PORT LEYDEN — Opponents of the proposed limestone mine here are blasting Lewis County and village officials for lack of a timely response to information requests about mine-related emergency plans.
"This has to stop," village resident Sheila Callahan said. "There is a process, and they are obligated to participate."
However, local officials expressed difficulty in meeting her requests with existing documents.
Ms. Callahan, a member of anti-mine group Advocates Preserving Port Leyden's Environment, on June 10 sent Freedom of Information Law requests, referring to the county's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan completed in 2006, to the county and village.
She requested documentation on plans addressing the following scenarios: toxic materials from an old quarry are loosened by blasting; aging sewer lines or the village water tower are damaged; mental health or respiratory issues are worsened; wells are negatively affected, or the nearby Iroquois natural gas transmission line leaks.
She also asked for documentation on village residents with emergency training, identification of potential hazards to the village and planned emergency response actions.
Ms. Callahan also sent a separate request for minutes from several village Board of Trustees meetings.
She eventually received responses from Mayor Alan D. Scouten on June 28 and July 10 but has yet to receive one from the county.
According to state law, municipalities or other governmental entities are to respond within five business days of the receipt of a FOIL request by either making records available, denying the request in writing or providing an estimated date when the records will be available. Records that do not exist do not have to be created to meet a request.
"We don't have documents that respond to her request in the form she's asked for them," said County Attorney Richard J. Graham, the county's records access officer.
The county's emergency plan deals with general response protocols, not specific property uses or potential uses, Mr. Graham said.
The county attorney said he has been busy recently with several large projects.
Mr. Scouten sent a point-by-point response to Ms. Callahan's different scenarios. He wrote that the county handles mental health and respiratory problems and all natural or manmade disasters; the quarry in question is outside village limits; the village water system is an enclosed system with a source two miles away; the sewer system probably should have been updated a couple of years ago but residents twice opposed it; and issues with the water tower and gas line have been addressed in meetings on the project.
Ms. Callahan complained that Mr. Scouten didn't respond to issues such as who has been trained locally to oversee and handle emergencies and hazardous situations. She also suggested that not having a specific plan in place is "scandalous."
Mr. Scouten said he felt that he and his fellow trustees had answered her questions and declined to comment further on the matter.
Ms. Callahan has sent written appeals to both the county and village and is considering legal action.
Barrett Paving Materials Inc. plans to develop a mine on 80 acres between Route 12 and East Road in the town of Leyden, just north of the village, to eventually replace an existing one.
The project is under review by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The Leyden Town Council, the town's de facto planning board, also would have to approve a site plan before the project can commence.