Threats to the Ridge Actions that should be taken to save the Ridge About the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition Media coverage about the Shawangunk Ridge Learn more about the environment of the Shawangunk Ridge Conservation efforts on the Shawangunk Ridge Recreation on the Shawangunk Ridge Maps of the Shawangunk Ridge Links to supporters and affiliated sites Search this site for information Contact information for the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition Return to our home page

Yukiguni Maitake Mushroom Plant on the Basha Kill

The Basha Kill - Photographer: Willard Holmes of Cuddebackville Current Status:

(For background, see below).
This project was given a favorable SEQRA review by the Town of Mamakating Planning Board and granted controversial zoning variances by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals.

Both decisions prompted lawsuits by local citizens, including the Basha Kill Area Association, which are in the courts.

Latest News:

  • Revised Plan Submitted for Mushroom Plant (March 20, 2008)
  • Opponents Lose Second Mushroom Plant Case (Dec. 28, 2007)
  • Mushroom Plant Clears Court Challenge (March 13, 2007)
  • January 2007: Legal Challenge Needs Your Help
  • BKAA denied stay (May 18, 2006)
  • Engineer’s review finds plan for mushroom plant deficient
  • April 27, 2006:A review of Yukiguni Maitake’s development plans for a mushroom plant in Mamakating reveals serious deficiencies. Click here to read the report by David Clouser & Associates (pdf, 71K).

    Mushroom Plant Chronology
    • May 2005: Town of Mamakating Planning Board gives mushroom project favorable SEQRA review
    • June 2005: BKAA and neighboring property owners sue town planning board, citing inadequate SEQRA review.
    • November 3, 2005: A standing-room-only crowd witnessed four of five zoning board members vote their intent to approve four variances requested by project developers.
    • December 22, 2005: Four of the five members of the Mamakating ZBA (Zoning Board of Appeals) approved variances for the Yukiguni Maitake mushroom plant. The variances will allow Yuikguni to build to a height of 80 feet (almost twice the allowable height in the Light Industrial Office zone) and to cover 10% more land than is allowed in the zone.
    • December 2005: Members of the community announce plans to bring an Article 78 lawsuit against the ZBA.
    • March 3, 2006: Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Robert Sackett rejected the Basha Kill Area Association's (BKAA) claims that the Town of Mamakating Planning Board did not take a "hard look" at the environmental impacts of the Yukiguni Maitake mushroom plant. BKAA announces intention to appeal.

    BACKGROUND:

    The applicant proposes to build a facility that will be approximately 83 feet high in part of the structure (four stories – almost double the height limit specified in the recently adopted zoning ordinance) and 62 feet high in the remainder in order to eventually produce 30 tons of mushrooms per day. If a variance is allowed for this 83 foot structure, it will completely disrupt the viewshed of Mamakating’s rural valley and the magnificent Shawangunk Ridge.

    The Basha Kill - Photographer: Willard Holmes of CuddebackvilleYukiguni Maitake Corporation anticipates that its facility will produce 3.3 tons of solid waste per day, as well as 67 tons of saw dust and waste mushrooms per day.

    Now that you begin to understand the vast scope of this proposal, consider also the very serious water issues that are involved. The applicant is proposing to pull 621,000 gallons of water per day from the aquifer to support its operations. At the same time, the Company mentions returning only 50,000 gallons per day of wastewater to on-site infiltration basins.

    A water expert from the US Geological Survey’s Troy office told representatives of the Basha Kill Area Association that a withdrawal of this amount would inevitably lower water levels in the Basha Kill, possibly drying up some of the smaller wetlands bordering the Basha Kill.

    For more information contact the Basha Kill Area Association (BKAA):
    Paula Medley: 845-754-0743

    Contact: Shawangunk Ridge Coalition, 156 Ramapo Valley Rd., Mahwah NJ 07430;
    201-512-9348 x25; Email: info@shawangunkridge.org