BY PAT FARNELLI

New Milford Township Supervisors received more quarry permits than natural gas drilling permits this month.

At Wednesday’s township meeting, Tri City Highway Products was granted a general NPDES stormwater permit, as well as a GP105 permit for bluestone mining at the Onyon Quarry. Damascus 535 Quarry is applying for BAQ-GPA/GP3 and GP9 permits for a portable nonmetallic mineral processing plant.
The Shursky Quarry Operation has been granted an NPDES permit. New Milford Quarry was granted a surface mining, NPDES, and Authorization to Mine permit.

EC Bluestone Quarry has submitted a permit application to DEP for a small non-coal mine permit.

There were no drilling or pipeline permits this month. Last month, Susquehanna Gathering notified the township that they will be installing one 16-inch and one eight-inch natural gas pipeline from existing well pad 36 to an existing gathering line, with a total length of 2.43 miles.

There was a Constitution Pipeline Act 14 notification that they will be applying for a ESCPT-2 permit for a pipeline project from two natural gas receipt points in Susquehanna County, to a proposed interconnection with the Iroquois Gas Transmission System at a compressor station to be located in Wright, N.Y.

Southwestern Gas gave the township a $28,000 check for dust control and to upgrade the municipal office building.

The township has purchased a new truck, so they are looking to sell their 1990 Chevy 3500 pickup truck at $800 or best offer. They are looking to upgrade the backhoe, and last month approved a motion to trade in the old backhoe and buy a new one through the state’s Costars program.

There were two subdivisions: the first was for the Decker property on Mount Three Lakes Road, and the other was for the Dunn property on Quarry Lake Road. The supervisors agreed that Dunn’s property was no problem, as his cabin is the only house on the road. He intends to put in a modular home on the same lot.

Township Emergency Management Coordinator Ken Bondurant said that he met with Community Neighbors Connecting, and that he was well received. So well, in fact, that he was also asked to speak at the Blue Ridge Senior Center. He said that he went to a seminar on workplace violence, which was focused on handling potential situations in light of the shooting incident at the Ross Township building.

Mattthew Warren of Goodwill Industries brought brochures and contact information for his program, which he says improves the lives of people with special needs. Although many people know Goodwill Industries for its thrift stores that sell used goods, he said that Goodwill operates nine programs in the area, with two in Susquehanna County.

Warren is an employment specialist, and helps adults with disabilities find work and explore job options. One great incentive for employment is that the program pays for the first four weeks of employment, called a “funded trial.”

Often, this gives employers the incentive to keep that employee when the trial period ends.
Goodwill also provides an Adult Daycare Center in Montrose, where adults can work on their skills, their health care, and self betterment.

Supervisor Jack Conroy made a motion to reimburse the Blue Ridge PTO $374 for the cost of their building permit, as a donation.