The Town of Montgomery board, after conducting research and talking with experts over the last few weeks, motioned to approve the Drinking Water Source Protection Program during the town’s March 6 meeting. With help from the New York State DEC, this program will help the board identify all its drinking water sources and create a plan to protect them.

Patricia Henighan and Ilene Castaldo, members of the Montgomery CAC, initially approached the board about the program during the town’s February 6 meeting. The CAC submitted an application and the DEC approved the town, but the board had to accept the offer before the program could initiate. Supervisor Steve Brescia stated that, while he and the board were interested, they needed to look deeper into the program before deciding if it was a good fit for the town.

Flash forward to one month later, and Brescia asserted that, while he and the board were worried about private property rights, they ultimately felt that the program would benefit the town.

“We all had concerns about private property rights, but we did a little research and I met with Ilene and Patricia a few days ago and they did assure me that it’s all voluntary,” Brescia said. “And they do have a lot of good benefits. Jay (Beaumont) brought something up to my attention: if we have a hazardous material-producing facility right next to our drinking water source, we certainly don’t want that.”

Beaumont, a member of the town planning board and former executive director of the Orange County Water Authority, handed each board member a map of the town’s watersheds. He explained that a DEC technical assistant would help the town devise a much more detailed map than the one he passed out, emphasizing that it would be a great asset to the building and planning departments.

Henighan then spoke about the educational opportunities that this program provides, allowing residents to get involved in the process and voice their concerns with water. She assured that, if the board is unsatisfied, it can always opt out.

At the end of the discussion, the board motioned the approval. Following this meeting, a TA provider will reach out to the town board and CAC and give them a rundown of the program’s 18-month process. During the first month, the TA provider will give a public presentation of all the processes involved; after that, they will select a stakeholder group to determine the town’s goals and mission statement.