Clarifying facts about the Environmental Council
By Dr. George Baum
February 4th, 2002

As chairman of the Putnam County Environmental Management Council from 1997 to 2000, I feel compelled to respond to the attack on our legitimacy by Putnam County Executive Robert Bondi, and Legislator Sam Oliverio, chair of the Health, Educational and Environmental Committee, as reported in The Journal News of Jan. 25.

The EMC is composed of volunteer representatives appointed from each of the county's six townships to serve as advisers to the county executive on environmental issues. For many years, we have met at the Putnam County Planning Facility. A county representative serving as our liaison attended these meetings, distributed meeting notices, minutes, and printed our annual reports. These items were sent as required by our enabling legislation to EMC members and ex-officio members, which included Mr. Bondi and the chairman of the County Legislature, but not the chair of the HEEC.

The county executive treated us with benign neglect until we expressed our concerns in writing to him over his proposal to divert treated wastewater from 38 of the treatment plants in the Croton Watershed into the Hudson River. Our efforts to meet directly on this issue were rebuffed. I appeared before Mr. Oliverio's committee and read into the minutes of the October 2000 meeting our concerns regarding the diversion proposal. Subsequently receiving no feedback, I took these concerns public. Perhaps this was not the kind of "strong leadership" that Mr. Bondi is seeking for the EMC. Shortly thereafter, I resigned as chairman of the EMC to allow me to continue to oppose the diversion project without damaging the EMC.

George Baum
Carmel

[Dr. Baum is adjunct lecturer, department of chemistry and physical sciences, Pace University]