Sierra Club has once again had to notify the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Army Corps of Engineers of wetland law violations in the City of North Tonawanda, Niagara County.  The map indicates where logging recently occurred on Walck Road amongst approx. 45 acres of land containing wetlands (shown in green as derived from the national wetland inventory map by Sierra Club).

According to an article in the Buffalo News on April 28, 2009, the City has had to halt work by a developer who recently logged most of the 24 acres of property that he purchased from the municipality and its school district.  Unfortunately, the destruction of forested wetlands for the 136-unit condo development could have been prevented if there were enough regulators to watchdog the violators.  In this case, several developers may ultimately be found responsible for violating both state and federal environmental law regulations on Walck Rd.

There is good reason for Sierra Club to keep a sharp eye on the destruction of wetlands in North Tonawanda because some city officials have little regard for wetland regulations.  A short history will show how the laws to protect wetlands are not working in this community:

1992- City officials agree to remove fill that was illegally placed on city property in wetlands on Walck Road during construction of ball diamonds.  The US Army Corps of Engineers apparently never followed up on this violation to ascertain if the fill was removed.  It is still there!

1993- The City blazed Bowen Drive and Bowen Court into the exemplary Klydel Wetland without federal wetland permits.  The US Army Corps of Engineers did not fine any party for the violations and issued one homeowner an after-the-fact wetland permit in 1998.

2000 - A developer was forced by the US Army Corps to remove illegal fill on Daniel Drive.  The Corps also issued a stop work order that same year for another developer logging the Klydel Wetland on Meadow Drive at Kinkead Avenue.  Over 800 individual public comments were sent to the Corps in opposition to that project.  The developer sold his land in 2002 to add to the newly created North Tonawanda Audubon Nature Preserve.  As of 2008, the nature preserve consists of 45 acres owned by Buffalo Audubon Society and the WNY Land Conservancy plus 9 acres on a long-term lease to Audubon from the school district.

2003 - Sierra Club and Citizens for a Green North Tonawanda filed a 60-day notice with the US Environmental Protection Agency under the citizens suit provision of the Clean Water Act for violations by the City in wetlands.  This legal tactic could be used if violations continued.

2005- The City begins to log a wetland area off Wright Avenue for the proposed Briarwood subdivision.  Sierra Club immediately requests that NYS DEC amend its state wetland maps to include approximately 130 acres of wetlands that were missing from the original maps at that site.  The US Army Corps also cites the City for violating Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and asks that the City plant some small diameter trees in restitution.  The subdivision project has to be reduced to avoid the new state wetland that was finally approved in June 2008.  Sierra Club sends the DEC commissioner more state wetland map amendment requests for other areas in the City, including the Walck Rd area.  The DEC Region 9 director responds that their department will research the areas requested by Sierra Club.

2006 - Sierra Club, Niagara Group representatives speak to a large crowd at a wetlands conference at the University of Buffalo. A wetland mapping project at UB was funded by Sierra Club to produce new maps overlapping the latest state and federal wetland maps.  The mayor of North Tonawanda and council members were given the revised map for the City and warned again that they needed to avoid wetland projects.

2009 - Sierra Club notified both the DEC and the US Army Corps that more logging of wetlands is occurring in North Tonawanda.  DEC also notified the City to contact DEC if any projects were proposed for the Walck Rd site but the City failed to notify them.  Due to staff shortages, the DEC had not yet mapped the Walck Road wetlands as requested by Sierra Club in 2005.  The DEC sent Sierra Club an E-mail in May stating it appears that approximately 30 acres of wetlands were on the logged site.  These wetlands will be mapped after landowner notification.

With fines of up to $27,500 per day stipulated in the Clean Water Act surely bigger penalties should be given by the Corps for these latest violations.  Most developers are of the opinion that planting a few trees, as was the penalty for the City in the Briarwood debacle, is just part of the price of doing business.  If what has occurred in North Tonawanda is happening in other communities our wetlands will continue to vanish.