NORTH HARMONY — The town of North Harmony has joined the list of towns around Chautauqua Lake officially opposing the new regulations with the Freshwater Wetlands Act that are set to have an impact on Chautauqua Lake.

Other towns around the lake that have been voicing concerns over the past few months include Lakewood and Bemus Point. The town of Mina has concerns for Findley Lake as well, previously telling the Post-Journal that there may be an impact on what people can do on the lake and what residents who have houses on the lake are allowed to do.

The new regulations may possibly have an impact on not only Chautauqua Lake but other Class A Lakes, including Findley Lake.

In 2022 Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law revisions to the Freshwater Wetlands Act, which was originally enacted in 1975 to regulate activities near larger wetlands, greater than 12.4 acres, and smaller wetlands considered to be of unusual local importance.

The new law eliminates the use of old and inaccurate maps and says that all wetland areas greater than 12.4 acres will be subject to Article 24 regulations and will be monitored by the state DEC.

Others expressing concerns include state Sen. George Borello and Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, who wrote a letter early in September, reiterating the call to exempt navigable waters from Article 24 regulation by the DEC.

“Navigable lakes, however, would never be commonly called ‘marshes, swamps, sloughs, bogs and flats’ and waters ‘substantially enclosed’ by aquatic plants would not be navigable,” Goodell and Borrello wrote, as reported in a previous Post-Journal article.

County Executive PJ Wendel has also called for a delay in the new wetlands regulations.

Concerns raised by members of the public to the town of North Harmony during their public hearing held at the beginning of September include; the plan having a lot of flaws, a question as to whether or not the Army Corps of Engineers is involved, a concern about what restoration projects may come and if that may affect Watts Flats, as there is no restoration in that area besides brush hogging the field, the regulations are vague, the town has no policing to enforce these regulations, it seems like a government overreach, the tax base will be lost, a lot of things will be needed for a permit, and there will be a negative impact on farmers and timber industries.

Town Supervisor Robert Yates told the Post-Journal that the town drafted a simple letter to the DEC, along similar lines to what others with concerns have already done.

“It’s a simple letter, saying along with the others around the lake that we have concerns,” Yates said. “The plan is too vague. There seems to be no consistency.”

The state DEC will begin implementing new regulatory changes in 2025, and in 2028 the threshold of default will change from 12.4 acres to 7.4 acres that will be subject to Article 24 rules.