Fight Pollution Lies Before They Spread in Your Town
Here's how to get answers from federal agencies before lies take hold. Just like they did here in Monroe concerning Round Lake.
Something I talk about in How To Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos, which you can read here for free, is how we need you to be a journalist.
Yes. You reading this.
You are living through a national emergency.
And in case you haven’t been reading our local news coverage, there’s a bit of a state emergency too here in New York.
The oligarchs are running wild, whether it be in South Blooming Grove, Albany, or Washington.
How else do you explain this story involving the man who ran to be head of the Democratic National Committee, State Senator James G. Skoufis?
Or the potential House Majority leader, and New York State Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, saying he doesn’t support Medicare for All?
It’s because Skoufis, Jeffries, and most New York States Democrats work for the wealthy, and MAGA does too. So the Republicans aren’t any better. As we keep saying here at the Gazette: They both suck, and the sooner they’re replaced by parties who refuse to accept any private donations over $100, the better.
So.
If you have the ability to do so—I mean, I’m going to teach you, that’s part of the reason the Monroe Gazette is still around until June 24th, 2027— but if you do, you should cover news happening within ten miles of your home.
That’s easier said than done though.
So let me use this weekend’s local news story about the Round Lake Island to teach you how to request information from federal agencies as a member of the press.
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The Facts:
1.Joel Mann owns 72 acres of real estate on Round Lake and, potentially, the Round Lake Island. Orange County Sewer District 1 (OCSD1), provides sewage facilities and disposal to all of Monroe, Kiryas Joel, and is also accessed by Harriman, Woodbury, and South Blooming Grove. OCSD1 has sewer lines that run through Joel Mann’s property.
2.Former Town Supervisor, Tony Cardone, former Town Board member, Dorey Houle, a man who ran in three consecutive elections for Town Board alongside them, Steven Thau, Convicted Felon Timothy J. Mitts, Carol Scully and her husband—said to be campaign managers for Dorey Houle’s two failed State Senate bids—Mark Lunde, Carol Hawxhurst, and members of the Town of Monroe Republican Committee are trying to fool people into thinking the lake was polluted by Joel Mann, and not OCSD1.
They are also claiming that Joel Mann is clear cutting his property and already building some kind of development.
It’s a safe assumption that this property will be developed in the future, but for now, it is not fact.
Most of the above named individuals claim to have photos and video of alleged activity by Mann at a recent Town meeting.
But.
When asked by the Town of Monroe Building Department and Town administration to provide those photos and videos, these individuals declined to do so.
How do I know this?
Because I asked the Town Board. Here’s just one response that we’ve received:
All of the above named individuals, except Mitts, have appeared on video (at Town Board meetings) since the new administration took office in January, and can be seen acting as a disruptive presence. Repeatedly spouting false information during public comment and any other opportunity to access a microphone.
These are all facts that can be sourced through video, Facebook comments, in conversation with Town representatives, and public records. This is important, because you want to make sure everything you say can be verified.
The aim of any journalist is to present their work in such a way that, if a reader wanted to, they could repeat your steps and come to the same result.
That’s how you know something is true.
So …
What exactly is happening to Round Lake, and why is the public only now hearing about this?
The Claim: The above named individuals— including Mitts, through repeated Facebook posts on the Facebook Group Monroe Matters Unfiltered—are saying the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, the DEC, and Orange County’s Department of Environmental Services and Facilities, are investigating Joel Mann for polluting Round Lake.
Mark Lunde produced only a partial screenshot of an alleged conversation with an EPA representative, after repeated requests for comment by The Monroe Gazette, and even now, we still have a lot of questions about this screenshot.
So the Job is: I need to FOIA the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA. I hope you’ve been following our FOIA podcast episodes. We have a new one coming tomorrow.
So, I won’t go over how to do that here. I also need to FOIL the DEC and Orange County ESF. We’ve covered that a bunch on The Monroe Gazette, so I’m not going to go over that again here either.
What I will do is show you how to reach out to the federal agencies.
I’ve already emailed Michael Zwart, Senior Sanitary Engineer, at Orange County Environmental Facilities and Services, asking him for comment on the situation involving Round Lake, and who is responsible for the alleged pollution and activity on the property. If any.
I also have an established relationship with the DEC Media rep for our region, so I just went ahead and emailed her too. Here’s the email to Zwart:
And here’s the DEC email going out at the same time most of you will be reading this:
How Do You Reach Federal Agencies?
First:
Go to NoAi.DuckDuckGo.com — for reasons I explained here—and search U.S. Army Corps of Engineers + Public Affairs Officer.
Check out that top hit, and look what you got?
A page with Public Affairs office’s contact info. I’d prefer an actual human’s name and address, but that’s a more advance step. So for now I’m going to send this email with PRESS in the subject line. Always do this.
Don’t be cute with the subject line, especially if it’s going to anyone even remotely related to the military. Just say exactly what it is you’re writing about as briefly as possible:
PRESS: Round Lake (Monroe, NY) Wetlands Disturbance & Remediation
And here is the email I am going to schedule to send at 8am tomorrow (Monday) morning.
Dear PAO Team,
I am an investigative reporter for The Monroe Gazette.
I’m researching claims by residents in Monroe, New York, that the Army Corps. Of Engineers is participating in an investigation into wetlands disturbance with the EPA Region 2 Office, and may be engaged in remediation efforts involving those wetlands.
Would you be able to provide comment concerning what, if anything, the Corps. is doing involving Round Lake’s wetlands?
If there is someone willing to speak on the record, I would be happy to arrange a brief, 15 minute remotely recorded podcast recording with them. If you have any questions, this email is the best way to reach me.
Thank you.
-Always use a name if one is available, if not, try to be as friendly as you can to the anonymous person who’s about to read your email.
-Identify yourself and your outlet first.
-Use this template: (You: I’m a reporter) are (doing what: researching claims) (where: in Monroe, New York) by (whom: residents) that say (insert what they’re saying here, as briefly as possible.)
The PAO (Public Affairs Officer) doesn’t need to know that the residents are a former Town Supervisor, Board member, and their weird friends.
-The next step is what you’re asking for. In this case, official comment on what, if anything, is actually happening over there.
-Finally, if you have the equipment (you just need your phone and a platform like Riverside.fm), and you’re capable of recording an interview, always try to do so. People forget what they said. You forget what they said. People like to sometimes lie and say, “I never said that.” You always want a recording. Always ask for the opportunity to speak to someone on the record. Some agencies, such as the New York State Attorney Generals Office and the NYS DEC, like to comment “on background.”
On Background is different than Off the Record. Off the Record means you don’t say a god damn word to anyone. Not even your mother.
On Background means you can say, like we have previously concerning our ICE coverage in Newburgh, that we spoke to the Attorney Generals office and this is what was shared with us. I’ve been doing The Monroe Gazette for almost three years. The DEC is the one that does this (commenting “on background”) most often.
I’m going to repeat this process for the EPA. Except, my search is going to be more specific, since I know the office I’m looking for is the Region 2 EPA office that covers New York. When it comes to federal agencies, it’s good to do some sleuthing and see if you can find the exact office that oversees your part of the country. This means you’ll be more likely to get a response.
So here I search for, “EPA Region 2 Office Public Affairs.”
Right on the first page, the top result got me what I needed. But. There’s a bunch of choices now.
Now, in my case, I have a cheat, because I’ve previously talked to Elias Rodriguez, the Media supervisor, about the EPA’s investigation into South Blooming Grove’s municipal water infrastructure.
The one Joel Stern repeatedly claimed did not exist, but does. Or did. Before Trump came in and cut the EPA’s budget and staff.
But since I’m doing things the same way you would, I’m going to pick the Water rep and the Waste, Hazardous, and Solid rep because I’m pretty sure the Waste, Hazardous, and Solid rep is the person I need to speak with.
But it may ALSO be the water person to. (Just to be safe, if you do see a media supervisor’s email, always CC them on your email.)
Because I know who I’m writing to, this email was a little more personal. Since the EPA is the agency Mark Lunde claims to have had an email exchange with, I also provided some additional context:
Hi Niki and Stephen,
I am an investigative journalist for The Monroe Gazette.
I am investigating claims by Monroe residents that Round Lake, located off County Route 5 / Lakes Road in Monroe, New York, is subject to an ongoing EPA investigation concerning pollution and damage to the wetlands. They claim the Army Corps. of Engineers is participating in these efforts.
From what we’ve been told, the source of the pollution are sewer lines that belong to Orange County Sewer District 1 that backed up or otherwise failed, but some residents claim the pollution was not the sewage, but done by the property owner, Joel Mann.
Can you provide an official comment on the matter?
If there is someone willing to speak on the record, I would be happy to arrange a brief, 15 minute remotely recorded podcast recording with them. If you have any questions, this email is the best way to reach me.
Thank you.
Of course, I’ll let you all know what I hear. But if I can do this stuff, you can do this stuff.
And right now, we need as many people as we can to be doing this stuff.
The only true antidote to fascism is reality. Not because facts change minds. They don’t. But because you’re playing a numbers game.
For example, no matter what MAGA says or does, they and their fascist policies will always poll around, at most, 38%. You’re not changing the minds of any of those people. Don’t bother. They will either figure it out for themselves—many have!— or they won’t.
But that means there’s millions and millions more Americans (62%) who either have an opinion on what’s happening and agree with you that it’s a problem, or just don’t know about what’s happening around them.
By making sure fascist myths are met with the truth, whether it’s a bunch of local MAGAs like Houle, Cardone, Mitts, Thau, and friends, or the national MAGAs, you provide a smooth path for that 62% to stand up to the bullying 38% and say, “No. These are the facts, and this is the truth.”
That’s the only way this democracy survives.