Penn State has completed a study of "An Emerging Giant: Prospects and Economic Impacts Of Developing The Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Play"..

.Read the full study.

Delaware County's Economic Impact Analysis of the NYC Land Acquisition Program is now complete!

View the

Final Report

or the

Executive Summary

NYC Watershed Issues

Economic Impact Analysis of the NYC Land Acquisition Program

In June of 2007, New York City received a fourth Filtration Avoidance Determination from the EPA for its water supply system, extending to 2017. One of the components of this most recent FAD was the insertion of a $300 million, 10-year Land Acquisition Program (LAP). While land acquisition has been a component of previous FADs, the scale and scope of the new LAP was entirely unprecedented in relation to earlier FADs issued to manage and regulate the New York City watershed as well as other unfiltered water supply systems in New York State.

Delaware County, as host to the majority of the land area comprising the West of Hudson watershed, was concerned about the economic and social ramifications that a $300 million land acquisition program might potentially have upon its communities, businesses and residents. From the perspective of Delaware County, the geographic constraints of the region, in conjunction with the established Watershed Rules & Regulations, provide adequate safeguards for ensuring the compatibility of likely future development with the over arching goals of water quality preservation.

In response to its concerns, Delaware County and the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce commissioned an independent analysis of the potential impacts of the new Land Acquisition Program. In light of the fact that no previous assessment of the potential impacts such a large-scale program might have upon local communities had been undertaken, Delaware County sought an independent, unbiased analysis of the potential positive and negative impacts of the $300 million land acquisition program. This analysis, conducted by Downeast Development Consulting Group has sought to analyze the potential direct and in-direct impacts of the New York City Land Acquisition Program from a completely objective standpoint.

The complete report, as well as an executive summary, has been posted on this page for public review.  It is not the County’s intention to malign land acquisition and open space conservation in all forms, but to merely point out that as this program is currently contrived, there exists the potential for negative impacts.