Good news: On Friday, August 21, I spoke with Nikita Joshi, who is the public information officer for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 Office.
(If you’re following along at home, and don’t know how to find a federal agency’s public affairs officer, I explained how to start the process here.)
Joshi told The Monroe Gazette, “[the] EPA is aware of the reported activity in wetlands at Round Lake and is unable to comment on enforcement investigations.”
So, we can factually say that the EPA is looking into something here.
But What Does That Mean?
Whether or not the EPA is looking at Orange County’s Sewer District 1 or Joel Mann is unclear. So, for the normal people reading this, we have to be clear about what we know factually and what we don’t.
And there is still a lot we don’t know about this situation.
(FOIL requests are pending with Orange County ESF, the DEC, and FOIA requests with the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers.)
We also don’t know this: Just because the EPA is looking at something does not mean there will be any sort of enforcement activity.
The EPA previously told The Monroe Gazette that they were investigating South Blooming Grove, but of the FOIA records requests so far sent to the EPA Region 2 office, none have turned up results of any action taken against South Blooming Grove by the EPA.
And there are few, if any records, on the Village according to the FOIA officer we spoke to at the Region 2 offices. (At least one South Blooming Grove FOIA is still pending.)
So, there’s a clear distinction to be made here between the EPA investigating and the EPA taking action.
It’s important that the community knows that distinction because whenever there’s ambiguity, there are fascists and weirdos looking to take advantage of people.
The Monroe Gazette is ad-free and paywall-free, covering local news in Monroe and surrounding towns as well as county, state, and national issues that impact those residents.
Want to help keep the lights on? We’re looking to recruit 990 paid annual subscribers between now and June 24, 2027. If you’re new here or already a free subscriber, press that beautiful button below to upgrade.
Fascists & Weirdos
Exhibit A: At least one bad actor — Mark Lunde — is running around with half a screenshot about an “investigation” that’s happening involving Round Lake, and using that as “proof” that Joel Mann is doing something illegal and that he’s about to build a development on the property.
Joining him in fomenting hysteria around town is former town supervisor Tony Cardone, who told yet another fib at a town meeting when he said the County was not aware of any work being done on Joel Mann’s property. I’m about to show you that was another big fat lie in nearly a decade of big fat lies that man tells any time he’s near a microphone.
Exhibit B: Convicted felon Tim Mitts*, for example, is currently circulating a petition that misrepresents the Town Board’s official position concerning a building moratorium.
Whether or not the Town Board has even considered a moratorium — let alone whether they can legally do so — is questionable at best. However, The Monroe Gazette is currently speaking to an environmental attorney about what options exist, if any. That’s because we believe the climate crisis is a clear and present danger to the residents of this town, as it is to everyone else on the planet. Take a look:
More good news: The next Monroe Town Board meeting isn’t until September 8 at 7 p.m. So that gives us time to see clarification from the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Based on email exchanges between Orange County Senior Sanitation Engineer Mike Zwart and the Town of Monroe that The Monroe Gazette has obtained, Orange County, despite claims by Mark Lunde, Tony Cardone, Dorey Houle, Carol Scully, Carol Hawxhurst, convicted felon Tim Mitts, and others, was fully aware of the work Mr. Mann was doing on his property.
We’ll give everyone a moment to pretend they’re shocked Tony Cardone was lying to them.
We can state this factually because of an email dated August 12 from Zwart describing Joel Mann’s work the same way Mann did: fences, grading, and storm drainpipe around the access road for the sewer main.
So, for all the “I bet that real estate guy is a filthy liar!” that you heard at the previous Town meeting from the people I called by name here — because we should take note of who the bigots are pretending to fight for this community and the people actually working to preserve what they can of the community — Orange County confirmed what Mann told the Town.
It’s his property. He owns it. He’s doing work on it.
The most important part of the email, though, is something we’ll quote directly from Zwart: “There has been no encroachment into our manholes or mainline. If needed, we can still gain access to the manholes and mainline on that easement. Any work that has been done has not required permitting from this department.” [Emphasis added.]
That’s quite a different story from what you’re hearing and seeing at these Town meetings and on Facebook.
Unfortunately, when it comes to fact checking, we’re the only game in town.
P.S. I have a new rule.
It’s very simple.
From now on, whenever one of you send me a screenshot from Convicted Felon Tim Mitts, along with his alleged friend Mike … that’s not 100% confirmed but our readers are feeling confident there’s a dude helping Mitts make stuff on Grok because Mitts is too much of a imbecile to do anything but get drunk and scream at his phone…
I’m going to tell you a fun fact about Tim Mitts.
Every time he opens his mouth and my name comes out of it.
And since one of you sent me a screenshot on Saturday from Mitts and “friend,” posting another AI photo about yours truly, I will share with you this number: $1,126,667.42.
That’s how much, in specifically quantified personal judgments and federal tax liens that exist against Timothy Jon Mitts as of this writing. (This figure does not include post judgement-interest, as well as some other fun things I’ll share if needed.)
I can’t imagine why I guy that owes that much money would constantly be trying to sue the Town, can you?