Freshwater regulations also impact Jamestown | News, sports, jobs

We can understand why the Jamestown City Council feels the need to get involved with freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

It weighs on Rep. Nick Langworthy and state Sen. George Borrello that the governing body of Chautauqua County’s largest city opposes freshwater wind turbines, even though studies have shown the turbines are not economically feasible at this time.

But if the council wants to take up the case against freshwater wind turbines, we believe the council should turn its attention to a watershed issue that actually affects Jamestown. We are, of course, talking about the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act and the regulations that many lake governments have raised concerns about in recent months. Jamestown is one of the few local governments that has not passed a resolution opposing the regulations or requesting a delay in their implementation while it is ironed out whether or not the wording of the regulations is beneficial to Chautauqua Lake.

It’s especially surprising because Jamestown is home to the Chadakoin River and McCrae Point. McCrae Point will be subject to the new regulations when they come into effect in January – so the city actually has a hand in the game when it comes to freshwater regulations. That’s not the case when it comes to freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

There aren’t many homeowners in Jamestown who will be affected by the freshwater regulations at Chautauqua Lake or the surrounding watershed. But ongoing work at Chadakoin and McCrae Point could be affected, even if that effect would only be an additional permit for work being done to rehabilitate the area. .

We believe state lawmakers made a mistake when they failed to carve out an exception for navigable lakes like Chautauqua Lake in the Freshwater Wetlands Act. That legislative oversight has created legitimate concerns for many around Chautauqua Lake, and we don’t think Jamestown is immune to those concerns.