Road Salt and Augur Lake
Dear Augur Lake Residents,
As many of you are already aware, Augur Lake has an extremely high salt contamination level and is ranked as one of the highest salt contaminated lakes of those tested in the Adirondacks. It not only affects the water quality of our lakes and streams but a high concentration has also been found in many residential wells in our area. One of the main contributing factors is believed to be runoff from municipalities using salt in their winter road maintenance efforts.
Last year a Bill was introduced to the New York State Legislature, supported by many North Country municipalities, including the Town of Chesterfield, to address the problem. This legislation, known as the "Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act" was passed with bi-partisan support by the NYS Assembly and the NYS Senate which calls for creation of a task force to extensively study the salt contamination issue and create a plan of action to control and remedy the situation. The Bill, while having passed the NYS Legislature months ago, is currently awaiting signing by NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo to become law.
We would encourage all Augur Lake property owners to support this pending legislation and urge Governor Cuomo to sign this Bill as soon as possible to begin the process of addressing this situation that ultimately threatens the health of our local waters and residents.
Please direct your comments in writing to:
Governor Andrew Cuomo
New York State Capital Building
Albany, New York 12224
Best Regards,
Paul Knott and Greg Zais
Co-Presidents
Augur Lake Property Owners Association