Friday, June 11, 2010
Suit challenges Orange County, Kiryas Joel settlement
A new lawsuit challenges the validity of three actions Orange County took in February to settle litigation with Kiryas Joel over the village's proposed water pipeline and the county's sewage treatment plant in Harriman.
Attorneys for the Town and Village of Woodbury and Village of Harriman argue in court papers filed last week that the county skipped important environmental steps, shut out public scrutiny and broke its commitment to consult with municipal leaders before taking any major action involving the Harriman plant.
At the center of their case is a contract — approved by County Executive Ed Diana and signed by two administration officials on Feb. 19 — that will force property owners in the county's Monroe-area sewer district to pay for more sewage treatment once their system's capacity reaches 85 percent.
Diana's promise enabled him to settle two lawsuits in which sewage treatment was the central issue, including his 2009 suit against Kiryas Joel over its proposal to tap the Catskill Aqueduct. Both court cases were dropped around the time the contract was signed.
Woodbury and Harriman officials contend that Diana had no right to commit to more sewer projects without getting input from leaders of the eight towns and villages that pay for the Harriman plant — as required by a 1995 contract — or doing an environmental review to analyze the potential impact of further plant expansions.
David Gordon, one of two New Paltz attorneys who brought the case, said Thursday that they will soon file a second lawsuit seeking to reopen the pipeline litigation. He argues that the county's initial concerns about the growth of Kiryas Joel and its impact on sewage treatment are still valid, despite the settlement.
"There is clearly a potential for the increased water supply to fuel an expansion of dense development," he said.
In addition to Diana's contract, their case seeks to void two documents amending an environmental review the county did before its last expansion of the Harriman plant. One was approved by county lawmakers on Feb. 4 in preparation for the legal settlement with Kiryas Joel; the other was drafted but never adopted, according to the lawsuit.
The county sewer district consists of the villages of Monroe, Kiryas Joel and Harriman and part of the surrounding Town of Monroe. Property owners in those areas share use of the Harriman plant with the towns of Woodbury, Blooming Grove and Chester, another part of Monroe, and the Village of Chester; all have longstanding contracts for sewer service.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100611/NEWS/6110357
Attorneys for the Town and Village of Woodbury and Village of Harriman argue in court papers filed last week that the county skipped important environmental steps, shut out public scrutiny and broke its commitment to consult with municipal leaders before taking any major action involving the Harriman plant.
At the center of their case is a contract — approved by County Executive Ed Diana and signed by two administration officials on Feb. 19 — that will force property owners in the county's Monroe-area sewer district to pay for more sewage treatment once their system's capacity reaches 85 percent.
Diana's promise enabled him to settle two lawsuits in which sewage treatment was the central issue, including his 2009 suit against Kiryas Joel over its proposal to tap the Catskill Aqueduct. Both court cases were dropped around the time the contract was signed.
Woodbury and Harriman officials contend that Diana had no right to commit to more sewer projects without getting input from leaders of the eight towns and villages that pay for the Harriman plant — as required by a 1995 contract — or doing an environmental review to analyze the potential impact of further plant expansions.
David Gordon, one of two New Paltz attorneys who brought the case, said Thursday that they will soon file a second lawsuit seeking to reopen the pipeline litigation. He argues that the county's initial concerns about the growth of Kiryas Joel and its impact on sewage treatment are still valid, despite the settlement.
"There is clearly a potential for the increased water supply to fuel an expansion of dense development," he said.
In addition to Diana's contract, their case seeks to void two documents amending an environmental review the county did before its last expansion of the Harriman plant. One was approved by county lawmakers on Feb. 4 in preparation for the legal settlement with Kiryas Joel; the other was drafted but never adopted, according to the lawsuit.
The county sewer district consists of the villages of Monroe, Kiryas Joel and Harriman and part of the surrounding Town of Monroe. Property owners in those areas share use of the Harriman plant with the towns of Woodbury, Blooming Grove and Chester, another part of Monroe, and the Village of Chester; all have longstanding contracts for sewer service.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100611/NEWS/6110357
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