Duchess Farm Equestrian Community in Stone Ridge, New York, received a new state notice of violation for alleged work done on its land as well as on parcels sold to members of a homeowners’ association.
According to The Daily Freeman, a May 10 notice was sent by state Department of Environmental Conservation engineer Douglas Upright. The department sent a cease-and-desist in 2021 for activity that involved insufficient erosion control measures. Duchess Farm Equestrian Community is a group of properties led by former town Supervisor Michael Warren.
An earlier notice from Jun. 10, 2021, reported that erosion controls were not in place for over an acre of property, reported The Daily Freeman. This conclusion was drawn from an inspection that found that there was turbid discharge from a storm water pond on Bridle Path Lane and water coming from a well, causing erosion and turbidity.
According to Upright, new swales had been installed along Palomino Path and work to create swales along Morgan Lane began, reported The Daily Freeman. Upright adds that there is also evidence that a concrete truck had been washed down without appropriate containment on Bridle Path Lane.
According to Warren, the notices should have been issued to the homeowners’ association, as most of the work along the private roadways are not under the control of Duchess Farm Equestrian Community.
“The DEC doesn’t realize that Duchess Farm doesn’t own the road or storm water,” Warren said, reported The Daily Freeman. “The farm owns the agricultural land. Nobody (knew) where the boundaries were. They just assumed the farm owned everything.”
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