based on the goal of raising awareness of the PFAS issue among residents of Poestenkill, as well as educating citizens on the threat PFAS poses to their health.

Our programming has been/will be entirely free to the community and no fundraising efforts have been occurring.

We’ve met with CCCDW and we are sure that they are a sincere ad-hoc group of Poestenkill residents with a wide-range of perspectives; I do not speak on their behalf, but from our few meetings with them we’ve observed that they all have varying beliefs on the initial source of contamination and the best method of approaching the PFAS issue.

Regarding your own water supply: please ensure that you are utilizing an alternative drinking water source like bottled water, or a water filter that is certified to remove PFAS.

It is terrible that you have to deal with this contamination and we hope that a source can be identified and addressed as soon as possible.

Thanks for your concern,

Annabel Gregg
Founder & Board President

*************************************************

9 December 2022

Water Insecurity Correction Coalition <yeswicc@gmail.com>

Hi Annabel,

So very nice to e-meet you, as well, and Annabel, the source of the PFAS in Poestenkill is known and has been known for some time by NYSDEC, NYSDOH, the Rensselaer County Department of Health (RCHD), the town of Poestenkill, and Judith Enck and the CCCDW.

The source is the Poestenkill transfer station, that based on evidence posted on the DEC's own website.

Why you think differently, or have been told differently is a mystery to me.

And Poestenkill's groundwater problems go back to the 1970s and are as a result of negligence on the part of the RCHD, given that Rensselaer County is a health district, the NYSDEC and Poestenkill.

The corruption of the RCHD is in fact legendary in not only NYS, but in the United States, as well, thanks to the power of the internet.

The truth that you seem unaware of or unable to grasp or comprehend is that the DOH and RCHD have not protected the public health or environment in Poestenkill since in or about 1977 or 1978, all of which is a matter of public record for those who believe in facts, not falsehoods, as we can clearly see from this following Report of Investigation of the Rensselaer County Department of Health that was filed as a public record in the files of the Rensselaer County Clerk by then-New York State Health Commissioner Dr. David Axelrod on March 15, 1989, in the cover letter to which, Dr. Axelrod stated as follows:

"The investigation found significant deficiencies in the Rensselaer County residential subdivision program and individual sewage program."

"The investigators concluded that the great number of sewage system failures in the county, 'is a result of a County program which is inadequate to assure protection of public health and the environment!'"


end quotes

That Report of Investigation of misfeasance and malfeasance in the Rensselaer County Department of Health was also the subject of a March 27, 1989 Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning a federal Hobbs Act investigation of corruption in the Rensselaer County Department of Health, wherein was stated as follows concerning that report:

According to (Dr. Axelrod), the results of the State's investigation were that New York State laws were not being followed by the Rensselaer County Health Department, Rensselaer County laws were not being followed by the Rensselaer County Health Department, and there was very little “enforcement activity” even in the face of illegal sales.

(Dr. Axelrod) advised that the Rensselaer County Health Department's oversight of realty subdivisions in that county is “unsatisfactory.”

(Dr. Axelrod) also faulted the State of New York Health Department for not auditing Rensselaer County's program.

(Dr. Axelrod) advised that he would not expect to find a worse county in the region (the Capital District region which comprises 17 counties).

According to (Dr. Axelrod), the object of any county health department is to protect the public and not to facilitate development.

In the case of Rensselaer County, it appears that the Rensselaer County Health Department was in business to facilitate developers and development rather than to protect the public.


end quotes

That was 1989, and here we are in 2022, going backwards from there, thanks to the DEC and DOH working together with the RCHD and Poestenkill, which takes us to page 7 of the 1989 Axelrod Report, under "Discussion," where Dr. Axelrod was more emphatic about what that sentence above really meant to we who live in Poestenkill, to wit:

"Based upon a review of the County's subdivision and private water and sewage programs, it is clear that Paul Plante's concerns about its integrity are justified."

"The public health and environment are threatened by an inordinate number of sewage system failures, which are the legacy of mismanaged programs in prior years."

"Further, the County may face many more system failures in future seasons to come, and immediate steps should be taken to properly manage a comprehensive program in the future."


end quotes

That of course, was never done, and that whole matter was very effectively white-washed and covered up by the New York State Attorney General in conjunction with Rensselaer County, the Rensselaer County District Attorney, the Office of Professional Discipline of the NYS Education Department, and the Town of Poestenkill, all of which is a matter of record as can be seen in a Times Union article titled "Rensselaer County Housing Deals Probed" by Tim O'Brien, Staff Writer, on 18 March 1989, as follows:

TROY - A state Health Department report has sparked two separate investigations into whether Rensselaer County officials and developers allowed houses to be built without proper environmental approval.

A state Health Department report made public Friday charges that the county Health Department failed to follow state and local regulations on approving housing subdivisions.

The state probe was requested by County Executive John L. Buono after allegations of improprieties were made by Environmental Health Director Paul R. Plante.

The state report blames a number of individuals for the improper practices, including the county engineers, the county executive and Board of Health, as well as the state Health Department, for failing to properly oversee the department.

But the person credited as being "perhaps most directly" responsible is Van Praag, who has been health director since 1977.

"Clearly, there has been a failure (by Van Praag) to provide administrative supervision," the report said.

The report has been forwarded to the state attorney general's office and the state Education Department for study.


end quotes

And the state attorney general’s office and the Education Department buried that matter deep.

And I would note that as of 20 August 2022, and this not surprising, the Poestenkill website has been scrubbed clean of any mention of coliform in Poestenkill’s drinking water, which is a widespread problem, according to the information on the town website that has now been deleted, to wit:

Now to see exactly what is meant when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says it and the DOH, and the Rensselaer County Department of Health are working together to protect the public health and environment of the Poestenkill community, and to see how absurd and ludicrous the statement is in light of reality, all that is necessary is to look at this entry from the Town of Poestenkill website, to wit:

ALERT POESTENKILL WELL OWNERS:

As a result of recent testing of 15 Poestenkill resident wells for the presence of bacteria, particularly Coliform and E-Coli, it is apparent that most well owners do not regularly test their wells for bacteria, as recommended by the DEC and are therefore not aware of dangerous bacteria in their water.

Of these 15 wells recently tested 11 (73%) tested as “This result indicates that the water WAS NOT of a SATISFACTORY SANITARY QUALITY when sampled”.


end quotes

For the record, coliform bacteria in the drinking water of a community is a sure sign of a backwards, primitive society with a third-world health department which you would expect to find in some place like Haiti or Uganda, where children in backwards Poestenkill now say “Mommy, this water tastes like it has KA-KA in it, why is there POOP in our drinking water?” to which the mother replies, “Hush, child, drink up, the health department says it’s good for you!”

That is what the DEC and DOH working together with their partners the RCHD and the town of Poestenkill have managed to bequeath us with in Poestenkill – conditions one would expect to be confronted with in a third-world county where human sewage runs in the street because the society is too ignorant to have it be otherwise and the government too corrupt and uncaring to prevent it.

So the whitewashes go on, as can be expected from the DEC, the DOH, the RCDOH and the town of Poestenkill, all of whom share responsibility for these water quality problems in Poestenkill.

Whether or not you can assimilate any of that, or wrap your mind around any of that is immaterial, because the facts as quoted are the real facts.

Yes, for some people, they are very inconvenient, but those are the Pro-Polluter people who have no trouble whatsoever allowing the contamination of the public water supply of a middle school full of children, a craven act that is an act of moral insanity (a type of mental disorder consisting of abnormal emotions and behaviours in the apparent absence of intellectual impairments, delusions, or hallucinations) that is sociopathic (a “sociopath” has little regard for another person's emotions, rights, or experiences, lacking remorse for their actions, and acting in ways that show no regard for others, including lying, cheating, and manipulating) in nature.

Sincerely,

Paul Pante, NYSPE, Assoc. P.H. Eng.
Post Reply