Peter Mantius reports the situation in his blog, Waterfront Online. Martin Wojciks, the owner of a gravel quarry is pushing to expand his mining alongside Watkins Glen State Park. The public have conveyed their concerns about potential noise pollution, increased flood risk, dust, and an influx of vehicles in said area. Wojciks has also failed to adequately restore 8.5 acres of land that he mined illegally in 2021. The DEC doesn’t seem to be applying appropriate pressure to the situation even with Wojciks’ failed compliance to pay the full fine of $25,000 or restore the mined land. During this entire process, there has been a lack of transparency with deadlines continuously increasing in flexibility.
Image Courtesy of: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2024/04/04/after-repeatedly-fining-gravel-pit-owner-for-mining-outside-the-law-dec-weighs-plan-to-quintuple-his-permitted-site/
Link to Peter Mantius’s article on this: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2024/04/04/after-repeatedly-fining-gravel-pit-owner-for-mining-outside-the-law-dec-weighs-plan-to-quintuple-his-permitted-site/
