Towns of Stony Point and Haverstraw Harriman State Park Lake Welch Site Improvements Project

Negative Declaration

Rockland County - The New York State Ofice of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP), as lead agency, has determined that the proposed Harriman State Park - Lake Welch Site Improvements Project will not have a significant adverse environmental impact. The action involves a proposal for several upgrades to the Lake Welch facility within Harriman State Park. These upgrades focus on improving water quality and are in response to the 2022 harmful algal blooms that closed Lake Welch Beach for most of the 2022 swim season. The existing Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will be upgraded to a new system with a higher level of treatment to reduce the amount of nutrients in effluent. The effluent outfall will also be removed from Lake Welch and will be redirected to a tributary of Lake Tiorati Brook to the north. The Lagoon will be regraded and designed as a stormwater treatment wetland, and invasive phragmites patches growing along the shore will be removed. The Lagoon improvements will create a wetland feature that will slow stormwater runoff from the 15 acre parking lot and will allow nutrients and sediments to settle before being discharged into Lake Welch. The parking lot will also be reconfigured to include vegetated islands and stormwater bioretention basins to pre-treat stormwater before it enters the wetland. New electric vehicle charging stations will also be installed and the parking lot will be repaved to provide more efficient drainage. Some bioretention basins will also be expanded into the picnic areas and some paths will be reconfigured closest to the main entrance building to allow for improved drainage. The main building will also receive an addition to expand office and restroom areas to alleviate some of the pressure on existing facilities. A new maintenance building will also be built. The project is located in the Harriman State Park on Seven Lakes Drive / Bear Mountain Circle and Lake Welch in the Town of Stony Point and Town of Haverstraw, New York.