The limits for vibrations and noise from the blasting have been established by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, which tested them to ensure the levels would not result in damage to nearby properties, said Halina Duda, mining specialist at the DEC’s Region 3 office. Hence she disputes recent complaints from East Kingston residents that cracks in their concrete basement floors and walls have been caused by the blasting, suggesting instead they were due to natural causes. Duda, who visits the Callanan site a couple of times a year to make sure the company is in compliance with DEC regulations, said the readings from seismographs the company is required to have in place in the town are proof that the blasts are all within the regulations.
Four years ago, there had been a problem, she conceded — a blast made in May 2007 had exceeded the allowable noise levels. Callanan was subsequently fined $3,000, and the DEC briefly closed down a portion of the mine. (Duda said the problem was related to the company’s hiring of a new blasting contractor, which had committed violations in other Callanan mines in the state and was subsequently fired. The DEC also required Callanan to conform to a series of DEC-outlined best practices before renewing its blasting activities.)
Acknowledging blasting on the east side of Route 32 is a nuisance for East Kingston residents, Duda said the mine’s impact on East Kingston should lessen as Callanan shifts its excavation activities farther away, to a quarry located on the west side of Route 32. But resident Jeannie McCullough said blasts occurring on the far west side of the highway are “sometimes just as bad. They’re blasting two to three times a week, and we’re losing our hill,” she said, referring to the wooded ridge across the street from her house on Main Street.
Resident Josephine Reina, who lives on Brigham Street, said the company had called her prior to a blast sometime around Veterans Day and said the explosion would occur on the west side of 32. However, she said the blast actually occurred on the east side, prompting her to call Town of Supervisor Jim Quigley, “who’s looking into it.” With each close-by blast, the bricks in her front and back steps move apart, she said.
Reina, whose father worked in the mine, said cement mining had destroyed a wetland off Devil’s Lake Road. In the past, when her father worked in the kilns, East Kingston was often inundated with sulfur fumes and other industrial smells, she recalled. After Hudson Cement closed the plant down, there was a long hiatus, until its successor, Callanan Industries, started mining the area around 2000, she said. “The water got bad on John Street, and some wells were damaged.” And the protective berm the company is supposed to construct along Route 32 is down, she said. – Lynn Woods
First of all I would like to thank the Kingston Times for bringing the wetlands scenario to light. We may not be in the City of Kingston but we do surround it on all sides so things that happen here can ultimately impact the city. The wetlands in question run from the City line all the way to Glenerie falls on the Saugerties line. They are connected and are endowed with amazing habitats. In 2009 I was fortunate to have participated in one of Hudsonia’s Biodiversity Mapping programs. That year our group mapped 3200 acres in the western part of the City of Kingston and the Town of Ulster. It was an amazing experience and we all learned many things. Having completed that area I decided to take on the Route 32 corridor which has a unique ‘Ridge’ and adjacent wetlands! The ‘Ridge is the first thing you see when you cross the Kingston Rhinecliff bridge on your way to the Catskills. This is the gateway to the Catskills and could be the prime stopping place for tourist but the main attraction is more than likely the Hudson valley Mall.
During the months between 2009 and the present I researched the Route 32 corridor and what is presently happening there and the best uses of the area. In mapping an area you must look at all kinds of reports (Archaeology)and maps as well as special photos and even Google Earth (which can save a lot of walking) The geology of the ‘Ridge’ is primarily calcareous (lime stone which lends itself to the presence of many of the more rare species. There is one wetland on the ‘Ridge’ which was historically connected by a small stream and Hydric Soil (soil that retains water) Some of the local people and historians know the northern part of this wetland as Hutter Lake or Steneracka and is on maps back to the early 1800’s–It is also on all the wetland maps my group has examined and to our knowledge has never been formally declassified or deregulated .It is not listed as such on the DEC web site nor was there a public hearing to do this. We are very concerned about this area as even though Mr. Zeh says they mitigate the areas destroyed by mining replacing flora and fauna that is indigenous to a specific geology is next to impossible. Specific moss and fern do not grow just anywhere. I have read of the work that both Callanan and Tilcon have done and will say they have done excellent work however they were not replacing something as sensitive as this and for the most part improved on the areas destroyed by their mining. This ‘Ridge’ is connected geologically to the area in Rosendale and the Schawgunks .
Callanan and Tilcon own 1000 acres in Ulster county. There are 130 areas being overseen by the DEC (Helena Duda) not all are actively mined or permitted at this time but many can produce the very same product that is now taken from the east Kingston Quarry and many of those areas are locally owned. I am sure if one really looked we could buy American even though it is our earth. The $50,000 quoted for taxes on the East Kingston Quarry is broken down into around $18,000 municipal tax and the rest goes to the Kingston City School District.
In response to Ms Duda’s statement that Hutter lake is isolated I would ask folks to Google Earth and look for yourself. Both sections of KE-7 are subject to over site by the DEC and the Army Corp of Engineers according to multiple wetlands maps. It is a pity that companies like Tilcon/Callanan dodge SEQRA which gives them license to destroy so much. Does it make that big a difference in the bottom line? Do they hold “The People” in such low esteem that they take away their voice? This is not working with Folks! This blatantly ignoring the plight of the people especial those of East Kingston not to mention the Native American’s who’s history lies along that ‘Ridge’. There are ancient paths that run north and south along that Ridge. There are at least seven noted archaeological sites and one that has been documented by Ritchey who was the State Archaeologist many years ago. There are representatives of the Munsee people from Canada who have asked for recognition when these sites are studied.
I guess I am hoping that somehow the parties involved in the making of ‘Two Lakes’ might consider the “People”, “We the People”.
‘LAW’
Land, Air and Water
A Coalition for the Protection of Natural Resources
Nora Paul Budziak
[email protected]
I know that Callahan destroys wetlands. I lived in East Kingston and Kingston all my life. I ice skated on lakes and ponds where Callahan now exists. There were two lakes on Devils Lake Road that have been filled with sediment and drained. You can still travel toward Kingston on that road and see other wetlands still in existence. How could anyone believe that these wetlands did not extend into East Kingston?? And this is what is going to happen to Hutter Lake. It is NOT isolated. Nor were the Lakes that were destroyed by Callahan. Some were spring fed.