News

2021 Annual Meeting. The 2021 annual meeting will take place as the Keet Shorehouse on August 13th at 3pm.
2020 Annual Meeting. The 2020 meeting took place via Zoom on August 14th at 4pm. The meeting minutes are here.
Covid-19 Impact. The 2020 harvest has been cancelled due to a lack of workers at the Paul Smith's Aquatic Watershed Institute, our prime contractor. In addition, the State of New York has put a hold on grant match payments and therefore our request for their second payment against our $50,000 grant has been held since February. Almost all of our dues have been paid and the Twon of Harrietstown has made a $8,000 contribution to our efforts so we were positioned for the third and final year of our three-year grant. Hopefully we can resume in 2021.
Annual Meeting, 2019. The LCA's annual 2019 took place at the Keet shorehouse on August 12th at 4pm. The minutes of the 2018 meeting were approved. The existing slate of officers was re-elected. The existing slate of board members was also re-elected. Topics acted on included a review of water quality studies for 2018 year-to-date.
Minutes of the 2019 meeting are linked here.
Town match approved. The Town of Harrietstown approved and issued a check for $5,000 as a supplement to its continuing $3,000 of annual support, all of which will be used to match the State's three-year grant. The Town renewed this support at the $8,000 level in 2019 and again in 2020
Annual Meeting, 2018. The LCA's annual 2018 took place at the Keet shorehouse on August 12th at 4pm. The minutes of the 2017 meeting were approved. The existing slate of officers was re-elected. The existing slate of board members was also re-elected with Sylvia Getman, CEO of Adirondack Health, replacing Patti Hammond. Topics acted on included a review of water quality studies for 2018 year-to-date.
DEC Grant. In mid-2017 the LCA was awarded a three-year $50,000 matching grant for Eurasian Water Milfoil removal in the lake. The LCA solicited funds to match this from members, the Town of Harrietstown, and the Cloudsplitter Foundation. Through the first two years of this grant $40,000 has been expended on milfoil control. The goal is an aggressive push to eliminate all remaining EWM plants in the lake by 2020.

History

Grant Requested. The LCA's sister organization, the Colby Foundation, has applied for and been awarded an $11,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) in support of our 2016 Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM) control program. The LCBP provided $9,000 towards our $16,000 efforts in 2015, which had the hoped-for result of maintaining the status quo ante. We hope to have a slightly better result in 2016 at a $20,000 budget level. The Foundation's grant request is linked here.
Railroad Suit. The LCA filed suit asking the court to mandate repairs on the causeway across our lake before any further train traffic was permitted. The suit was eventually dropped after the Adirondack Scenic Railroad made extensive repairs to the causeway, possibly as a result of our suit. Background, photos and status linked here.
Annual Meeting. The 2015 meeting took place as per our bylaws on the second Friday of August, on August 14. Current board members and officers were re-elected. Minutes of the meeting will be posted shortly. The 2016 meeting will take place on August 12th at 4pm in the shorehouse at 62 Moir Road on Lake Colby.
Water Quality. The latest ALAP report shows little change from prior years, which means that our chloride situation remains bad but is not getting worse. Click here for the full 2015 report.
Milfoil Status. Paul Smith's Watershed Institute gave a report on the history of our Eurasian Water Milfoil harvests at our annual meeting. The results are posed here. The final harvest 2015 harvest results are linked here.
Weed District. The petition by a majority of the affected property owners, signed and notarized at the August 9, 2013 annual meeting, remains stuck in a legal catch 22. In late 2014 all of the shoreowners who had previously signed the petition re-signed a new notarized affidavit and petition which is now before the Town board's contract attorney. We are working with the Town and our attorney to resolve the issues.
Reelection. At the August 8, 2014 annual meeting all officers and directors were reelected. Minutes attached here.
Colby Foundation formed. The Colby Foundation is a 501c3 not-for-profit that can accept tax-deductible gifts in support of water quality in the Colby watershed.
Milfoil Harvest Ends
The LCA's 2013 milfoil control efforts ended on August 7th. Full report here.
2013 Water Quality report received
The Adirondack Lake Assessment Program (ALAP) administered by the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smith's College has just been received. The results are available here. Chlorides and electrolytes remain dangerously high, in fact Colby remains the most polluted (by road salt) lake in the Adirondacks. Pristine Adirondack lakes have under 1 ppm and over 10 ppm is considered to be indicative of harmful pollution. Despite that, phosphorus, clarity and other measures remain within norms.
New Data on Milfoil
Recent studies show that road salt damages native plants but ironically Eurasian Watermilfoil thrives in high-chloride solutions, including the brackish waters of the Chesapeake area and in Florida.

Old News

Village signs consent decree
The Village of Saranac Lake has agreed to a one-year maximum clean-up of its salt and sand pollution of Lake Colby.
The Village of Saranac Lake was fined and ordered to provide one of three solutions to the pollution from its sand/salt pile by October 30th. The Adirondack Council withdrew its threat to sue the Village. If a new shed is the solution it must be completed by August, 2010.
Village puts sand/salt shed out to bid
Adirondack Daily Enterprise article of 7/7/2009
Village signs DEC Consent Order
The Village of Saranac Lake signed the DEC order to clean up the sand/salt pile on Van Buren Street. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise article is here.
Salt in Colby profiled
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise has run a three-part series about salt in Colby, possible sources, and the long-delayed town/village salt & sand shed.
Save the date!
The annual membership meeting of the Lake Colby Association will be August 14th at 4pm in the Keet Shorehouse.
NYSDEC issues consent order
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reports that the Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a consent order requiring the Village of Saranac Lake to cover or move the sand and salt pile at the village garage property on Van Buren Street.
Adirondack Council notifies Village of its intent to sue
The Adirondack Council notified the Village of Saranac Lake on June 10th of its intent to file suit under the federal Clean Water Act if the pollution streaming from its exposed sand/salt pile on Van Buren Street is not cleaned up within 60 days. The Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Press Republican, the Albany Times Union, Glens Falls Post-Star, and WNBZ articles on this filing are all linked here, as is an OpEd submittal by Lee Keet clarifying the LCA's history with the Village and DEC on this issue. The OpEd piece appeared in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise on June 12, 2009.
Colby Brook at high pollution levels!
The 2008 ALAP report showed Chloride levels for Lake Colby of 39 ppm. The ALAP report noted "…background concentrations of chloride in Adirondack Lakes are usually less than 1 ppm. Chloride levels of 10 ppm and higher is usually indicative of pollution and, if sustained, can alter the distribution and abundance of aquatic plant and animal species. Based on this report and prior high levels of runoff from the Saranac Lake Village municipal site on Van Buren Street, the LCA commissioned Paul Smith's Watershed Institute to again test the brook running through the Village property (locally called "Colby Brook"), this time with NY official lab certification. Under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) chloride levels cannot exceed 250 parts per million. The New York State water quality standard for Chloride in surface waters is also 250 parts per million. As noted in our Water Quality section, prior samples in August of 2003 showed 469 ppm and 719 ppm in September of 2003, clear violations of the CWA. These new samples taken after very light rain documented violations of the New York State’s Water Quality Standard for Chloride at 590, 340 and 260 ppm on March 29, 2009 and 450 ppm, 480 ppm and 370 ppm on April 6, 2009.
Adirondack Council release (2-24-09) highlights salt pollution and notes Lake Colby as poster child for municipal disregard of environmental issues and laws. The Council has advised the LCA that it will bring a Citizens' Complaint under the Federal Clean Water Act against the NYSDEC unless the DEC acts to force a cleanup of the Van Buren Street exposed sand and salt pile.
Radar sign on the air!
The LCA has been pressing for speed controls on Route 86 since 2000. After a tortuous process the sign is finally installed (see photo below) and operational.
More toxic leakage from Van Buren Street site
The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported the discovery of leaking tar barrels and other toxic waste contaminating Colby Brook at the Village's Van Buren Street dump.
Oil Storage
The Board of the LCA determined that the proposed relocation of the Home Oil storage tanks to Van Buren Street would constitute an unacceptable risk to the watershed and voted unanimously to register its opposition with the Village. A letter to the Village board has been composed and sent.
Sand shed location
The Annual Meeting membership voted unanimously to oppose the placement of the new salt shed at the current Van Buren Street location and asked the officers to communicate this opposition to the APA. Debbie Neill, Secretary, signed a letter to Curt Stiles, APA Chairman, voicing the LCA's opposition to the site and received an answer suggesting that the site would be difficult to permit.
Annual Meeting
As per our by-laws, the 2008 Annual Meeting took place at 4pm on August 8th. The meeting elected Jean Leopold to the LCA Board to replace the retiring Brian Turner (thanks Brian!) and re-elected the existing officers. The minutes of this meeting will be posted here shortly. Key items were approval of borrowing to finance the harvesting of milfoil interim to the State's reimbursement and a formal appeal to the DEC to bring an enforcement action against the Village of Saranac Lake for its point-source pollution of Lake Colby if the long-planned and now fully permitted salt/sand shed is not undertaken this year.
Snow Capades
The snow sculpting event identified in the report produced by the Events Committee has started to take shape. A preliminary outline of the event was presented to the annual meeting by Gloria Volz and Arlene Day and can be linked to here.

Adirondack Council Award
The Adirondack Council is the premier advocacy group for the protection of the environment in the Adirondack Park. The Council presented the Lake Colby Association with a Resolution of its Board and a plaque recognizing the Associations success in getting watercraft horsepower limited to 10HP on the lake and in stopping the 2007 planned auto races on the lake's frozen surface. This link will take you to the citation. The Council also presented the LCA with a plaque containing the 10HP Act signed into law and the pen used by the Governor. We will have both for display at our annual meeting.

Auto Races on Ice
Consistent with our charter, we vigorously opposed the planned use of Lake Colby for auto races on the ice March 8 & 9, 2008. Our opposition and February 28, 2008 presentation to the Village Board was and is based on (i) noise in front of the hospital, (ii) the risk to the environment, and (iii) the lack of jurisdiction over such an event by the Village, Town, or DEC. The organizers, Adirondack Motor Enthusiasts Club, have withdrawn, but the larger issue of the Village (or any landowner's) rights to use the ice without some environmental review and oversight remain. A list of public policy questions we will pose to our representatives , the APA, and the DEC to resolve this larger problem is posted here. We will also work with the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce and other local activist groups to plan events that will attract tourists but not be threatening to the Lake. We thank everyone involved for their input to this effort. A continuing attack on the LCA's position in letters to the editor at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise prompted a reply by LCA President, Nancy Keet.

The Adirondack North Country Association has posted its Blueprint for the Blue Line on its website. This is valuable and interesting reading for every LCA member.

10 HP Restriction
Our proposed amendment to the New York Navigation Law making 10HP state law for Lake Colby was signed by the Governor! The Saranac Lake Village board and the Harrietstown town board both supported us, and on January 11th Senator Betty Little and Assembly Member Janet Duprey sponsored Senate Bill S1100 and Assembly Bill 2010. It signed it will take effect April 1.

Public Education Program
Our milfoil information station at the boat launch continues to be a success, with hundreds more of our booklets distributed through October of last year. We started this program again in May and already have distributed many dozens more.