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Page 18 Grassroots November 2011
Compliance Corner
Register Water Usage Or
Face Additional DEC Permits
The face Sarah Hooper, 36,
of NewYork Multiple Schoharie farms County Barbers
Agriculture Schoharie Town, NY County, NY
Tell us about your involvement
in agriculture.
I am very fortunate to be tied to multiple
farming operations in Schoharie
County. My involvement first started in
New York at Schoharie Valley Farms,
which is my family’s farm. My father
bought the farm when I was a freshman
at Cornell in 1993. I was then
blessed to marry Jacob Hooper, who
now assists in managing Barbers Farm
in Middleburgh, N.Y. Jacob and I are
also involved in growing Hooper Garlic
with his parents, and are partners in
Wilderhook Maple, a business we began
with some great friends of ours.
How exactly is your family
involved?
That is one of my favorite parts of
being involved in agriculture. Working
with family is really a gift. Being tied
to so many operations allows me to
interact with my family everyday.
At Schoharie Valley Farms, I work
with my father, Richard Ball, my
brother, Ethan and my sister, JoLyn.
When I am helping at Barbers, I get to
see many of Jacob’s family members,
including Jim and Cindy Barber, who
are involved in the farm, his Grandma
Grace Barber.
Jacob and I have two children. Our
daughter Anna is 8 and son Liam is
5. They are now getting old enough to
enjoy helping out on both the farms,
with things like picking raspberries in
the high tunnels or assembling boxes
for cider doughnuts at the Carrot Barn.
I really enjoy having the luxury of
spending time with them and watching
them enjoy the farming way of life.
Did you grow up on a farm?
I grew up on Schartners Farm, in
Exeter, R.I., which my father helped
manage when I was growing up. That
was where I learned the value of working
hard and began my appreciation of
farming. (It all began when I was quite
small, earning a quarter for each quart
of strawberries I picked.)
Schartners was a great experience
and prepared me for the farms I am
part of now. Both Barbers and Schoharie
Valley Farms are multi-faceted
retail fruit and vegetable farms. I have
been fortunate to get to learn the many
areas of the farms… from working in
the field, in the greenhouses, in the
bakery, to buying merchandise, and
setting displays in the store. Every day
presents something new and offers a
new challenge.
How is Farm Bureau significant
to you?
Farm Bureau is important to me.
I am so thankful for it. Agriculture is
becoming more and more challenging
every year. It is comforting to know
that farmers have a voice and a means
to communicate our needs to government
officials on so many different
levels.
Being involved in so many operations,
I see that there are changing
needs in each area in agriculture. I
appreciate that Farm Bureau is multifaceted,
and helps support the many
different types of agriculture. I am
also quite proud that my Dad has been
able to be actively involved as well.
Tell us about Irene’s impact and
what it meant for you….
Hurricane Irene brought challenges
on a magnitude we could never have
foreseen. For our farms, our families,
our neighbors and our community, the
impact will be felt for quite some time.
Both Barbers and Schoharie Valley
Farms saw nearly 100 percent losses to
whatever crops were still in the field,
some damage to fields and for Barbers,
some structures were impacted as well.
The timing of the storm was exceptionally
tough as we were in the midst of
both summer and fall harvests.
But we are thankful to get the
chance to farm again. We are looking
forward to next year, and sowing new
seeds in 2012.
Face of NY Ag
correction
Grassroots published a picture
of the wrong Eastman in its Face of
New York Agriculture in the October
issue. This picture of Roger Eastman
should have been published, instead of
his cousin, Chuck Eastman. We regreat
the error (even if the Eastmans had a
good laugh over it.)
By Lisa Ovitt, Paralegal
lovitt@nyfb.org
For the first time in New York State,
more than 400 industrial and commercial
users must obtain a state permit
in order to withdraw major amounts
of water from New York State’s Great
Lakes Basin. Withdrawals of 100,000
gallons or more per day will require a
permit be issued to gas drilling companies,
power plants, golf courses, water
bottlers and other such entities.
Permitting & Reporting
This new law, however, significantly
eases requirements for farm operations
to report their water use to the Department
of Environmental Conservation
(DEC).
At certain times during the growing
season, a farm may need to irrigate
crops due to dry weather, but New York
farms are not large-scale, year-round
water users. New York State regulations
recognize this and provide for an
opportunity for registration of farm
water withdrawals with DEC if the
withdrawal exceeds the threshold outlined
in new statute.
Previously, a farm that had the capacity
to withdraw 100,000 gallons of
water in any one day was required to
report their water use to DEC.
Under the new law, a farm that withdraws
an average of 100,000 gallons
per day of water over any 30-day period
must report their water use to the Department.
There is no fee for farms to
report their water usage.
Under the new law, it is critical that
farms report their water use to to DEC
prior to February 15, 2012 and then file
similar reports annually thereafter.
A farm that chooses to wait until after
this deadline will be required to obtain
a permit for their water withdrawals
if they exceed threshold withdrawal
of an average 100,000 gallons per day of
water over any 30-day period.
Agricultural Purposes
The “agricultural purposes” included
in the scope of the exemption
include the practice of farming crops,
plants, vines and trees and the keeping,
grazing or feeding of livestock for sale
The New York State Public Service
Commission (Commission) and the
New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA)
has announced a $5 million Agriculture
Disaster Program to immediately help
farms replace systems and equipment
damaged or lost due to Hurricane Irene
and/or Tropical Storm Lee.
The program provides funding for
energy-efficient repair and replacement
of damaged electric and natural
gas systems and equipment, such as
milk processing, cooling, heating, and
other farm systems. Emphasis will be
placed on fast application response and
face-to-face, on-line, telephone and other
support needed by farmers.
This program was approved by the
Commission and is being administered
through NYSERDA with assistance
from the New York State Department
of Agriculture & Markets. Assistance
is available for equipment or systems
purchased on or after August 28, 2011
for sites affected by Hurricane Irene, or
September 4, 2011 for sites affected by
Tropical Storm Lee.
Program eligibility will be limited to
farms and on-farm producers located
of livestock or livestock products, and
the on-farm processing of crops, livestock
and livestock products.
Reporting Form
Registrations are valid for one year.
Some of the information included on
the form prescribed by DEC is:
The place and source of the proposed
or existing withdrawal;
The location of any discharge or return
flow;
The location and nature of the proposed
or existing water use;
The actual or estimated average annual
and monthly volumes and rates of
withdrawal; and
The actual or estimated average annual
and monthly volumes and rates of
water loss from the withdrawal.
(In calculating the total amount of
water withdrawal, all separate withdrawals
are combined regardless of
whether such withdrawals are for a single
agricultural use or for related but
separate purposes.)
NOTE: If a farm DOES NOT register
with the DEC regarding water withdrawal
and if the water withdrawn for
agricultural purposes exceeds an average
of 100,000 gallons per day in any consecutive
30-day period, it will be required
to obtain a permit and make a report to
the Department.
For additional information and water
reporting forms, visit DEC’s water
reporting page on their website at
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/55509.
html. As of yet, the site has not been updated
to reflect the new changes in law,
but this will be changed in the near future.
However, farms are able to report
their water use on the outdated reporting
form currently provided on the DEC
website.
For more information on these
changes or on DEC reporting requirements,
contact Richard Kruzansky in
the Department of Environmental Conservation’s
Bureau of Water Resources
Management at (518) 402-8182.
— Lisa A. Ovitt is a paralegal in the
New York Farm Bureau
Legal Affairs Department.
Cuomo, PSC Offer
Disaster Assistance
within counties identified by Executive
Orders 17, 21 and/or 22. Eligibility
is contingent upon demonstration that
the loss was suffered as a result of Hurricane
Irene and/or Tropical Storm
Lee.
Applications are available at http://
nyserda.ny.gov/agriculture-disasterprogram,
and are for eligible farms or
on-farm producers.
The applications will be processed
in the order in which they are received
on a first-come, first served basis until
December 15, 2011 or until the funding
runs out. Funding will be provided at
100 percent of eligible costs minus other
aid or insurance proceeds received
with a maximum assistance amount of
$100,000 per farm.
Farms seeking assistance will be required
to provide supporting documentation
for the equipment or systems
for which they are seeking funding.
Detailed invoices or estimates for the
equipment or systems will be required
for program application. Farms must
also demonstrate that they contribute
to the System Benefits Charge (SBC).
For more information, applicants
can call 1-877-NY-SMART (877-697-6278).