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Mall developer receives record fine from state
By Christine D’Agostino
Register-Star
May 7, 2008
GREENPORT — Work has been halted at the site of the future Greenport Commons on Fairview Avenue in Greenport, because of stormwater violations by the developer, an action that led to the largest stormwater penalty in state history.
Widewaters, the Syracuse-based developer of the shopping center, has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine for the violations to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
The work stoppage order was handed down on April 18, while the fine came later, on April 30.
The Widewaters Group, which is building the shopping center, began construction without implementing appropriate erosion- or sediment-control measures. Additionally, the DEC reports that Widewaters did not have the permissions required to work on more than five acres. The DEC reported that the company was working on an acreage almost eight times that.
The general permit Widewaters has specifies that they could not disturb more than five acres without prior DEC permission. “From April seventh through the 18th, there was documentation that Widewaters disturbed more than five acres of land,” DEC Region 4 Director Gene Kelly told the Register-Star Tuesday.
“They were conducting activities that greatly exceeded their authority,” he continued.
There were additional violations as well. According to the consent order sent on April 30 to Widewaters general counsel Marco Marzocchi, on April 17 the DEC requested copies of an inspection conducted on April 1, copies which they are required to keep on site. The DEC also requested a signed stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP), which also must be kept on site at all times.
"You can only comply with the stormwater pollution protection plan with a copy on site,” Kelly said, adding that Widewaters also didn’t conduct required site inspections.
The SWPPP requires that erosion and sediment controls be put in place before certain construction work can begin, and according to the order Widewaters did not implement these controls. These violations include a lack of perimeter sediment traps, and improperly installed silt fencing.
Additionally, the order states that on April 17, it was observed that construction took place in an area outside the guidelines of Widewaters’ permit.
“The order specifies that they’re required to pay the penalty, and take additional measures,” Kelly said, including “stopping all work not directly related to making the site safe from stormwater.” Construction can continue to make the site compliant with SWPPP guidelines, but no structural work can take place.
According to Marzocchi, Widewaters has no plans to challenge the fine. “Although we disagree with the DEC on a number of the complaints, we’re not going to challenge it,” he said.
Kelly explained that the SWPPP is a federally mandated program implemented by New York state. It applies to all construction on land size over one acre. “Erosion controls are designed to avoid the possibility of off-site impact and on-site disturbance” caused by construction materials and excess soil.
In a prepared statement, Kelly said that a long stretch of dry weather had averted any significant runoff into Claverack Creek, which is adjacent to the Greenport Commons site. Nonetheless, he said in the statement, Widewaters’ action “created the potential for a significant water-quality violation.”
Marzocchi ensured that no harm was done to the environment.
“There was no damage,” he said, “and had there been any risk, it would have been curtailed.”
According to the order’s schedule of compliance, work will not begin again until the SWPPP is amended and all measures are implemented. Widewaters must also hire an independent inspector to monitor the construction site, who will report weekly to the DEC on SWPPP compliance. These inspections will take place at least two days out of every seven, with a minimum of two full days in between.
“Once they come into compliance with the consent order, at that point they’ll need to report to us what they’ve done,” Kelly said Tuesday. It will be up to the DEC when to lift the stop work order.
“They’re in control of their own destiny,” he said of Widewaters.
“We acknowledge that there were a number of problems, and it was the confluence of a lot of factors that resulted in problems,” Marzocchi said. These problems are currently in the process of being addressed, he continued, though no exact timetable for completion is set as of now.
“We certainly are in constant communication with the DEC, and we’re working diligently to finalize how we’ll be moving forward with them,” he said.
The work stoppage is the latest in a series of snags for the 500,000-square-foot Greenport Commons project. On April 29, the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) unanimously voted to deny a request from the developer that it be considered for tax breaks on the project. These incentives included a PILOT, which would have allowed the developer to pay local taxing entities — such as Columbia County, Greenport, and the Hudson City School District — instead of paying property taxes. Widewaters felt that the incentives would help them lure in big-name retailers not currently located within Columbia County. Currently, the only committed retailer is Wal-Mart, which plans to build a Super Center on the site and would not have benefited from the PILOT.
Although when applying for site approval Marzocchi ensured that he would not seek tax breaks, he said during the IDA process that he was doing so because of the current economic climate.
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