Citizens in Utica, NY are fighting against a 578.000 s.f. retail shopping plaza proposed by the Benderson Development Corp. The project would result in the filling of nearly 10 acres of federal wetlands. The Buffalo office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken the position that “a valuable resource is hanging in the balance”, and is considering denying the developer a permit. Citizens indicate that their Congressman, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, is promoting the project without all the pertinent environmental data being completed. Appropriately called “Consumer Square”, the project would jeopardize a stream that federal officials called an important riparian resource.
Contact the Buffalo office of the US Army Corps of Engineers, and let them know you are against the Consumer Square permit in Utica, and ask them to uphold the Clean Water Act by denying the developer a wetland permit. The contact people at the Army Corps of Engineers are Diane Kozlowski or Paul Leuchner. They can be reached by viewing the employee email at http://www.ncb.usace.army.mil/orgs/offices/reg.htm. You can also let Congressman Boehlert know that the Consumer Square project is all wet, by emailing the Congressman at: http://www.house.gov/boehlert/ . For further info about how to help stop this project, contact the citizens’ attorneys at the following email: [email protected]
