A Win for Blue Mountain!

Good news came down from the Environmental Hearing Board on September 7, 2006. Judge Michael Krancer sustained the Blue Mountain Preservation Association’s appeal of the DEP-issued stormwater discharge permit for Alpine Resorts Inc. While this does not mean that the racetrack and associated development on Blue Mountain will not happen, it is a significant setback for Alpine Rose and there is renewed hope that the project can be stopped.

The Sierra Club has been supporting the efforts of the Blue Mountain Preservation Association (BMPA) throughout the several years of the fight to stop the racetrack. The PA Chapter provided two grants of $1,000 each to the Appalachian Trail Conference for noise level analyses. Also, the Huplits Foundation that is administered by the Sierra Club awarded BMPA over $9,000 for expert testimony and administrative costs. Thankfully, the Mid-Atlantic Environmental Law Center provided pro bono representation. BMPA says the fight would have been lost without these contributions.

The construction of the racetrack would have increased the volume of water entering the Aquashicola Creek, a high quality cold-water fishery that is protected from degradation by state statute. State laws require that alternatives to that increased discharge and run-off must be considered. Alpine Rose did not do so, according to the findings. Also, proof that the waters will not be degraded was not provided as the law dictates.
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