"Bye, Bye, Black Meadow" or "Welcome to Stevie’s Playland!"
Dear Nieces and Nephews
Great Wolf Resorts
Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York
“The state Department of Environmental Protection cited Great Wolf in March for discharging poorly treated wastewater into Scot Run, a small tributary of Pocono Creek, which drains into Brodhead Creek and eventually the Delaware River.
Great Wolf officials blamed a clogged grease trap for the system malfunction, which caused nearly raw sewage to be discharged into the creek. They also said they were a victim of their own success: Business boomed beyond their projections, straining the lodge’s infrastructure and especially its septic system.”
“Last March — more than 10 months ago — DEP cited Great Wolf Lodge for polluting Scot Run, the small tributary of Pocono Creek into which the 500-room resort’s sewage treatment plant discharges.”
“SCOTRUN — The state Department of Environmental Protection has fined Great Wolf Lodge $833,349 for three water-quality and odor violations last year related to the resort’s wastewater treatment system.” and
“The fine, announced Friday, could bring an end to the nearly year-long controversy over wastewater problems at Great Wolf Lodge, a family-themed resort featuring an indoor waterpark that opened off Route 611 in Scotrun in October 2005.”
“Since February, dozens of guests at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason allegedly experienced rashes, coughing and respiratory symptoms after visiting the resort. Only one child was taken to an emergency room and some received treatment on the scene. None had been hospitalized.”
And
“So far, tests indicate the water in the pools is normal, but officials think the sickness may stem from chloramines in the air. Chloramines are chlorine byproducts created when organic matter, such as skin and body fluids, reacts with chlorine. Great Wolf officials said they are working to solve the problem.
https://www.aquaticsintl.com/facilities/design/great-wolf-lodges-face-water-and-air-quality-issues_o
GREAT WOLF LODGE SEWER SERVICE
The Engineer for Great Wolf Lodge has submitted an application for sewer service and sewer connection plans for the review. RKR Hess has provided preliminary review comments for discussion. BCRA has raised the question as to the potential benefits of having tanker trucks haul excess sewage from Great Wolf Lodge to Pocono Pump Station No. 5 in the near term.
Discussion followed. Consensus of the Board was to have Great Wolf Lodge haul directly to the BCRA Plant. https://www.poconopa.gov/sites/poconopa/files/sewermin131119.pdf
GREAT WOLF LODGE SEWER SERVICE
The Engineer for Great Wolf Lodge has submitted an application for sewer service and sewer connection plans for review. A conference call with representatives of Great Wolf Lodge is tentatively scheduled for December 6 th , 2013 to discuss RKR Hess preliminary review comments.
Re: Sewer Rates
R. Wielebinski explained that 64 users , both residential and businesses, Are receiving De Minimus for the sewer services and noted no other central sewer system allows customers free service.J. Belvin noted other utilities have a base rate for users, whether they use the utility or not. Discussion followed on property owners who have not connected or refused to connect. L. DeVito, Twp. Solicitor, suggested PFM should look At all sewer rates, so all users are treated equally. Roll call vote: R. Wielebinsk i, yes; J. Lastowski, yes: B. DeYoung, yes; and J. Belvin, yes . Motion carried.
The Township issued comment letters to PADEP and the Delaware River Basin Commission in response to correspondence from Great Wolf Lodge’s consultants.
And then there’s:
“The site of the proposed park would be only 8 miles from where the new Legoland will be in Goshen”.
While it may be beneficial for the theme parks to “cluster” (as indicated in the THR) and supposedly create more of a “draw”, as they have in California, Kansas City, Boston area and the Poconos, that is irrelevant, since there are major factors that have NOT been considered by the likes of Steve Neuhaus, Rob Jerolman (New FOS) and the merry band.
NOT CONSIDERED are the local businesses and the effect such “tourism generators” will have on them (eg local Dunkin Donuts in Chester and Goshen; The Castle Fun Center, Bye Bye!)
NOT CONSIDERED are the environment effects such as sewer capacity and water. In 2012:
”Goshen was riddled with problems, left unsolved by previous administrations, and mostly having to do with the sanitation system that serves the village and two housing developments, Arcadia Hills and Hambletonian Park. The larger problems included dangerous sewerage overflows in the streets and relocating a $10 million landfill”.
In 2015: “Orange County has struggled with concerns over the dwindling capacity at Harriman Sewer Plant for years. But early plans to do another expansion in Harriman is unlikely due to the amount of effluent going into the Ramapo River which supplies water to much of northern New Jersey. Attempts to explore a second plant in Chester that would dump effluent into the Blackmeadow Creek were quickly nixed by both the town and village. Both the Blackmeadow Creek and Otterkill Creek in Chester are identified as threatened waterways requiring protection.”http://www.chroniclenewspaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150731/NEWS01/150739996/0/SEARCH
And now: “If past is prologue, the challenge for any would-be developer of the former Camp LaGuardia site in Chester and Blooming Grove will be in its water and sewer infrastructure — or lack thereof.”
And didn’t someone say that having a sewer treatment plant on the black meadow is “insane”?
Town of Chester Supervisor Steve Neuhaus, who is also running for county executive in 2013, called the idea "insane." He said it was the same as if he were to go over to the county executive's house and built a shed in his yard. "The county does not even own land in Chester," Neuhaus said.
He acknowledged that the county needs more sewer capacity.
He acknowledged that the county needs more sewer capacity.
Steve, what is it about the words “threatened” and “protected” that you do not understand? There has been no improvement in the situation since 2012 , so WHY have you changed your mind about the treatment of the Black Meadow Creek and the Otter KIll? Your rationale, provided by your spokesperson, Justin*, is just incomprehensible, especially when compared to your previous statements. You confuse issues and your current statement is merely a way of blaming the “previous administration” for the problems of today. You have had since 2012, when you were notably aware of the issues on a town level, and definitely since 2014, when you were became County Executive, to prepare a true solution, a plan! You have done NOTHING!!! Did you really write that statement or did you hire an FOS to do it?
NOT CONSIDERED is Us! whether or not we, the Orange County residents want their county to become “Stevie’s Playland.” Maybe we do not want another one of his carnival folk from the UK dictating how we live! Maybe we do not want to live in an overcrowded theme park led by a performing pinhead and serial environmental violators such as Merlin Legoland and Great Wolf resorts. Bye Bye Black Meadow!
Steve, by his statements in the THR and by his actions, knew over a year ago, of this plan to add the Great Wolf Lodge/ Water Park. Only now is he going to “touch base” with Orange County residents in late September 2018!
We get it, Steve thinks this is a “DONE DEAL”.
Well, maybe not this time.
posted by Auntie Alibi @ 2:54 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
GO AUNTIE GO EXPOSE THEM ALL.
"Chloramines" another new word for us to add to our already strapped mental status. What other gifts can we bestow on our children !!!
Doug Bloomfield
Mike Rost
Alex Jameison and now
Rob Jeroloman
Wonder how much each will make?
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