Fresh water laws also affect Jamestown | News, Sports, Work

We can understand the Jamestown City Council feeling the need to weigh in on freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

It carries some weight for Congressman Nick Langworthy and state Sen. George Borrello that the governing body of Chautauqua County’s largest city officially opposes freshwater wind turbines, even though studies have shown the turbines are not currently economically feasible.

But if the council is going to take on the case against freshwater wind turbines, we think the council should turn its attention to a watershed issue that actually affects Jamestown. We’re talking, of course, about the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act and regulations that many lakefront governments have expressed concern about in recent months. Jamestown was one of the few local governments that did not pass resolutions opposing the rules or asking to delay implementation until it was determined whether the rule wording was good for Chautauqua Lake.

This is especially surprising since Jamestown has the Chadacoin River and Cape McCray running through it. McCray Point will be subject to the new rules when they go into effect in January, so the city does have some skin in the game when it comes to fresh water regulations. This is not the case when it comes to freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

There aren’t many Jamestown homeowners who will be affected by freshwater regulations on Chautauqua Lake or the surrounding watershed. But it could affect ongoing work at Chadacoin and McCrae Point, even if the effect is only an additional permit for ongoing reclamation work. .

In our view, state lawmakers erred in not making an exception in the Freshwater Wetlands Act for navigable lakes like Chautauqua Lake. This legislative oversight has raised legitimate concerns for many around Chautauqua Lake, and we do not think Jamestown is immune to those concerns.