Court orders continued study of KJ pipeline

By Chris McKenna

October 13, 2007Times Herald-Record
Kiryas Joel — An appeals court ruling on Kiryas Joel's controversial pipeline proposal has sided with Orange County by ordering the village to continue studying the potential environmental impact.

The judges declared Kiryas Joel must answer more fully such questions as how the village or county would treat the increased volume of sewage that would eventually result from the water-supply project.

But the Appellate Division decision released yesterday also contained good news for Kiryas Joel. Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said that by ordering the village to amend its environmental impact statement rather than create a separate statement, the judges spared Kiryas Joel another lengthy period of comments and criticism from government agencies and opponents.

"It's a King Solomon decision," Szegedin said.

He said village consultants will prepare a report answering the outstanding issues and give it to village trustees for approval, perhaps within four to six weeks. The trustees may then adopt a findings statement 10 days later, ending the environmental review.

"The level of scrutiny and level of oversight is totally limited to the Village of Kiryas Joel trustees," he said. "There is no other forum for anybody to raise any other issues."
Orange County officials couldn't reached for comment yesterday.

Kiryas Joel plans to build a 13-mile pipeline to tap New York City's Catskill Aqueduct in New Windsor. Village officials call it a long-term solution to the community's mounting water demand, one that would avoid competing with neighboring communities for ground water.

But opponents waged a ferocious campaign against the project in 2004 and convinced the county government to sue Kiryas Joel. The suit claimed that Kiryas Joel had conducted an inadequate environmental review.

Barring another lawsuit, the only remaining hurdle after the review is done is New York City's approval to tap its water supply.

The principal issue Kiryas Joel must address is sewage treatment, although the appeals court also asked for further review of other topics the county raised. One is the potential of the project to spur further growth in the already-booming community.

Three county lawmakers — Frank Fornario, R-Blooming Grove; Roxanne Donnery, D-Highland Falls; and the late Spencer McLaughlin, R-Monroe — led the fight to challenge the water project.
After hearing of the decision yesterday, Donnery and Fornario both said they would be upset if no further public input was required. But Fornario also said the demand for more study "validates the county's position. It justifies our decision to pursue this."

Woodbury activist and pipeline opponent Jonathan Swiller called the ruling a tribute to McLaughlin, who died of pancreatic cancer earlier this year.

"This was one last gift from Spencer McLaughlin to the county to make sure that the rules are followed by everyone and to protect our environment," he said.