NARROWSBURG, NY — The Tusten Town Board continued its discussion on the Camping Local Law at its recent meeting on April 12. A public hearing was held at the last meeting, but it was not properly advertised, so another public hearing was held this month prior to the regular meeting.

The board announced that some changes had been made to section 6.2.2 of the law, which regards commercial tent campsite rentals. One of the changes is that “commercial tent campsite permits are required annually.”

Supervisor Carol Wingert said that during the Zoning Rewrite Committee meetings “the biggest conversation is about disposal of waste.” This topic came up in part because of the company Tentrr. This service is similar to Airbnb and allows landowners in the area to rent their land to campers. (Find out more on their website, www.tentrr.com.) Tentrr provides a platform, tent, and other amenities, including a toilet. The question becomes: what to do with the human waste from the toilets?

At first, it was proposed that it was the responsibility of the camper to dispose of the waste. However, board members asked rhetorically, “Who is going to drive back to the city with a bag of waste?” Concerns were aired that they may litter or throw it in public trash cans. Thus, the zoning committee added into the law that it is the responsibility of the landowner to dispose of waste. Another change to the law is that the bags provided for waste “must be labeled with homeowner’s or property owner’s contact information in case of improper disposal.”

The law says in part, “Landowner is responsible to ensure proper and legal disposal of all types of waste generated on said campsite at the end of each camping stay adhering to NYSDEC [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation] and NYSDOH [New York State Department of Health] regulations.” What are those regulations, board members questioned? Wingert said she contacted the DEC to find out, but still needs an answer. Councilman Ned Lang said that proper disposal sites are not nearby. Some board members thought the law was too ambiguous. For instance, they should add specific examples of portable toilets, like a composting toilet or outhouse. But others said you can’t tell people what to use.

The law continues, “Fines for illegal disposal of waste to be established by the Town Board.” Lang said, in regards to fines, “It should be deferred to DEC. Their fines are huge. They define the laws.” Others said the fine should be increased so that it is not just a litter fine.

Members of the audience voiced their opinion that rather than focusing on the fine, more thought should be given on how to prevent it from happening in the first place. They also mentioned that the waste collected in port-a-potties of the type used by Tentrr include not only human waste, but also chemicals that cause other kinds of pollution.

The board did not pass the law at this meeting, and will wait to hear back from the DEC. They called a special meeting for April 27 at 10 a.m.