With help from RUPCO and Habitat for Humanity, as well as from more than 30 other contributors, Jay Wenk believes he’s got the funds to get the last six buried oil tanks in the Bearsville Flats out of the ground. Wenk has been trying to raise the money to help the property owners of the six homes remove tanks that have been underground for some 50 odd years, and thus protect the nearby aquifer that supplies water to the main hamlet of Woodstock.
“I believe we’ve got the nut cracked,” said Wenk, a Woodstock town councilman, this week. “The amount needed I thought originally was $6300. I have raised approximately $4800. The reason for needing less is that one person has gotten RUPCO to pay for it, and another…has agreed to do it himself. So two are paying with private funds.”
The development, which flows through streets off of Dixon, Yerry Hill and Harder Roads, was built in the mid to late 1950s, with mostly 275 gallon oil tanks buried in the ground. Over the years, homeowners had replaced many of them but in the last two decades, the town, perceiving a potential environmental disaster should one of the remaining tanks spring a leak (all literature about such tanks indicates a useful, safe life span in the 20-25 year range) has sought to cajole, convince or find deals to help homeowners replace them.
The ton itself cannot pay for improving individual properties, nor can it, or any other governmental entity, compel the tanks to be removed, as state law says only tanks of 1100 gallons or more may be regulated.
After years of frustration, Wenk took to the streets, soliciting donations for the program that he calls “Do you dig it?”
“Six tanks were left, about six weeks ago,” said Wenk. “We’re paying the full cost for one; half the cost for two; and two other people are paying the full cost. RUPCO is footing the bill for the sixth. They’re also possibly going to get involved with a new heating system for that home.”
Last week, Habitat for Humanity, which runs its ReStore at 406 Route 28, Kingston, got involved by pledging to the campaign. “The effect of an aging, rusting underground fuel storage tank rupturing and leaking fuel into the community’s water supply would be catastrophic,” said its news release. “In support of Woodstock’s effort within the town of Woodstock to ensure the removal of underground fuel oil tanks in the Bearsville Flats, Habitat for Humanity of Ulster County will support this effort by donating 10 percent of your purchases at the Habitat ReStore to this fund. All you have to do is tell our cashier ‘I Dig It!’”
Habitat treasurer Jim Dougherty says the campaign will continue until all the funds are in hand for the project. “We should be able to knock it dead this month,” said Dougherty. “Habitat is interested in helping Woodstock remove the oil tanks. It’s one not for profit helping the town get something done once and for all.”
Goal is to be finished by heating season
Wenk says the work will be done by Tankmaster Environmental Inc. of Chester, New York. “Tankmaster says they can maybe start working in as few as three weeks. And we want to get this done before the heating season starts.”
And he says that of those he has approached for donations, he’s had an 80 percent success rate. “I think everybody understands,” he said. “The severest criticism I’ve had was from people who said ‘I took care of this on my own and I’m not going to support other people who won’t.’” And indeed, said Wenk, there had been some resistance over the years to removing the old tanks from people who felt that they didn’t want to be told what to do. “To which I said, it’s our responsibility to protect the water,” said Wenk.
And he’s been touched by the reaction. “Maybe the most by Billy at Woodstock Mountain Bike Shop, he gave me a check and said, thank you so much for doing this. We here in the shop, we drink the water, our customers drink the water, I can’t thank you enough for taking on the responsibility for protecting Woodstock’s water. It’s not just the bike shop, it’s every business in town, the whole water district. His example reflected what everyone else who contributed had to say…I’ve learned that the majority of Woodstockers, as usual, are supportive of pro Woodstock issues. It’s not a political issue it’s a Woodstock issue. I’ve also learned how hard it was for me to do the work necessary…on foot, going around, talking about it. They seem contradictory, but they’re both true.”
And he’s grateful to RUPCO and Habitat. “We’ll accept the Habitat contribution…to make sure we have enough to do everything. We could have a tank that is discovered underneath the foundation of the home…a tank could be discovered that is 550 gallons, instead of 275. These things won’t be known until they’re dug up. They’re going to dig by hand, and after removal there could be subsidence of the soil after it rains, I want to have some money available to have the surface returned to its place — and the building department has to approve each one.”
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