| Articles Written By or About West Canada RiverkeepersBy Assemblyman Marc Butler: January 17th, 2009
Strengthen region instead of dividing it. Congratulations to the Riverkeepers Organization for its legal involvement in the on-going dispute over Hinckley Reservoir and the West Canada Creek.
The effort by this group, composed primarily of Oneida County residents, is a milestone event in our efforts to stop this ill-conceived plan.
It elevates the dispute from the “us-versus-them” conflict of Herkimer County against Oneida County and shows this for what it truly is – a regional issue. It’s a regional issue because the plan attempts to aid one area of our region by taking resources from another.
Many residents are appalled that the proposed NYRI project would move power along a corridor through our area to downstate, but are silent when a local authority proposes to build a huge pipeline to transfer an arguably more precious resource.
Trout Unlimited, in a recent report titled “Tapped Out, New York’s Water Woes,” uses the West Canada Creek as an example of water problems threatening our state.
In light of the wise and prudent legal efforts of the Riverkeepers, I urge the residents of Oneida and Herkimer counties to step back and rationally and objectively weigh the positives of the water authority plan against the many negatives.
Let’s look at how we can use this precious resource to strengthen our region rather than divide it. Source: UticaOD.com
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