PINE ISLAND – A dispute
between two black dirt farmers over a more than 100-year-old easement
could wind up in court.
One farmer wants to exercise his right through neighboring farmer Christopher Pawelski’s onion farm in Pine Island. If allowed to install an 18-inch drainage pipe there and cover it over with dirt, it could result in major flooding of large acreages of farmland, said Pawelski. The covered drainage trench would be used for the farmer to drive his farm vehicles through the property.
Pawelski claims covering the culvert would cause flooding
The farmer began to install the culvert and cover it over before the town approved it. Over the weekend the town issued a stop work order until a decision is made.
Pawelski argues the pipe, which would connect to a 60-inch culvert under the road, could result to major flooding of the farm fields when heavy rains occur.
He said the pipe would be a violation of the Clean Water Act revised rule, which among other things, requires certain conditions be met on agricultural land when a waterway is covered by a road.
“You just can’t do whatever you want,” Pawelski said. “You have to make sure you have free flow flood waters, the fill that is used is proper; amongst the best management practices are used. There are a number of different restrictions, and Army Corps and EPA have totally abdicated the responsibility to oversee this. The reason I was given by them was they are deathly afraid of ‘big agriculture’ protesting that this is overregulation and overreach.”
Pawelski said no one will protest that this is overregulation and overreach.
“What is sacrosanct in the black dirt is the right to drain and if you do anything to prevent proper drainage, you prevent the farmer from being able to farm here in the black dirt and you hurt the farmer,” he said, noting a larger number of farmers would be hurt by this.
