We can understand the Jamestown City Council feeling the need to weigh in on freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

It carries some weight for Rep. Nick Langworthy and state Sen. George Borrello to have Chautauqua County’s largest city’s governing body on the record opposing freshwater wind turbines even though studies have shown the turbines aren’t economically feasible right now.

But if the council is going to take up the cause against freshwater wind turbines, then in our opinion the council should turn its attention toward a watershed issue that actually affects Jamestown. We’re talking, of course, about the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act and the regulations that many lakeside governments have expressed concerned about in recent months. Jamestown has been one of the few local governments that hasn’t passed a resolution opposing the regulations or asking for a delay in their implementation while it is hashed out whether or not the regulations’ wording is beneficial to Chautauqua Lake.

It’s especially surprising since Jamestown is home to the Chadakoin River and McCrae Point. McCrae Point will fall under the new regulations when they take effect in January – so the city actually has some skin in the game when it comes to freshwater regulations. That’s not the case when it comes to freshwater wind turbines in Lake Erie.

There aren’t many Jamestown homeowners who will be affected by freshwater regulations on Chautauqua Lake or its surrounding watershed. But ongoing work in the Chadakoin and McCrae Point could be affected, even if that effect is only additional permitting for work that is being done to rehabilitate the area. .

In our view, state lawmakers erred when they didn’t carve out an exemption in the Freshwater Wetlands Act for navigable lakes like Chautauqua Lake. That legislative oversight has created legitimate concerns for many around Chautauqua Lake, and we don’t think Jamestown is immune from those concerns.