At least that was the thought that came to mind when reading that the much vaunted Marcy NanoCenter construction has been delayed.
More than $27 million has been committed to the development of the Marcy NanoCenter site, but construction has yet to begin because the plans are needlessly tied up in the government regulatory process, Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steven DiMeo said."Needlessly," perhaps, but the blame needs to be placed squarely on Mr. DiMeo and our County level leaders (from Mr. Picente back through Mr. Eannace).
Among the delays has been the permitting process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, DiMeo said.Well, it was MV EDGE that pulled the wetlands application and put it on the shelf back in 2002, possibly costing us the Global Foundries chip plant that went to Malta. EDGE let its application languish for four plus years and now it's an issue?
The DEC is looking into whether there would be any problems with water availability.Y'er darn tootin' there's an issue of not enough water. Thank Mr. Becher of the MVWA and Oneida County Leadership which has been calling the shots at MVWA for that one. It was pointed out over two years ago that given the capacity of the filtration plant, if MVWA's plans to expand to Verona were approved, there would be NO water for the Chip-Fab site. Since then, Judge Hester's ruling limits MVWA's take from Hinckley reservoir to significantly less than the filtration plant is capable of processing... I.e., MVWA/Oneida County's bungling of obligations has created a water shortage.
The Oneida County Sewer District is under a state consent order due to the sewer system spilling sewage into the Mohawk River during certain levels of rainfall. Because the system is already over capacity, the DEC is looking into whether the Marcy NanoCenter would add to the problems.Oneida County sewer district officials knew for years that the illegal hookup of separated sanitary waste lines into a Combined Sewer Overflow was causing an unacceptable spillage of sewage into the Mohawk River. Without a doubt, they looked away because the hookups permitted New Hartford and the County to grow their tax base (never mind that it was really sprawl that exacerbated Utica's financial problems and created demand for other services (at more cost) in the suburbs). Mr. Picente exacerbated the problem by rushing into the Consent Order with DEC before giving the public a chance to have input (which may have opened his eyes to some issues -- but Mr. Picente avoids involving people who may have expertise on an issue because he cannot control them). Oneida County and Mr. Picente's mismanagement of the sewer district and Consent Order have created another issue that the Marcy NanoCenter must deal with.
The wetlands permit, water, and sewer issues were all avoidable and should never have happened.
That they were allowed to develop and fester demonstrates the utter cluelessness of Oneida County leadership when it comes to dealing with environmental issues. Marketing Marcy NanoCenter without first coming to grips with the environmental issues not only wastes the taxpayers' money, it will cause ill will toward the County by prospective NanoCenter tenants because their time is being wasted.
There is no legislative quick fix to all this (although the County is trying). Any attempt to take a shortcut through state-level legislation will only make the situation more complicated and expensive than it already is. THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS.
Its time to admit that mistakes were made, correct them, and move on. . . . and just maybe some heads should roll, too . . .
6 comments:
Strike -
I've heard DiMeo point out a number of times that the permit application was pulled previously because the Army Corps told them to pull it or it would be denied.
If that is true, it is not an excuse. They've had 8 years to work out the details to fix it. . . .
In the mean time, the water and sewer issues have developed.
At some point you have to conclude that we have incompetents in charge at many levels.
There is no question that EDGE and DiMeo should be held accountable for poor performance in many areas including this one. They have spent a ton of money while failing to create any significant new jobs. The major problem here is that neither the politicians not the groups they control with our money are held accountable for lack of production. They are all underskilled, "fat" and lazy. A massive change is needed. EDGE is run by a combination of absentee business people and those who do not desire labor competition. The staff is a group of Utica development retreds who do not grasp the demands and needs of private business development. In most other areas, heads would have rolled years ago.That's one major reason why we do not grow.
"Heads should roll". Yea, right. But, how? These "incompetents" all cover for each other & are all cut from the same cloth. Not only that but, most voters in O.C. are clueless. How else can we explain the same old retreads getting reelected every election cycle? To prove the incompetence of EDGE, Picente & the rest of the gang, how long did it take for the Alabany area to land a chip plant compared to Marcy? And we're on year what? Eight, ten? It's a joke.
I guess, hope springs eternal. Perhaps voters here will soon wake up. The next two election cycles should tell the tale.
Love this piece! It is very difficult to take on this entrenched crew. It can be done.
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