Springwater, N.Y.—On Thursday night, hundreds piled into the Springerwater firehouse for the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hemlock-Canadice management plan meeting. It was a chance to gain information about the future plans for two still pristine Finger Lakes and offer their input.
“I’m very concerned about contamination of the water,” said Tracy Prowell of Honeoye.
In February, the DEC released its draft plan for the future of Hemlock-Canadice State Forest. It left open the possibility of oil and gas drilling, but the DEC later said such actions would not be permitted in the area.
“At the very least, one party (that was) in the DEC, was not talking to the other side,” said Len Wildman. “That makes me nervous.”
Hemlock Lake provides drinking water to the City of Rochester among other communities. Some people at the meeting sought special watershed protection for the lakes.
“It’s something that we will look into and evaluate,” said Paul D’Amato, Regional Director of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Public comments will be accepted up to April 15th.
They can be submitted online, dropped off at several repositories or mailed directly to the DEC.
For details of where comments can be sent, you are asked to visit
this website.
It will probably take six months the DEC to finalize its plan and perhaps as much as a year for the state to adopt its management plan for Hemlock-Canadice Forest.
