EIS Scoping Report, Public Sale of Plum Island December 14, 2010 MACTEC Engineering & Consulting, Inc. Project No. 3612102144 Draft APPENDIX F OTHER SCOPING COMMENTS Phil Youngbc.."Tg March 2 L 20 10 c/o John Dugan General Senices Administration I 0 Causeway SL Room 925 Boston. Mass. 02222 Dear Mr Dugan. 1read the article on Plum Island in the March 21 edition ofLong Is land Nev.sda) and \\C)Uid like to make a suggestion for the use ofPlum Island. I have written to seYeral State officials but bave never received a response. l bebc'c that Plum Island is an ideal location for a wind farm or solar energy installation. The\\ ind farm could appease the environmentalist that are opposed to installations along. the Long Island coast. r believe an installation on land would greatly imprO\·e the cost of such an installation and also provide less expensi\e security and maintenance. We are in great need ofrenewable energy and tllls seems to be an ideal use for this piece ofproperty. Thank you for your attention. I would be interested in any comments you have regarding 1his idea or if there are any legalities that rna) prevent such a development. Cordial ly Yours. Charles DeRosa 7 Philip Lane Middle Island. NY 11953 Haywood, Paul From: [email protected] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 12:15 PM To: jas kell Cc: Jenkins, Josh; Stelmack, Mark; John Dugan Subject: Re: plum island Thank you for your comments. They will be included in the project record and will be considered. From: jas kell [[email protected]] Sent: 05/21/2010 04:42 AM MST To: Philip Youngberg Subject: plum island i sincerely think ,that to keep down any misgivings about the island, that it should be turned into a wildlife refuge for endangered species and other animals. the fears that there may have been illegal disposal on the island in past years could be set aside as humans wouldnt be allowed to dig up anything that may cause further alarm and economic disaster! Lets not cause any further real or imagined problems for the u.s. and give our future a place to live in peace. NATURAL RESERVE!! 1 Haywood, Paul From: [email protected] Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 12:17 PM To: Automatic Steam Cc: Jenkins, Josh; Stelmack, Mark; John Dugan Subject: Re: Comments: Plum Island Thank you for your comments. They will be included in the project record and will be considered. ‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐ From: Automatic Steam [[email protected]] Sent: 05/21/2010 06:09 AM MST To: Philip Youngberg Cc: Automatic Steam <[email protected]> Subject: Comments: Plum Island [email protected] Dear Mr. Youngberg: I believe the Nature Conservancy's, et al plan for Plum Island is generally the correct approach. I think that the US Government should own and maintain the island as a refuge and preserve. Simultaneously though, it should possess a military function of security for our coast, the inlet, New London, and Groton. Moreover, special forces/homeland security can conduct training operations for survival in the wild, and even develop low impact lifestyle techniques and methods which may crossover to civilian life. In part, military trainees will ‐ besides training ‐ perform coastal border security/stand watch, and act as hybrid park rangers interacting with the public. Buildings can be used for training, and nature centers, and for housing for permanent staff. Some primitive camping may be available for visitors. The whole concept can be done in a way that will provide for an awesome recreational ecological experience for visitors to the site. Probably the park would need to find a way to control the stream of visitors. In any event, I consider what Teddy Roosevelt might have done in this situation, and conclude that it would be wisest and best to keep this area undeveloped in perpetuity, on behalf of the Good Citizens of the USA and for our Posterity. It is a National, natural treasure, and a strategic site for our National Security, now and/or potentially in the future. Sincerely, William Kitsch 1233 Stanwood Street Philadelphia, Pa 19111 215‐673‐2800 1 ‐‐‐ On Fri, 5/21/10, Automatic Steam <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Automatic Steam <[email protected]> > Subject: plum island > To: "Automatic Steam" <[email protected]> > Date: Friday, May 21, 2010, 6:59 AM > Conservationists eye Plum Island for > future wildlife refuge > > By Judy Benson > > Publication: The Day > Published 05/21/2010 12:00 AM > Updated 05/21/2010 12:52 AM > Day file photo > Aerial view of Plum Island, which sits off the north fork of Long > Island. A conservation group wants the 800‐acre island turned into a > wildlife preserve once the government's animal disease lab moves to > Kansas. > Day file photo > Aerial view of Plum Island, which sits off the north fork of Long > Island. A conservation group wants the 800‐acre island turned into a > wildlife preserve once the government's animal disease lab moves to > Kansas. > 1 > 1 > COMMENTS ( 1 ) > Bookmark and Share > print this article > Property should not be developed after lab is closed, they argue > > While Plum Island remained off‐limits to most humans for the last 50 > years, birds by the hundreds have nested, rested and bred on its sandy > shores and rocky beaches. > > The large populations of loons, scoters, buffleheads, piping plovers, > least and roseate terns and dozens of other species, along with wild > orchids and other rare plants, are the main reasons why conservation > groups are advocating that the 843‐acre island should become a > national wildlife refuge with public nature trails when the federal > animal disease laboratory now there closes. > > Because of the risks associated with the viruses researched at the > lab, the public has been banned from the island. > > The Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound, the Fishers > Island Conservancy, the Connecticut chapter of the Nature Conservancy > and a new organization, the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, comprising > 24 environmental groups and experts, began making their case to the > federal government, which owns the island, at two meetings this week. > The meetings, in Old Saybrook Wednesday and Greenport, L.I., Thursday, > were held to give the public a chance to comment on the planned sale > of the island once the lab moves to a new, $450 million facility in 2 > Manhattan, Kan. Design work for the new lab is under way. > > "If you believe your mandate is to sell to the highest bidder, then > our group and many others will be very upset and this process will > extend for longer than any of us would desire," Curt Johnson, senior > attorney for the Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound > told federal officials at Wednesday's meeting. "The sale of this > island is a really, really big deal from an ecological and federal > policy point of view." > > Johnson noted that the island was designated in a 2006 agreement among > the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and > Wildlife Service, and New York and Connecticut as one of 33 of the > most significant sites in Long Island Sound for ecological, scientific > and recreational values. > > Protection agreement > > The agreement earmarks the 33 sites in the Long Island Sound > Stewardship Initiative for efforts to "acquire or protect them through > easements," and called Plum Island an "exemplary bird habitat of > national if not international significance." The Audubon Society has > identified it as one of its "Important Bird Areas." > > Johnson argued that the federal government would be in conflict with > its own laws and policies ‐ the stewardship policy, as well as the > Endangered Species Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act ‐ if it > sold the entire island for redevelopment. Instead, he suggested that > only the portion of the island already developed ‐ about 10 percent of > the total ‐ should be sold for reuse, and the rest should become a > preserve. In addition to the lab, there are also the remains of Fort > Terry, a military facility dating from > 1897 that was decommissioned in 1948. > > Federal and state governments spend millions to acquire ecologically > important properties, Johnson added, but Plum Island is one that is > already government owned, so selling it would make no sense. > > Johnson addressed his comments to officials from the General Services > Administration, which is handling the sale, and the Department of > Homeland Security, which oversees the lab with the U.S. Department of > Agriculture. The officials said they expected an environmental study > of the impact of the planned sale to be completed this summer. > Johnson, however, said a complete study would take at least a year > because of Plum Island's importance for different populations of > migratory birds in different seasons. > > John Verrico, spokesman for the Science and Technology Directorate of > the Department of Homeland Security, said Thursday that the Plum > Island lab would remain open at least until 2018, the earliest the new > lab could be ready. While some in Connecticut and Long Island are > still hoping the > 2008 decision by Congress to close the Plum Island lab will be > reversed, Verrico said there is little reason to believe that will > happen. > > The existing lab, opened in 1954, is outdated, he said. The kinds of 3 > animal diseases that currently need to be studied, he added, require a > higher level of biological protection and security for the scientists > and the public than the Plum Island lab can handle. He listed eight > livestock viruses that are the main concerns, some of which can pass > from animals to humans. > > "These are emerging diseases, not found here in the U.S.," > Verrico said. "We could not upgrade the current facility and > infrastructure there without having to build an entirely new > facility." > > Building a new lab in Kansas would be cheaper, he said.