OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Jim Wehrfritz with the Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association expressed his support of the county asking the Department of Environmental Conservation to hold off on implementing the new wetlands regulations.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County officials do not want to see the new environmental wetlands regulations go into effect.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers voted in favor of a resolution urging the state Department of Environmental Conservation to pause implementation of and reverse the freshwater wetlands regulations.

The resolution notes that the DEC has adopted significant amendments to the Freshwater Wetlands Regulations, which expands state jurisdiction over wetlands, reduces the acreage threshold for regulation, and creates new classifications such as “Wetlands of Unusual Importance.”

The resolution argues these changes could “impose significant permitting challenges for municipalities managing critical infrastructure projects, such as water and sewer systems, and exacerbate already strained municipal budgets due to increased compliance costs and project delays.”

At the beginning of the meeting, Jim Wehrfritz with the Chautauqua Lake Property Owners Association expressed his support for the resolution.

He noted the CLPOA first brought up this concern back in 2023. “In retrospect, your support and that of our state representatives would have been more effective if you would have heeded our calls and acted much sooner,” Wehrfritz said.

During the discussion on the floor, County Executive PJ Wendel noted the same resolution was passed unanimously by the New York State Conferences Of Counties.

“The concern is growing across New York state,” he said.

But not all county lawmakers agreed.

Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, was one of them.

“I feel that calling on the DEC to reverse the proposed regulations tips the balance away from the essential goal of protecting New York’s environment in favor of economic development,” he said.

Legislator Tom Carle, D-Fredonia, asked if there is any proposed development that is being hindered by the new DEC regulations.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, responded that the biggest issue is the uncertainty.

“The regulations are not finalized yet. The regulations are still being developed but the uncertainty that this creates in the minds of property owners, in the minds of potential buyers, in the minds of real estate agents and attorneys without certainty as to what the regulations will allow and disallow, that’s the concern,” he said.

The resolution passed 16-3, with Nelson, Carle and Legislator Dan Pavlock, R-Ellery, voting against it.