Catskill seeks review of Palenville retaining wall project

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE Correspondent

CATSKILL, N.Y. The town is seeking clarification from the state Department of Environmental Conservation about proposed changes in a repair plan for a 100-foot retaining wall along the Kaaterskill Creek in Palenville.

At a Town Board meeting Tuesday, town Supervisor Joseph Leggio said he asked the state agency to expedite its review of new engineering plan for the $1.5 million project.

I called DEC (Tuesday) morning ... and told (state officials) ... I would really appreciate it if you could get us an answer as soon as possible, because I do not want to bond the money and I dont believe the board does either if were not going to be able to commit to this project, he said.

The wall is planned along the creek bank near Woodstock Avenue, behind the Palenville fire station.

Work was planned after Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, but delays in state approval pushed the start of the project until after September last year because of potential impacts to fish habitats.

In November, the Town Board decided to cancel bonds to finance the project because the board did not want to pay 2 percent in annual interest on the bonds when no work was being done.

Federal funding is expected to cover 75 percent of the project cost, with the state covering the remaining 25 percent.

Richard Praetorius, the town engineering consultant, raised concerns in a March 28 letter that the state and federal specifications for the wall are not adequate for the structure to withstand another big storm like Irene.

We determine that the toe rocks would need to be a minimum of 12,000 pounds per lineal foot along the stream, he wrote. Assuming a 4-foot wide toe rock, this would mean that individual toe rocks would be at least 48,000 pounds each. ... Even if placing rocks of this size was feasible, given the angle of impact and the stream velocity at this particular location, we are not confident that a rip rap slope would be capable of withstanding the forces from a 100-year storm event.

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Catskill seeks review of Palenville retaining wall project