Rockland residents to speak at United Water PSC hearings Oct. 1 & 2.

Residents of Rockland County are preparing to speak out in opposition to United Water’s proposal to build a Hudson River desalination water treatment plant for Rockland County’s drinking water. Two public hearings, being held by the NYS Public Service Com- mission on Tuesday, October 1 at Clarkstown South High School, 31 Demarest Road, West Nyack and on Wednesday, October 2 at Haverstraw Elementary School, 16 Grant Street, in Haverstraw, will begin at 6pm with a one-hour public information session and “on the record” comments at 7pm. Written comments can also be submitted until October 18.

United Water’s Haverstraw Water Supply Project would draw brackish water from Haverstraw Bay, 3.5 miles downstream from Indian Point nuclear power plant, and use energy-intensive reverse osmosis to treat the water to meet federal government standards. However, traces of tritium and strontium 90 that have been found in test samples have Rockland residents concerned about the quality of the treated water.

In 2008 the Rockland Water Coalition, a consortium of 30 Hudson Valley environmental and civic orga- nizations including Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, and Clearwater, joined with local environmental groups in opposition to the plant. During the past five years the Rockland County Executive, legislature and many of our elected officials and businesses have raised sig nificant questions of water quality, real cost, impacts on the Hudson River estuary, need and whether the Department of Environmental Conservation and Public Service Commission should first examine less expen sive, more sustainable alternatives for our water supply.

Due to public outcry and demands for further investiga tion of the fairness of the water-sharing agreement of Rockand’s Lake DeForest Reservoir between United Water New York and United Water New Jersey, the PSC agreed to hold the October hearings to reexamine its original 2006 decision that Rockland County needed more water. United Water proposes a rate increase in addition to a $56 million dollar surcharge that the com- pany wants to pass along to its Rockland customers for preconstruction costs of its proposed $200 million desal- ination plant. Our water bills will go up significantly.

For more information on the issues, how to submit written comments or to make a contribution to help the water coalition retain experts to testify on behalf of the public, please go to the Rockland Water Coalition web- site, www.NoDesal.com, email RocklandWater@gmail.com or call 845-429-2020.

The Deterioration of East Ramapo Schools

East Ramapo was once one of the most respected and successful districts in NY State. Today, the district has the lowest graduation rates and the lowest scores on NY State English Language Arts and Math tests within Rockland County. Essentially, two major factors are fueling the decline of East Ramapo:

Tax levies as the basis for school funding.
Of 29,000 East Ramapo students, 9,000 attend the 14 district public schools while 20,000 attend the 120 yeshi- vas and Orthodox private schools within the district. Families of the large religious community do not want to pay the taxes necessary to run a well-functioning public school system. Over the years, school budgets have been defeated or passed with the barest minimum tax increas- es. Lacking tax income and having to satisfy existing contractual agreements, the School Board used fund bal- ances to supplement working capital, gradually draining all reserves. With ever less income and no reserves, the Board reduced expenses by cutting staff and programs. Four hundred staff members have been let go during the past five years. This year, music and art teachers are gone from elementary schools, elective and AP classes have been cut, department chairpersons and academic support staff are gone.

National Commitment to Public Education.
Neither our country nor NY State have been willing to invest sufficiently in pre-school through college education. A 2% State-imposed cap on school budget increases has caused cuts to be made in local academic programs in order to meet fixed expenses. With dwindling state education funding, school dis- tricts everywhere in New York confront income shortfalls and, increasingly, are using finite reserve funds to supple- ment their budgets. What is happening in East Ramapo poses a warning to all public school districts in New York. A solid public school education cannot be taken for granted anywhere in this state. Anyone who values an educated citizenry must stay vigilant in ensuring that all public schools are properly funded. For more information about the East Ramapo schools log on to the web site http://poweroften.us/