PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release
Contacts: Kathy Nolan, Catskill Heritage Alliance kathynolan@earthlink.net 845-417-6489
Stephen Kent, KentCom LLC, skent@kentcom.com 914-589-5988
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation recently released the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Belleayre Resort and the Final Unit
Management Plan for the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center. Today, September 4, 2015, Kathy
Nolan, chair of the citizens' group Catskill Heritage Alliance, issued the following statement in
response:
“The Catskill Heritage Alliance is carefully reviewing the documents on the proposed
Crossroads Resort and Belleayre Mountain Ski Center that the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation released this week, including the Final Environmental
Impact Statement on the proposed Resort. In consultation with our members and with
other groups, we are considering a range of options for responding, including possible legal
action. CHA believes that DEC’s review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act
was not carried out properly.
As former DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens left office, he rejected the request of CHA and
other groups to move to scheduled adjudicatory hearings on multiple aspects of the Resort
proposal. State law provides for this hearing process for a reason, and CHA believes the
review of the Belleayre Resort proposal is not complete without it.
DEC staff failed to consider independent studies showing that the Resort’s 629 rooms and
related amenities would be out of scale with the region, far too large to be economically
viable, and a threat to local businesses and community character.
Looking at the ski center, DEC rejected an alternative that the independent civil engineering
firm Alpentech, Inc. found to be superior to, and less expensive than, the alternatives tying
the ski center to the resort at the former Highmount Ski Center. CHA questions this
decision. A full build-out at the ski center, along with the purchase of the old Highmount Ski
Center, coupled with multiple hotels at the proposed Resort, would extend development to
higher elevations on the mountain.
In order for CHA to not oppose the Belleayre Resort, we and likeminded grassroots groups
simply want it sited and sized so that it does not damage the local environment and
economy, and so that it can succeed economically itself. We also seek adequate review of
issues the DEC hasn't fully considered, so that the review process that has already taken so
much time and so many resources doesn't fail in the end to serve the public interest. We are
still considering the best ways to pursue these goals in light of DEC's recent decisions and
these newly released documents.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Stephen Kent,
skent@kentcom.com, 914-589-5988.