Drunk Uncle Peter Tuohy Promises No Threat To Public Safety
Orange County Legislator Peter Tuohy downplays threat to the public by the hydrogen sulfide gas in the Village of Monroe, but is this the truth? Or just some more election time spin?
Above: the Orange County Sewer District 1 Advisory Committee holds its March meeting. No one at this meeting asked why Simon Property Group (SPG), the multibillion-dollar company that stands to receive a substantial benefit from the proposed $186M sewer plan, can’t pay for the plant themselves.
In 2024, Simon Property Group authorized up to $2B in stock buybacks. A scheme that artificially limits the amount of available shares through the purchase of them, making the company doing the stock buyback look more profitable than it actually is. Companies often use this tactic to inflate executive compensation since many executives, including David Simon, are compensated based on their performance on Wall Street.
For those bad at math, a billion is a thousand million. So, if you were to subtract $186M (the cost of the new sewage plant) from $2B (the price of the stock buyback program), Simon Property Group would still have $1,813,000,000 left over. More than enough to complete its stock buyback program after paying for the new sewer plant and infrastructure upgrades for the plant in Harriman.
So, clearly, Simon Property Group has $186M floating around, probably under the couch cushions of the Simon Family, whose net worth Forbes projects to be around $11B.
Instead, residents within Orange County Sewer District 1 will face a potential bill of $1,000 per household, per year, for over thirty years that they will be asked to pay. Fees for residents not in the Sewer District, but benefit from using the sewer plant, are still to be determined. Regardless, you will still pay more than Simon Property Group will.
When Crooked Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus was asked about the deal between Simon Property Group and the Village of South Blooming Grove being a quid pro quo, his office declined to comment. Specifically, we asked the County Executive whether or not it was true he would drop Orange County’s lawsuit against South Blooming Grove in exchange for South Blooming Grove leasing its “excess” sewage capacity to Woodbury Common.
This is the lawsuit filed against South Blooming Grove for illegally creating a road through Orange County-owned Gonzaga Park.
You remember the story. It involves Joel Stern, Isaac Ekstein, Steve Neuhaus — and maybe County Attorney Rick Golden — smoking cigars on a mountain to celebrate that deal.
And as you know, South Blooming Grove does not have “excess” sewage capacity nor a legitimately elected government to negotiate with Simon Property Group.
I know. I just gave you two posts yesterday. If you become a paid monthly subscriber, I’ll give you more. (Don’t buy an annual subscription. Substack doesn’t let us turn that option off.)
But since I have given you two posts already, I’ll keep this one brief.
A public hearing concerning Orange County Sewer District 1 will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 24th. We covered the specifics here.
Why is this hearing being held at 3pm? Because Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Drunk Uncle Peter Tuohy, and other OC Legislative Republicans refuse to hold meetings during a time when they are accessible to the public.
Most of you reading these posts have said, “I can’t go to that. I have work.” Well, I got good news. You can send your submissions for public comment to JRAMPPEN@orangecountygov.com. That is the email for Jean Ramppen, who is the Clerk for the Orange County Legislature. Make sure you put 3/24/25 PUBLIC COMMENT SUBMISSION: OCSD1 in the subject line of your email.
If you think Simon Property Group should pay the $186M for the Orange County Sewer District 1 infrastructure upgrades and the new sewer plant, you should email Jean M. Ramppen.
Why are we gifting a multibillion-dollar corporation a new sewer plant that local residents must pay for over the next quarter of a century?
And here’s a question for our Rockland County friends to ask:
The Ramapo River is the source of drinking water for over two million people in Southern Orange County, Rockland County, and New Jersey. Have the appropriate agencies in New Jersey, such as the Department for Environmental Protection, weighed in on the plans to upgrade OCSD1’s sewage capacity from 6 million gallons per day to 9 million gallons?
Have the Rockland County communities dependent on the Ramapo, such as Suffern, been given a chance to evaluate these plans and contribute feedback? This decision does not only impact Orange County residents. Where is Rockland County’s government in reviewing this process to ensure the health and safety of its residents who use this water?
As we’ve established here at The Monroe Gazette, you can’t count on the DEC. The DEC will do whatever Governor Hochul tells them, and Governor Hochul and the rest of the State Democratic Party — like our good pal, James G. Skoufis — only do what’s best for the wealthy and the well-connected. So, if you’re a Rockland County resident, don’t sit around thinking the DEC is coming to save you. Just ask the people in Blooming Grove if you have any doubts.
OC Legislator Peter Tuohy Caught Lying (Again)
If you scroll to the last ten minutes of the OCSD1 meeting above, at 51:00, I’d like to direct your attention to something disturbing. Actually, there’s a bunch here to talk about. But since I promised a short post, let’s just focus on just one thing for today. If you missed it, don’t worry. Below is the email The Monroe Gazette sent Drunk Uncle Peter Tuohy as soon as we heard it:
“We are concerned about your comments. While we are happy to hear Orange County is (finally) addressing the issue of the dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide, you said the following: "If there was ever (a threat to the public) ... everyone in the chain would be notified." (see: 55:49 in the above video for the full quote.)
We have substantial documentation from both your emails, Orange County records, and Moodna Sewer Commission records, to demonstrate this is completely false. If not for The Monroe Gazette's reporting, the public would be utterly unaware of the problem.
We’ll remind you that Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone seems completely unaware of the severity of this problem. For example, he asked you in 2022 if he had to attend a meeting in the first place concerning the H2S and South Blooming Grove's contribution to it. Now, suddenly, Cardone and Houle are concerned about a problem they’ve known about for at least four years.
I can't help but think his recent presence and concern have something to do with Mr. Cardone and Mrs. Houle's upcoming election in November.
Since 2021, you have personally known of "very high" and "extremely high" levels of H2S gas detected by Orange County Environmental Facilities and Services, to use the language of the Orange County ESF employees in their emails to you.
At what point, since 2021, did you notify the public, as you promised to do during this week’s meeting?
It's only now that Town of Monroe Councilwoman Maureen Richardson has contacted the DEC that Orange County has resealed the manholes and claims that the levels of H2S outside of them are nearly non-existent.
We caution you that these readings and tests are being done while sewer flow is generally low in the Fall and Winter.
We hope your newfound concern about this situation will involve active testing of these manholes and ambient air quality in the Village of Monroe during the summer months.
Here's our question: Are you now only saying the public will be notified about the ongoing H2S issue because you're up for re-election this Fall?
Will you commit to continue testing and monitoring these manholes through the rest of 2025, regardless of whether or not you win re-election?
Peter Tuohy, of course, did not respond. But when I heard him talk about how the public would be notified if there was a threat to their safety, I got pissed.
Because let me tell you something. Right now? I have hundreds of documents from Orange County that demonstrate neither Crooked County Executive Steve Neuhaus, nor Drunk Uncle Peter Tuohy, ever notified the DEC about the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) problem in the Village of Monroe.
They never urged Tax Hike Tony Cardone to notify the Town of Monroe residents of any concerns involving the gas. How many times have you heard Tony Cardone — who knew about the dangerous hydrogen sulfide situation since 2018 — mention it at a Town of Monroe Board meeting?
Tuohy and Neuhaus also never urged Dorey Houle to notify the public either. Because we know how good she is at that during an emergency.
So this idea that Peter Tuohy suddenly cares about your health and safety, and that the public will be notified of an imminent threat? It’s a fantasy. But one he’s probably now going to run for re-election on, just like this loser.