Register for wellhead and aquifer protection workshop

MARGARETVILLE, N.Y., May 24, 2006– Local government officials, environmental representatives and concerned citizens are invited to a one-day Aquifer and Wellhead Protection workshop Thursday, June 22 at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center’s Discovery (Lower) Lodge in Highmount.

Registration deadline is June 12. The fee is $35 which includes workshop materials, continental breakfast and lunch. The Catskill Watershed Corporation (CWC) will cover the registration fee of participants living and/or working in any town in the Catskill-Delaware Watershed west of the Hudson River. To register and arrange for this special benefit, contact Myra Fedyniak at Ulster County Environmental Management Council/Water Quality Management Agency (EMC/WQMA) at 845-338-2479, or mfed_ucemc@yahoo.com.

The workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is designed for members of town and planning boards and environmental commissions; building and health inspectors; water supply operators and others interested in the critical issue of water protection.

The program, presented by Horsley Whitten Group, an internationally recognized environmental services firm, will include background on hydrology, delineating well protection areas and identifying potential pollution sources. Case studies will be examined, and participants will learn about low-impact design tools, best management practices (BMPs,) such as open space preservation, water withdrawal management, etc.; and regulatory tools (zoning, subdivision and health ordinances) for protecting drinking water sources.

Workshop participants will receive a workbook with BMP information, model zoning ordinances and case studies.

The event is sponsored by EMC/WQMA in cooperation with the CWC, Lower Esopus River Watch, Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District, and Delaware County Planning Department.