Issues

Mission Statement:

The purpose of the Association shall be to protect and improve the environmental quality of Silver Lake and its watershed, and the quality of life around the lake (recreational, commercial, industrial, social).

Wind Turbine Issue

Water Quality Issue

Wind Turbine Issue

Six companies have or are attempting to site up to 400 industrial wind turbines over 400 feet high in Wyoming County. Many are planned for the Perry region.  The Association on September 9, 2005 set up a committee on Wind Turbines. After Horizon Wind Energy presented a program at our October 2005 meeting, the leadership of the SLA took a strong position opposing the siting of these towers within hearing and sight distance to the lake. Committee and other Board Members have attended most meetings relative to wind turbines and have testified at various public meetings held by the Towns of Castile, Perry and Gainesville.

The Town of Castile passed a local law to amend the zoning law of the Town to provide for regulation of Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS) on July 26, 2007. This law allows farmers and others to install smaller (up to 125 feet) turbines for personal use while providing adequate protection for their neighbors from the many adverse effects of turbines.

The Town of Gainesville passed a local law to amend the zoning law of the town to provide regulations of WECS on May 12, 2008.  The height restrictions for WECS are 125 feet.   The Town of Gainesville boundary line abuts the Town of Castile boundary on the ridge on the West side of the lake.  There was concern from the Association that wind turbines would be installed on this ridge because it is one on the highest altitudes in Wyoming County.

At the Perry public meetings the SLA President requested a buffer zone around the lake, a year’s moratorium so that all Wyoming County communities could come together on this issue, protection of private wells and ground water supplies, a lowering of the 450 foot height restriction, and approval of the larger setback from 1200 to 1500 feet from the property line as approved by the Town of Perry in their flawed Law D regulating wind turbines. The Perry Town Board has not revisited the Planning Board’s Draft Energy Proposal for changes to Law D that was submitted August 9, 2007.

Current proposals and activities include:

1.         In the Town of Perry, the 145- page DEIS was returned to the Perry Town Board at the July 11, 2007 meeting.  Copies of the DEIS with comments are available at the Perry Town Hall.  The extension of a permit for a temporary Met Tower on the R and D Harwood property, Burke Hill Road, was due September 1, 2007.  A special use permit for a Met Tower on the Wheeler property, Burke Hill Road, is being submitted to the Perry Planning Board in September 2008.  Horizon Wind Company owns these two Met Towers.  The permits for these Met towers were extended, after much discussion, on August 5, 2008.  There are no zoning laws in the Town of Perry to enforce fines to Horizon when their contract has expired and the Met towers are not dismantled.

2.       Horizon has downsized their plans for the installation of Dairy Hills Wind Farm in the Towns of Perry and Covington.   They have to submit a new proposal to the Town of Perry Board.  Perry Town continues to be the lead agent for this project.  Another public hearing will take place in the near future. The Association will continue to monitor this situation by attending the town board meetings and public hearings.

Click on the large thumbnail image below to see how the West side of the lake will look if the Turbines go in.

Jon Boone Presentation of June 19, 2006 at the Perry High School Auditorium: "The Wayward Wind"

Wayward Wind Presentation (PDF Format)

The "Voices of Tug Hill" and "Life Under a Wind Farm" videos are available in computer display format (Windows .wmv file) and only take 3 minutes to download using broadband. The quality isn't bad and the pictures are still large enough for PC display purposes.

To download go to one of these links.

http://www.barehillsoftware.com/Voices of Tug Hill.wmv
http://www.barehillsoftware.com/Life Under a Wind Turbine.wmv
 

Back To Top

Water Quality

Algae Blooms

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae as it is commonly known, usually appears in late summer here on Silver Lake. As a matter of fact, the warmer waters of smaller, shallower lakes - especially those surrounded by fertilized lawns and fields, have been shown to have increased blooms of blue-green algae.

According to Greg Boyer, chemistry professor at the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and one of the top cyanobacteria experts, blue-green algae has always lived in the ponds, streams, and lakes of New York. But, in recent years, cyanobacteria has been increasing. Researchers have made a correlation in frequency of the blue-green algae with the establishment of invasive zebra and quagga mussels in lake ecosystems. Still unknown is why some cyanobacteria blooms can produce toxins, while others don't.

Joseph Makarewicz, professor of Biology at SUNY Brockport, who has done testing of samples from Silver Lake, said that they still do not understand why these blue-green cyanotoxins occur. He stated, "You can have organisms in Lake Ontario known to produce the toxins, yet they don't. You can go to the next lake, and the same species is producing the toxin."  

So what do we do until scientists and researchers can figure out how and why these blooms are occurring, and what makes some toxic? 

Use common sense. Since some of these blooms can contain toxins which can be harmful if ingested, if there are blue-green algae blooms going on in the lake - keep your children and pets out of it. While a good wind typically dissipates blue-green algae blooms just as quickly as it appeared, you may report it to Wyoming County Soil & Water Conservation District at 786-5070 if the bloom is so large that you feel it should be tested.

How can lakeside homeowners be pro-active in working to alleviate this problem?

Since fertilized lakeside lawns have been linked with increased frequency in blooms, lakeside homeowners who want to help protect their lake water quality should seriously consider extremely limiting, or eliminating altogether, fertilizing their lakeside lawns. If you do choose to fertilize, Fall applications of a phosphorous-free brand, like Spectrum's Stay Green, is recommended. For further information, you may wish to contact the Wyoming County Cornell Cooperative Extension at 786-2251. Or, you can contact me, Mary Kay Barton - Chair of your SLA Water Quality Committee, at mkbarton711@yahoo.com, if you would like to discuss the issue further. Additional information can be found at

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/seagrant/GLWL/Algae/HAB/HABFAQ.html 

The following picture shows the bloom on Silver Lake during the 2007 season:

Dredging

Further meetings and discussions have continued with the DEC since the initial November 15, 2007, meeting in Buffalo regarding dredging of the outlet. The DEC has deemed that 6 core samples need to be taken in the outlet to determine if any heavy metals are present before dredging can be approved. The Silver Lake Watershed Commission approved the cost of doing the core sampling at their July 17, 2008 meeting, with the sampling to be done ASAP. Once the results of the core samples are in, the DEC will determine the next appropriate steps regarding the dredging of the outlet. Further information will be posted when available.

Fish Virus  

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is a serious pathogen of fresh and salt water fish that is causing an emerging disease in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. It affects fish of all sizes and age ranges. It does not pose any threat to human health. VHS can cause hemorrhaging of fish tissue, including internal organs, and can cause the death of infected fish. Not all infected fish develop the disease, but they can carry and spread the disease to other fish. The USDA press release can be found on the Internet at www.aphis.usda.gov.

Fish kills linked to VHS were confirmed in Lake Ontario, Lake ST. Clair, Lake Erie, the St. Lawrence River, and Conesus Lake. The species in involved in the fish kills linked to VHS that are resident in Silver lake are smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, black crappie, bluegill, rock bass, and walleye. The complete list of affected fish can be found on the internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/aqua.

In August 2006 on or near the shore line of Conesus Lake approximately 35 dead or dying walleyes were observed by State DEC technicians. Two dying walleyes were taken to the Cornell veterinary science lab for diagnosis. The Cornell lab confirmed a diagnosis of VHS.   

What can be done to prevent the spread of VHS?

1.    Remove all mud, aquatic plants and animals from all gear, boats, motors, and trailers before leaving a body of water, including Silver Lake. This is especially important when leaving a known infected body of water.

2.    Drain your live well, bilge and bait tanks before leaving the water you are fishing or boating on. Anglers or boaters using any water body known to be infected with the VHS virus (the current list is available from DEC) should disinfect their live wells and bait wells with a 10% chlorine/water solution. Rinse wells to remove all residue of chlorine.

3.    Do not transport fish from one body of water to another. Note that this practice is illegal without a DEC fish stocking permit.

4.    Only release bait fish into the body of water it was taken from. Bait purchased commercially should not be released into any body of water.

5.    Do not dispose of fish carcasses or by-products in any body of water.

On November 21, 2006 DEC filed emergency fish health regulations in response to VHS.  The regulations include.

1.    Prohibit the commercial collection of bait fish from waters of the State where VHS has been detected.

2.    Require live fish destined for release into the waters of the State to be inspected by certified professionals and be certified to be free of VHS and other serious fish diseases. The rule prohibits the placement of live fish into the waters of the State (including possessing, importing and transporting live fish for the purposes of placing them into the waters of the State) unless accompanied by a fish health inspections report issued within the previous 12 months.

Water Quality Report

The Silver Lake Association is participating in the CSLAP (New York Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program). The program involves 105 lakes in the state. Bi-weekly water samples are taken at one meter of depth and at the lake bottom in the deepest location in the lake. These samples are then sent to a common certified laboratory for analysis.  The water samples are analyzed for conductivity, pH, phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll a, and calcium. We will receive a full report of the data early in 2007. Preliminary results follow.

The monitoring of Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Conductivity, and pH in the lake was resumed in 2006 using a “Hydrolab” which is lowered in the water to take measurements at one meter (Approximately 3 ft.) increments. Measurements were made on a bi weekly schedule. Five locations were used for the monitoring. These were the outside edge of the north and south end weed beds, the north and south edges of the “basin” portion of the lake and at the deepest spot that is 11 meters or approx 36 feet. In general the measured conditions are the same at the same levels at the five locations for pH. The conductivity was essentially the same for all locations and depths. The temperature decreased with depth with the “turn over” taking place in early September. The dissolved oxygen decreased with depth, reaching less than 1 mg/L at 8 meters of depth in August. The DO at the lower depths increased after the “turn over”. An interesting finding was that when stratification occurred it was not fully horizontal in the lake as pictured in most publications. There was an upward movement of the lower temperature and DO levels as the ends of the “basin” were approached.

Below is a comparison of several years of monitoring at the same location.

Notes:

Temperature  - Degrees Fahrenheit

Dissolved Oxygen – Milligrams per liter

Conductivity – MilliSiemens per centimeter (A good fishery requires a range from 0.150 to 0.500 mS/cm)

NA – Not Available

Back To Top

Homepage  |  Tract Directors  |  Committees  |  Meeting Notes|  Newsletters  |  Bulletin Board  |  Issues  |  Events  |  Links  | Email Subscription