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 and Castile region, including surrounding Silver Lake. A committee on Wind Turbines was set up by the Association on September 9, 2005. 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 and Perry.

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.

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, 2006.

Current proposals and activities include:

1.        The Met Tower on Middle Reservation Road is scheduled to be removed soon.  This Met Tower was from the Tamarack/Orion Wind Company.

2.        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.  Public comment will be at a Public Hearing at a date to be scheduled.  The extension of a permit for a temporary Met Tower on the R and D Harwood property, Burke Hill Road, is 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.  These two Met Towers are owned by Horizon Wind Company. 

3.        No one yet knows the impact on the avian migration routes or on the bat population.  The California Energy Commission research proved the wind farms so dangerous to wildlife that the local Board of Supervisors forced a shut off of its turbines during migratory periods. In the bird books we are considered to be part of the Atlantic Fly Way.

Other sources of information can be found at http://www.silverlakeview.com/wind/wind.htm  .

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
 

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Water Quality

Dredging:

The past seven months were interesting for the lakers.  With little rain the lake level dropped all summer and fall.  Because of petitions and letters from the residents at the north end of the lake, SLA’s Water Quality Committee and Board of Directors, the Silver Lake Watershed Commission and officials from the Town of Castile and the Village of Perry, the DEC in Buffalo held a meeting with all involved groups on November 15^th.   The discussion topic was the permitting and funding for dredging the outlet and inlet of Silver Lake.  The meeting was positive and the DEC officials were encouraged by the large attendance from our groups.  Now we await the details.  In early fall while the water was very low Ed Koziel, DPW Superintendent for Perry Village,  and his staff removed many truck loads of debris from the outlet.

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.

Algae Blooms

FYI - in case you are concerned about the algal bloom read the following report. No one currently seems to know if the bloom is toxic (it requires too many days to get the test results) so the best course of action is to stay out of it and keep your pets out of it.

Water Quality Committee

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

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

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