THOMPSON – A proposal to construct a 1.5 million-square-foot warehouse and trucking terminal along Heiden Road in the Town of Thompson has raised concerns from residents, with environmental organizations calling for a closer look at the project’s potential environmental impacts.

The development, proposed by Kroeger USA, LLC, would span more than 390 acres near Exit 107 off Route 17. According to the draft scope prepared by Lanc and Tully Engineering and Surveying, the site would include truck access roads, paved parking areas, on-site wells and septic systems, stormwater management features, and re-subdivision of multiple lots. The developer has not identified a tenant or operator for the facility.

In October, the Town of Thompson Planning Board issued a Positive Declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), determining that the proposal could have significant environmental impacts. A full Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is now required.

The warehouse would be located near the Neversink River, a Class B protected trout stream and part of a major regional watershed. According to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), there could be potential impacts to regulated streams, wetlands, and aquatic life. The DEC has said that various state permits may be required, including those related to stormwater discharge and potential disturbance of protected waterbodies.

Public comment letters submitted during the scoping phase also flagged major concerns. In a December 2 letter titled “The Heiden Road Warehouse Project: A Potential Catastrophe for the Neversink River and Our Communities,” the advocacy group Fallsburg’s Future described the plan as poorly suited to the area and likely to result in long-term impacts to water quality, fisheries, and scenic character.

The group noted the project’s scale—about 25 football fields—and said that the existing Draft Scoping Document fails to fully address key risks associated with runoff, wastewater treatment, and habitat fragmentation. They also raised concerns about the project’s reliance on package wastewater systems, citing a history of poor maintenance and system failures in the region.

Catskill Mountainkeeper, along with Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and Theodore Gordon Fly Fishers, submitted formal comments to the Thompson Planning Board and asked for an analysis of stormwater discharge, water quality impacts, and cumulative effects on the watershed. Mountainkeeper says the Neversink River, which they described as a “world-renowned trout stream,” is under threat from heavy industrial development.

The developer has not released projections for daily truck trips or provided details on how wastewater and runoff would be managed during extreme weather events.

Fallsburg’s Future says, “We cannot allow one industrial project to permanently compromise one of New York’s most important river systems.”

The Democrat reached out to Kroeger USA, LLC but did not hear back by press time. 

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is currently listed on the agenda for the next Planning Board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, December 10, at 7 p.m. in the Thompson Town Hall courtroom.