Hey, DEC! We demand comprehensive permitting of the WNY STAMP water transfer!
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Dear allies,
You are probably familiar with the disastrous and environmentally destructive STAMP Wastewater Pipeline. Over the past 10 months, allies have taken action to halt construction on the pipeline, terminate a key right of way permit allowing construction through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, and demand revocation of a DEC Freshwater ECL permit (keep sending those emails - the permit is *still* in effect!)
Today, we’re asking you to take action on the other half of the same pipeline. As Buffalo News reporter Mackenzie Shuman documents in a recent article, STAMP developer GCEDC seeks to build a massive pipeline - so-called “Big Water” – to transfer 6 million gallons per day of treated municipal water from the Niagara River to the STAMP site for industrial use and eventual discharge into Oak Orchard Creek and Lake Ontario. Keep reading to learn more, then use our one-click tool to stop this project from breaking ground.
Current DEC permitting practices bizarrely allow GCEDC to segment the clean water pipeline into two parts and isolate each from the industrial facility they would service, thus avoiding a comprehensive assessment of overall pipeline impacts. This segmented approach to permitting obscures the true costs of the STAMP project to the Great Lakes, the regional ecosystem, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, and all residents of WNY.
Take action today! Use our simple one-click toold below to stand with the Tonawanda Seneca Nation in demanding that DEC require comprehensive permitting of the WNY STAMP water transfer. As the Nation has asserted, no permitting should occur before public notice and an opportunity to comment in a public hearing. The public has a right to understand the implications of this massive water transfer on local waterways, watersheds, ecosystems, and Great Lakes. Moreover, permitting should involve not only DEC and EPA, but also the US Army Corps of Engineers.
As Chief Roger Hill wrote to DEC on August 6, 2024, “[T]he Nation believes that the proposed pipeline should be reviewed by the Department as a single project rather than segmented into Region 8 and Region 9 portions. The pipeline has vast regional implications, as it would facilitate withdrawal of million gallons per day of water from the Niagara River and Lake Erie Watershed, transport it roughly 30 miles through two counties for industrial use, to be treated and discharged into Oak Orchard Creek, which runs through Orleans County and into Lake Ontario. The pipeline would thus impact at least three counties, two international waterbodies, and two watersheds, as well as state protected areas (like the Tonawanda State Wildlife Management Area) and two Indian Nations, the Tuscarora Nation and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. Members of the public have an interest in understanding the full scope of the project and its regional implications, and should have the opportunity to provide input to DEC on the project as a whole, both through a public hearing and by submission of written comments.” Click here to read the full letter.
GCEDC should not be allowed to obscure the vast regional impacts of this water transfer by segmenting the project. A review of the entire water transfer is the only logical, just, environmentally responsible choice. Take action today in defense of our precious waters and wetlands!
In solidarity,
Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation
PS - Want to get more involved in the fight to stop STAMP? Let us know. Fill out this form and we’ll be in touch soon!