Batchellerville Bridge
Action Committee

The next meeting of the Hudson River-Black River Regulating district will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at Northville Central School, 131 South Third Street, Northville, NY.

In June, New York State nearly succeeded in reversing 78 years of practice by converting the access permit zone ringing Great Sacandaga Lake into a free public park open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This raised the frightening prospect of all-night beer parties held within a few feet of bedroom windows. Of strangers clambering over docks, boats, and beach chairs -- and taking permit holders to court if they got hurt. Of the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining liability insurance covering permit areas because access was open to the public.

As for who was responsible for picking up the public's litter, the state wanted to require permit holders to do that. In one final insult to people who have acted as good environmental stewards, treating permit areas with pride and care, the state even wanted to outlaw the mowing of grass.

Great Sacandaga's 4,800 permit holders rightly viewed these proposed rule changes as a threat to their quality of life and property values. In the face of intense public pressure -- applied by thousands of phone calls, e-mails, and letters -- the Governor's Office backed down at the last minute and withdrew the proposed rule changes. The bad news is that the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, backed by the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District, says it's going to try again.

The lake community is taking the State at its word and is quickly mobilizing to identify our rights and to fight for them. Permit holders, business people, and lake users have come together to set up a Sacandaga Protection Committee (SPC) to safeguard our legal, economic, and environmental interests.

You'll be hearing more from the Sacandaga Protection Committee in the near future.

June 25, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
June 17, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
DAILY GAZETTE story
BBAC Statement at June 9, 2009 Board Meeting
June 6, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
May 28, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
List of Official Contacts
BBAC Letter to GORR
May 19, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
DEC's Cover Letter
DEC's Proposed Rule Changes
HRBRRD's Public Comment Form
DAILY GAZETTE Story
LEADER-HERALD Story
THE RECORDER Story

The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District has been working for nearly three years to revise the rules for permit holders on Great Sacandaga Lake. For background information:

April 23, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
March 27, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
February 25, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
January 28, 2009 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
BBAC Statement at January 14, 2009 board meeting
December 23, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
November 25, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
October 24, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
September 16, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
BBAC Statement at September 8, 2008 Board Meeting
September 3, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
BBAC Statement at August 11, 2008 Board Meeting
August 6, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
BBAC Statement at July 14, 2008 Board Meeting
July 3, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
HRBRRD Public Comment Form
June 19, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
June 6, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter

BBAC NEWSLETTERS

May 5, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
April 28, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
March 28, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
January 29, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
January 10, 2008 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
December 5, 2007 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
November 8, 2007 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
October 10, 2007 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
August 23, 2007 issue of the BBAC Newsletter
8/1/07 Public Meeting -- BBAC Statement
7/21/07 Public Meeting -- BBAC Statement
7/16/07-Public Meeting -- BBAC Statement
July 9, 2007 issue of the BBAC Newsletter

Batchellerville Bridge Replacement Project

The NYS Department of Transportation has made a final decision on its Preferred Alternative. This alternative proposes to construct a new bridge to the south of the existing bridge. It will have a vertical navigational clearance at center span of 42 feet. The new bridge will have two 11-foot-wide travel lanes, two 5-foot-wide shoulders, and a raised 5-foot-wide sidewalk with curb on the north side.

NYSDOT's Notice of Preferred Alternative
May 21, 2007 BBAC Newsletter

Media coverage

• Meeting report
• Editorial: Move Ahead with Bridge
• Northampton Supervisor: The Lower the Better
• Skip the Study, Build the Bridge
• Saratoga County Supervisors Endorse Compromise Design

April 22, 2007 BBAC Newsletter

BBAC Calls for Postponement

Contacts & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

History of the Project

Time to End Batchellerville Bridge Game

Bridge Proposal to Get Formal Review

DOT Revokes Compromise Bridge Design