Neighbors press planning board for records and testing as Rhinebeck Villas hearing continues

Sean Brown, speaking for the Rhinebeck Villas applicant, told the Rhinebeck Planning Board that the project’s wastewater engineer met DEC staff on the site and that DEC indicated the intermittent stream identified could accept a treated discharge; Brown said the developer expects written confirmation from DEC soon. He also said the project team supplied additional rock‑removal and wastewater‑treatment details to the board.

Neighbors used the public comment period to press for more environmental documentation. Jeff Carter, who said he has lived in the area for decades, referenced historical correspondence among the Dutchess County Department of Health and the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and said earlier testing found elevated mercury and lead in some samples. “There’s evidence that there’s been dumping activity,” Carter said, and urged the board to require further investigation rather than rely solely on older materials.

Other neighbors described concerns about well capacity and cumulative groundwater drawdown if the development proceeds with the proposed number of units. Speakers noted the project’s proposed wastewater treatment location and asked why the plant could not be sited closer to service access and emergency response (for example, nearer the airport access road) rather than deep in the wooded parcel.

Applicant representatives and consultants responded that on‑site field work and the most recent engineering samples do not show the contamination neighbors described at levels that would block the project, and that the project’s proposed outfall now appears acceptable to DEC subject to written confirmation. The applicant’s counsel told the board the applicant does not agree it should be compelled to fund additional neighbor well testing beyond what was carried out in project development.

Planning staff said they would pursue records with DEC and Dutchess County Public Health, and the board asked staff and consultants to gather and place in the record any prior environmental reports, remediation documentation or DEC file numbers that bear on the neighbors’ claims. The board also discussed whether and how additional targeted soil sampling or more neighbor well tests would be best structured and who would pay for them.

The planning board continued the Rhinebeck Villas public hearing to its April 20 meeting and directed staff to request DEC and county health records and to coordinate follow‑up with the project’s engineering team. The board will consider any DEC response, the applicant’s revised materials, and neighbor submissions before taking subsequent steps.

The hearing's next procedural step is the submission and review of any DEC written confirmation and any additional technical reports the board requests; the public hearing remains open.