The Town of Highland Planning Board is currently reviewing Camp FIMFO’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS) to determine whether it is “adequate” per guiding New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) regulations. When/if the Planning Board deems the draft “adequate”, a minimum 30 day public comment period will be set. The Town Planning Board will have the option to provide a longer period for public comment and whether to hold a public hearing where people can offer live testimony.
Currently, NO versions of the Camp FIMFO draft EIS have been deemed “adequate” by the Town of Highland Planning Board.
Minutes from the July 24th Planning Board meeting were uploaded to the town website and thereby became publicly accessible, 3 weeks after the meeting, on August 12. According to the minutes, the Planning Board reviewed the Camp FIMFO draft EIS for “adequacy” pursuant to the state regulations. The meeting minutes reference lists of comments on the draft EIS from Planning Board members, the Town Engineer, the Upper Delaware Council, and the National Park Service. Those lists identify concerns and unaddressed issues in the draft EIS and are uploaded to the town website. But the meeting minutes state that these comments still need to be compiled into an “official copy” before being shared with the applicant. This “official copy” has also not yet been released to the public. While the SEQR process would require the Town of Highland Planning Board to REJECT the draft EIS as inadequate because of these identified concerns, the meeting minutes say:
“Comments were compiled which Camp Fimfo needs to review and either adopt them in its entirety or if it is outside the scope to strike them. The applicant will take the comments and either 1. They will adjust the DEIS to incorporate some of these things, 2. Written responses as to why something is outside the scope or 3. Answer that comment but they feel it does not apply in the DEIS.”
Delaware Riverkeeper Network has concerns about the process the Planning Board has designed, including its lack of conformity with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), the leeway it gives to Camp FIMFO to dismiss community and town concerns, and ongoing lack of clarity and access for the public.
- Allowing Camp FIMFO to respond to and strike the Planning Board’s comments as outside of the scope of review for the project’s EIS (draft and final) does not comply with SEQR or implementing regulations. SEQR outlines the specific draft EIS review process Camp FIMFO and the Planning Board must follow. Per SEQR, only the lead agency—in this case the Town of Highland Planning Board—is authorized to assess the draft EIS and, if necessary, identify deficiencies that must be resolved for the draft EIS to be deemed “adequate” and ready for public review. The only power that the applicant has is to incorporate deficiencies identified by the Planning Board into a revised draft EIS and resubmit to the Planning Board for adequacy review. The regulations do not give Camp FIMFO the discretion to pick and choose which deficiencies to address, to challenge the deficiencies as outside the project scope, or to strike deficiencies. The process described in the July 24th meeting minutes give power and discretion to Camp FIMFO to which it is not legally entitled.
- Allowing Camp FIMFO to respond to Planning Board comments and potentially strike them as outside of the scope of draft EIS review does not comply with applicable regulations or law. The applicant is not legally entitled to declare a deficiency identified by the Planning Board as outside of the EIS scope of review; SEQR regulations only authorize the Planning Board to identify or qualify deficiencies. The applicant does not have discretion to accept or reject concerns submitted by the Planning Board, which currently include input from expert agencies like the Upper Delaware Council and the National Park Service. Giving Camp FIMFO the right to strike identified Planning Board deficiencies from further review undermines the authority of the Planning Board and gives the developers leeway to continue to dismiss community concerns. In the opinion of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, because the Planning Board has identified and compiled a detailed list of deficiencies, they must REJECT the draft EIS as inadequate and require Camp FIMFO to revise and resubmit a new draft EIS if they want further consideration of the project.
- Without live virtual broadcasting and/or timely public access to Planning Board meeting minutes and records, misinformation is spreading on the status of the Camp FIMFO draft EIS review and approval process. As a result, the public is being alienated from their legally mandated opportunity to engage. The July 24th meeting minutes—which were unavailable for nearly three weeks following the Planning Board meeting —describe a confusing review process that does not follow SEQR regulations. The lack of clarity and accessibility to information explaining the legal review process underway is harmful to the public. The community is entitled to the review and comment process SEQR regulations envision, to timely access to trustworthy information concerning the Planning Board’s decision-making, and to full and clear understanding regarding when and how the public may engage. We have already seen articles in the River Reporter that mischaracterize the status of the review process. The Planning Board should provide a means of virtually attending or reviewing meetings to allow fair and full engagement to all parties affected by this proposal. Doing otherwise is a disservice to the public and a failure of the Planning Board to fulfill its review, oversight and decision making role as per SEQR.
Please join us at the next Planning Board meeting to listen to the discussion of Camp FIMFO, to share any concerns you may have with how the review process is being conducted, and urge the Board members to REJECT the Camp FIMFO draft EIS as inadequate under the law.
What: Town of Highland Planning Board Meeting
When: August 28th at 6PM
Where: Town Hall, 4 Proctor Road, Eldred, NY 12732