Submitted photo.

NORWICH – As plans for the new Chenango County Office Building continue to move forward, county officials are now diving into a comprehensive environmental impact review to evaluate how the development will affect the surrounding community.

Chenango County Attorney Zachary Wentworth went before the county’s Ag, Buildings, and Grounds Committee on Tuesday to request a board resolution approving an environmental impact study for the project, which entails construction of a new facility and demolishing the 1960s-era wing of the county office building. Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), a review is needed before the county can acquire financing for the project or issue bids for construction.

“Part of that process is also indicating that we intend to be the lead agency on this,” Wentworth said, noting that the project would be considered a “Type One” SEQRA action due to the size of the building. “This resolution would designate the project as a Type One action, declare that we intend to make ourselves the lead agency in a coordinated review, and direct me or another agent of the county to notify other involved agencies within a 30-day notice.”

An environmental impact study is just one additional hurdle for county officials as they press forward with the proposed demolition. The structure contains asbestos in the ceiling and other hazardous building materials commonly used in mid-century modern commercial structures.

County officials have also expressed concern over the building’s recent inclusion in a proposed historic district expansion in downtown Norwich. The proposal lumps the Chenango County Office Building in with other historic buildings in the vicinity, including the Guernsey Memorial Library and several buildings on South Broad Street. The proposal will be reviewed by the New York State Board for Historic Preservation at its next meeting on September 9.

Action to have the office building included in the city’s historic district may not affect the county’s pending SEQRA resolution, but “it does affect something,” said Ag, Buildings, and Grounds Committee Chairman John Lawrence.

The State Historic Preservation Office is among the coordinated agencies to be notified of the SEQRA review and the county’s intent to be the lead agency. County officials have already made the department aware of the building project.

“For any building in a historic district or proposed to be in a historic district, we have to jump through the hoops of showing them why this building would have to be torn down versus leaving it in place. My feeling is that we’ve already done that,” Wentworth said, citing a 2019 engineering study that he says supports the county’s decision to raze the 1960s wing and build new.

“For us, it’s another hoop to jump through that I don’t anticipate being a difficult one,” said Wentworth.