Catskill Watershed Corp. Board Has New Member

MARGARETVILLE, May 5, 2005—The Catskill Watershed Corporation Board of Directors welcomed a new member at its Annual Meeting April 26.

Berndt Leifeld, Supervisor of the Town of Olive, assumed the Ulster County seat vacated by Edward Jennings, Jr. of Wawarsing, who was given a standing ovation for his many years of service as an advocate for Watershed residents. Supervisors from Ulster County Watershed Towns elected Leifeld to the four-year post.

Charles Buck, Supervisor of the Town of Gilboa, was re-elected to a four-year term as Schoharie County representative to the CWC Board.

An estimated 60 people at the Annual Meeting heard CWC staff members give an overview of environmental, economic development and education activities during 2004:

• A total of 251 failed septic systems were replaced last year, bringing to 1,925 the number of systems repaired or reimbursed by the CWC since 1997. The new Septic Maintenance Program funded pump outs of 64 CWC-installed systems in 2004.
• Six stormwater control projects for new construction were reimbursed in 2004, and eight projects to correct existing stormwater problems were completed. Another eight grants were awarded to municipalities conducting community stormwater infrastructure assessments.
• Work is progressing at or ahead of schedule on the community septic system in Bovina Center. Four other hamlets - Boiceville, Bloomville, Hamden and DeLancey -- are planning or exploring options for wastewater treatment under the CWC’s Community Wastewater Management Program.
• A research project to monitor and test various types of on-site wastewater treatment systems at 20 sites got underway in 2004.
• Eighteen low-interest loans from the Catskill Fund for the Future were closed during 2004. The value of these loans to area businesses and institutions was $3,467,000, with another $7.4 million leveraged from other sources. A total of 106 loans totaling more than $20 million had been approved through the end of 2004.
• Twenty-six grants amounting to $723,000 were also approved last year. Some 250 jobs were created or retained as a result of loans and grants.
• The CWC’s Education Program awarded 23 grants to Watershed and New York City schools and organizations in 2004. The program awarded 156 grants ($838,000) in its first seven years. The eighth round of funding - 35 grants for $145,782 - was approved by the Board at the regular monthly meeting which followed the Annual Meeting.

In other 2004 activities, the CWC installed road signs commemorating the former locations of towns claimed for New York City’s six West-of-Hudson reservoirs; conducted a successful Catskills Local Government Day and a region-wide Stream Clean-up; acquired a grant from the New York State Archives to develop a plan for a regional, web-based Geographical Information System network; held two classes for septic system contractors and supported the Catskill Business Roundtable which offered 28 business training classes for more than 400 people.

For more information on CWC programs and activities, go to www.cwconline.org.