Water issues again dominated the Fredonia Village Board meeting this week. File photo

Fredonia’s trustees have approved a State Environmental Quality Review of shutting the village water treatment plant and acquiring water from the North County Water District.

The vote went as expected: 4-1, with Trustee Michelle Twichell dissenting. No trustee said anything in favor of the resolution — but, also as expected, the outspoken Twichell criticized it.

“I wish we had taken time to discuss the Environmental Assessment Form (part of the SEQR) before voting tonight on its acceptance,” she said.

Her biggest concern was the resolution does not list all of the agencies that would be involved in a plant shutdown and NCWD water buy. She wanted to name the Fredonia, town of Pomfret, and county planning boards and the Chautauqua County Department of Health as involved agencies.

Twichell also alleged that the proposed Environmental Assessment Form did not properly address impacts to the reservoir. She added, just before voting, that the resolution did not include any provision to not exceed a certain cost.

The resolution passed Monday declares Fredonia as lead agency for a SEQR of improvements related to “Alternative 2” in LaBella’s latest study. The improvements are “including but not necessarily limited to” installation of piping along Water Street to support proposed infrastructure. Another proposal includes addition of three, unspecified interconnection structures along the Pomfret-Fredonia border.

A third proposal named in Monday’s resolution is for construction of a water storage tank to be used by both Pomfret and Fredonia. That’s been a favored plan of Pomfret Town Supervisor and North County Water District Chair Dan Pacos.

The resolution goes on to mention “decommissioning and demolition of the village’s existing water treatment plant and modifications to the village’s existing dam and reservoir to comply with NYS Dam Safety regulations.”

The Board of Trustees previously voted in December 2023, by a 3-2 vote, to shut down the water plant and buy water from Dunkirk (the sole water supplier to the NCWD). The village was successfully sued by several residents to overturn that resolution.

One of the main reasons State Supreme Court Judge Grace Hanlon ruled against the 2023 resolution was that it had no reference to a State Environmental Quality Review.