The specific parcels involved in New York City's land-buying plans for the New York City watershed -- the subject of much debate over the past year -- have finally been announced today.
In a press release published on the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's website today, the agency reveals that it has spent $7.8 million to buy 1,323 acres of land in the watershed, almost all of it in Delaware County and Greene County:
The 12 parcels acquired today are scattered throughout priority areas which were established in 1997 based on certain watershed and water quality features that help guide the City's solicitation of land in order to best protect upstate reservoirs from over development. The acquisition of 12 parcels includes five in Delaware County totaling 815 acres, four in Greene County totaling approximately 430 acres, two in Ulster County totaling nearly 74 acres, and one four-acre parcel in Westchester County.
At a public meeting held in Delhi last month, DEP officials told the crowd that they were planning to buy land mostly in Delaware and Greene counties. They also said that most of their energy was going towards convincing landowners who had already declined to sell to the city to change their minds. Looks like they found a few takers.
This isn't the end of the story, however -- the DEP still must get approval from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for its plan to protect its unfiltered water supply with this extra 1,323 acres of buffer zone. The city's draft Environmental Impact Statement is due to the EPA in January -- if you don't like the DEP's plans, you can comment on the draft EIS from now until September 15.
