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Consultants outline environmental review for 4,400-acre Greene County redevelopment site
Summary
EDR consultants told the Greene County Legislature they've released a scoping document and expect a draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement in early 2027 as they study an approximately 4,400-acre site with port, rail and thruway access that could support light industrial and advanced manufacturing.
Consultants for a proposed 4,400-acre redevelopment project in Greene County gave the legislature a high-level overview of the project team, site assets and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) schedule, saying scoping is almost complete and a draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) is expected for public review in early 2027.
Nina Peek, planning practice lead at EDR, said the project team has engaged multiple technical consultants — traffic, socioeconomic, air and noise, environmental site assessment — and that the site's assets include a deepwater port, access to a CSX rail line and proximity to the thruway. "We're very careful. We're very mindful of the assets that are already there and the residential neighborhoods around it, and being transparent," Peek said.
EDR described the scoping work: a scoping document was released April 15, the county accepted lead-agency status, stakeholders provided about 150 written comments during the scoping comment period, and wetland delineation field work began in May. Peek said the team expects to finish scoping by mid-July, complete field work in the summer and present a draft GEIS for public review in February 2027, with a final statement of findings anticipated in summer 2027.
During questions, legislators pressed whether companies were already lined up; county staff said early inquiries exist but no end uses have been finalized and that existing site owners (named in the meeting as Heidelberg and Peckham) had signaled interest in expanding operations. Several members raised strong concerns about truck traffic and the capacity of local roads and narrow bridges, noting nearby examples where heavy industrial traffic damaged village streets. Committee members and staff agreed the project will require detailed transportation analysis and likely coordination with the Thruway Authority, state DOT and metropolitan planning organizations.
EDR emphasized the conceptual nature of the plan and said housing was a possible future consideration but would require separate SEQR review and site-plan approvals. The consultants urged a cautious, phased approach: the property "is unlikely to get developed all at once," Peek said, and the team recommended carefully staged development over years. The presenters encouraged continued stakeholder engagement and public transparency as the SEQR process continues.
